galactrix
Latest
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix jumps onto PSN this week
The PlayStation Blog has sent a sub-space transmission that Puzzle Quest: Galactrix will materialize on the service this Thursday, May 7, for $20. The Puzzle Quest sequel arrived earlier this year on other platforms to mixed reviews -- with the DS version having its own special loading issues.So, take a spin around the galaxy this Thursday, and hopefully the jumpgate hacking missions won't make you experience Galactrix's patented brand of frustration.%Gallery-16892%
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Puzzle Quest Galactrix, Flock!
It's an XBLA double puzzler this week with both Puzzle Quest Galactrix and Flock! landing on Microsoft's download service. Galactrix is a traditional puzzle game laced with the trappings of an RPG, while Flock! is more of a logic-based affair that has players herding animals into a spaceship. Both seem to be decent games and both will cost you significant scratch, with Galactrix costing $20 and Flock! clocking in at $15.Watch the latest episode of XBLA in Brief and see if either one piques your interest.Download the trial version of Puzzle Quest GalactrixDownload the trial version of Flock![iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[M4V] Download the M4V directly.
This Wednesday: Galactrix Flocks things up on XBLA
The good news: Flock and Puzzle Quest: Galactrix are both headed to Xbox Live Arcade this week. The bad news: They will cost you not only an arm, but also a leg to obtain. Flock clocks in at 1200, while Galactrix will set you back two Hamiltons (aka 1600). If you can live without a couple appendages -- what with computers doing everything these days, you probably can -- you can enjoy the space-faring successor to Puzzle Quest and ... erm ... a UFO-enabled herding sim. Herding is more fun than it sounds, trust us. %Gallery-28184% %Gallery-16892%
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix beams down to XBLA on April 8 [update]
We take no pleasure in admitting that Puzzle Quest: Galactrix on the DS was a poorly designed, loading-time-riddled heart breaker. So, it's with no small amount of trepidation and a modicum of hope that we report the XBLA version of the game will arrive on April 8 for an undisclosed price. [Update: Just heard back from D3. Galactrix will run you 1600 points, or $20.]Though its DS counterpart hurt us and hurt us badly, we're hoping that the XBLA version fares much, much better. We're not sure all the problems can be fixed by porting the game to a different box, but we'd love nothing more than to be proven wrong.%Gallery-16892%
MTV's Totilo: DS version of Galactrix plagued by load times
Considering our outrageous, unslakable handheld lust for Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, we didn't think anything could keep us from diving back into our dual-screened device for a go at Galactrix -- though a report from MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo is giving us slight cause for concern. According to Totes, the DS version of the game suffers from "surprisingly long load times." Yes, he said the DS version -- not the Commodore 64 version. We were confused at first as well.Totilo said that the four to five-second load times occur before each puzzle, during mission selection and when checking inventory. Doesn't sound like much, but as he assures us, "it adds up." Anyone else notice their precious seconds being squandered whilst participating in some interplanetary gem-swapping?
