Gunpey DS is
a new puzzle game for the Nintendo DS that advertises itself as
musically-driven. Like Lumines, each piece moved creates a sound effect, and
cleared pieces create a different sound effect. Paired with the music you’re
almost creating your own soundtrack as you play.
In Gunpey
DS, the whole point is to create a line connecting the right and left side of
the play field. The field is a grid setup, and each grid piece has a line in it.
The lines are oriented in various ways, and using the touchscreen or control
pad you can only move these lines up and down to create a line going across the
whole grid.
There are
multiple ways to create these lines. As long as each end is touching the side of
the grid, you can have the line doing whatever you want in between. It can
branch into multiple lines or zigzag back and fourth. In fact, getting more than
just a single line to disappear is the goal of the game, since the more grids
you clear at once the better.
When you’ve
completed a line, it doesn’t clear right away. It stays for a little bit so that
you can either throw more pieces onto it or complete a second line to clear with
the first. This allows you to quickly combo and have a higher grid clear count
instead of spending all your time setting them up.
Gunpey DS
has quite a few game modes. The main mode is called Frontier, where players
embark on a journey through the galaxy, challenging crazy creatures to games of
Gunpey. In Frontier mode you are actually playing against an AI opponent, so
Special Attacks are in effect. Special Attacks are triggered when you combo a
certain number of grids in a single clear. The more grids you clear, the more
devastating the attack. These attacks don’t just throw more pieces at your
opponent, like in most puzzle games. Special Attacks in Gunpey actually affect
how your opponent plays the game. For example, in a Versus game against a friend
you can disable their touchscreen for a short period with a high enough combo.
Each
character in Gunpey shares a level 1, 2, and 4 Special Attack, but the level 3
attack depends on the character. So for once it actually matters which character
you choose in a puzzle game.
Versus mode
can be played wirelessly with a friend. There is also a Rivals section where
Gunpey DS keeps track of all the people you’ve played and your records from
those games. Also, if you have a friend that doesn’t own a copy of Gunpey, there
is a demo that you can send to their DS.
There is
also an Endless mode, where players can choose a stage and play until they can’t
keep up anymore. Time Attack and Stage Attack are also available modes. In Time
Attack players are given a set amount of time, and the goal is to clear as many
grids as they can. Stage Attack provides a set number of grids that needs to be
cleared, and as time passes the difficulty increases. All these modes are played
solo.
Since Time
Attack and Endless are played without opponents, you can opt to play them in
Double Screen mode. Double Screen mode essentially puts you in control of two
games at once, and you can switch between them on the fly. The currently
selected game is on the touchscreen while the other can be seen on the top
screen. Both are active, so it’s a good way to play if you’re looking for more
of a challenge.
Challenge
can be an issue once you get a hang of Gunpey DS. The learning curve can be
pretty steep, since it takes some time to notice combos. At first I didn’t even
know what I was doing. But, after just a couple hours I now have no trouble at
all dispatching of my AI enemies.
Gunpey DS
also has an Extras area. There aren’t a whole lot of extras to enjoy, though.
First is a screen where you can watch a little guy walk around on a Gunpey
puzzle screen. You can alter his path using the puzzle grids, and you can change
the way he moves by selecting from a list of unlocked options. That’s about it.
There is
also an in-depth music creating extra that is actually pretty neat. It’s not so
much a game as a way to stretch your creative muscles and mess with music and
sound effects. It has a surprising number of options for creating music and can
be pretty fun if you’re into that sort of thing.
Gunpey DS
offers plenty of ways to play, but the real problem is that the gameplay never
differs. The limited types of puzzle pieces and absence of a real strategy sort
of holds this one back. It’s possible that it may capture many gamers’
attention, but for some it will feel like a lot of the same thing.
|
Review Scoring Details for Gunpey |
Gameplay: 6.8
The touch screen
makes this play very smooth. You’ll most likely have fun during the learning
curve, but after awhile it’s hard not to notice how rigid the gameplay is. With
only four different pieces there isn’t much room for strategy, making this one
almost too simple.
Graphics: 7.6
The cartoony
menus create a fun feel to the game, and each level has a different background
and color scheme for the pieces. Other that that, though, there isn’t much to
look at.
Sound: 9.0
Gunpey DS is full
of catchy tunes and sound effects to go along with your puzzle solving. Each
level has a different song, and I never really found any of them annoying. The
music creator is pretty fun too.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The game will be
a little difficult at first as you get used to how it works, but once you’re in
the groove it gets pretty easy. Double Screen mode definitely adds to the
difficulty, though, and playing with a friend can be another challenge.
Concept: 7.0
I would have
liked to see more variety in the different modes, or maybe more puzzle pieces.
Something to throw a little diversity into the mix would have added more replay
value to the game.
Multiplayer: 7.0
Multiplayer, as
usual, adds a nice spin to any game. Even when the game starts to get tiring
against AI opponents, a good human challenger can always spice things up a bit.
Since the gameplay doesn’t change, though, it doesn’t get a whole lot better.
Overall: 7.4
Gunpey DS is fun
for awhile, but with not much variety in the gameplay it can get pretty stale.
Soon you start to see combos a lot easier, the game moves faster, and in turn
becomes easier. Gunpey DS is fun, but won’t last long for those that aren’t
diehard puzzle fans.
