Twist and Summon – Review of Gyromancer (XBLA, PSN)
Gyromancer
Developed by: PopCap
Published by: Square Enix
For: XBLA, PSN
It all used to be so simple. Puzzle games were meant for old ladies and people who don’t play games. RPG’s were meant to be for pasty-faced gamers who would never see the light of day or be with a woman. Now, thanks to Puzzle Quest, they’ve melded into one cohesive mess of item matching.
Then Puzzle Quest: Galactrix came out and said “You know what? Let’s ruin this idea before it even gets to pick up off the ground!” Sure, there were other Puzzle Quest like games that came out between Puzzle Quest and now, but Gyromancer seems to be the first one that’s actually captured some attention, mainly due to the two powerhouse companies that are behind the game: PopCap (Peggle, Plants vs. Zombies) and Square Enix (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest).
In the game, you defeat monsters in a Bejeweled Twist like puzzle game. The difference between this and Puzzle Quest is how you and your opponents attack.
In Puzzle Quest, matching three to five skulls would cause a basic attack, while collecting colored gems would pool mana of that specific color. You can then cash in that mana to attack the opponent with spells or boost your stats or turn the tide to your favor.
Gyromancer, however, is done very differently. Battle is done consistently through your actions. The opponent doesn’t move gems or “take a turn,” it simply feeds off your actions. The opponent’s attack meter slowly fills up as time passes, which he then releases a gem that shines with a counter. If you don’t defeat that gem when the counter reaches zero, you get hit.
For your offense, you match gems to build up your mana. When you mana reaches the maximum needed, it will released a shiny gem that when you break it with a combo, you’ll attack the opponent.
The differences in all of the battles is the beasts you bring into each and every battle. Each beasts has an affinity to a certain type of gem: if you break apart those gems, you refill your meters faster and fight more frequently. However, some affinities are weaker against others, so finding a suitable mix of beasts is a must for strategy.
In order to gain more beasts, you have to find Gyro Codes scattered on each map and when you defeat that map, you get to summon beasts of those you captured. The beasts are little more than just stat points and a means to collect items, but it still keeps the game relatively interesting and fun while you’re playing.
This particular melding of genres have had a very polarizing result table lately (Puzzle Quest was great, while Galactrix and Puzzle Kingdoms were very bad), but for the most part, Gyromancer is a good puzzle game that remains fun as you play it for any period of time.
Detractors of the Bejeweled Twist mechanic, which is when four gems are moved clockwise instead of two gems switching, will want to steer clear of Gryomancer. The game uses everything from the Twist game to full effect, even its weaknesses.
It’s pretty annoying at times when you can’t move your gems counter-clockwise for whatever reason, which becomes a big pain later on in the game when the punishment for not matching gems in a turn absolutely murders you. However, it’s something you do get used to.
Also, the story and graphics are pretty bland and boring, almost to the point where the story is easily ignorable. In fact, in all honesty, I don’t remember a thing from the story and the graphics are just the gems and still photos of the beasts and characters.
In all, Gyromancer is a very competent and fun Puzzle Quest like game. Whether it’s better than Puzzle Quest is entirely up to your feelings on the Twist mechanics, but if you can handle it, there’s a good 5 – 8 hours of fun you could be having. As long as you’re okay with no multiplayer in the package, it should be worth your cash.
Review
Pros Cons - A rewarding collection system
- Battles happen at a fast clip
- Twist mechanic works well, brings in a new spin to the Puzzle/RPG hybrid- No multiplayer
- Aesthetics are bland and boring
? Why the hell is this called Gyromancer?
Rating
Brad Wiswall
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