Galactrix may not arrive Feb. 25, Xbox.com is a big fat liar
Much like Xbox.com's fiction about an Exit 2 release today, it was apparently also being a lying liar telling fibs about Galactrix's release next week. Siliconera spoke to a representative for redundant publisher, D3 Publisher, which informed the site it had "not confirmed" a date for the XBLA version of the crack-infused RPG puzzler.Sure enough, changing from yesterday, the Xbox.com page now notes that Galactrix's release is T and B to the D (i.e. to be determined). The only way to be sure and play Galactrix next week is to purchase it on DS or pirate it from the web pick it up for PC on February 24.[Via Siliconera]
Xbox.com lists Puzzle Quest Galactrix for Feb. 25
Xbox.com has updated its previous listing of Puzzle Quest Galactrix to note a February 25 release date. If this date holds, it means the XBLA version will not require a six-month wait again, arriving in XBLA's virtual retail space around the same time as the DS and PC versions.We contacted publisher D3 and the company could not confirm the date nor pricing at this time. For those who still haven't tried Galactrix, the follow-up to multi-platform sleeper hit Puzzle Quest, there's always the Flash-based demo available. However, we recommend anyone with addictive personality traits not come within a parsec of the title.[Via GameBytes]
Galactrix coming to PC on Feb. 24, XBLA date unconfirmed
The stars are pointing to an almost simultaneous release of Puzzle Quest Galactrix on DS, PC and XBLA; currently, the Xbox 360 version is the only one not "officially" confirmed. GamerBytes noticed earlier today that Xbox.com listed a February 24 release date for the RPG puzzle title. The page is, as of this writing, still live with the date. Of course, a problem with that release date is that it marks a Tuesday ... which doesn't really fit in with that whole Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday thing. Oh yeah, also, it says "2/24/2008," which would be last year.Publisher Aspyr has confirmed the Feb. 24 PC release date, which follows the confirmation of the DS date a couple of weeks ago. By Grabthar's hammer, we hope Galactrix hits that Wednesday. We'd rather avoid another six-month wait like we endured with the original Puzzle Quest.%Gallery-16892%
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix warps onto DS Feb. 24
D3Publisher announced today that Puzzle Quest: Galactrix will jump into retail on stardate 62402.24 (February 24, 2009). Demos are currently playable on PC in both Flash-based and downloadable form. Versions for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC are planned for "early 2009." We've sent Bothans to gather more intel on a specific release date for our home systems, because like our obsession with The Real Housewives of Orange County, we prefer to keep our gem-shifting vice behind-closed-doors.
You should probably play this Galactrix demo
This Flash demo will give you a pretty good idea of what playing the DS Puzzle Quest Galactrix will be like, except that the DS one will look different, cost money, and last longer. Playing the thing will explain the concepts of the game a lot better than we can. Even the pre-demo instructions seemed complicated (and we've seen the game before), until we started playing, at which point we just got it immediately.We wanted to complete the demo, so we could take in the entirety of the presentation before reporting it for you, but that's just not going to happen right now. In fact, we're going to go ahead and proclaim that it's impossible to beat General Tarn or whatever, and also that the game is cheating and it's totally not fair.%Gallery-16886%
Resistance is futile: Puzzle Quest Galactrix launches Flash demo
A Flash demo is available now for those looking to try Puzzle Quest's sci-fi follow-up, Galactrix. The rules may be slightly different (the no extra turn for 4-of-a-kind is a doozy), but be warned, star gazing gem shifters: the refined spice which made the fantasy realm of Puzzle Quest so addictive is still quite potent in this new form. Galactrix is expected to arrive the relatively near future for Nintendo DS, PC, XBLA and PSN. The demo doesn't seem to take prisoners, so hit the enemy with lasers and use shields when opportunity allows.[Via X3F, Evil Avatar]
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix demo trialable online
Figured you'd like to know that there's a Puzzle Quest: Galactrix mini demo now available online at playpuzzlequestgalactrix.com. The flash demo of D3 Publisher's upcoming Xbox Live Arcade release of Galactrix gives a sampling of the gameplay, the powerups and the overall experience. Just watch out for that General Tarn and his abuse of the Trident Laser. He's a Trident Laser madman. [Via Evil Avatar]
Puzzle Quest update to infect XBLA this Wednesday
Those jewels you've been collecting are about to get a whole lot more infectious, as D3Publisher announced that its player-christened Puzzle Quest expansion, Revenge of the Plague Lord, will infest Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, July 23. Develped by Puzzle Quest devs, Infinite Interactive, the 700 Microsoft Point update will offer a virulent mass of new content, including 25 new quests, 50 new spells, 40 new items, and four new heroes, as well as the ability to build up characters to level 60. In addition, Revenge of the Plague Lord will also add three new Achievements to the popular puzzler, giving us plenty to feed our fever until we look to the skies next year.
Joystiq E3 hands-on: Puzzle Quest Galactrix
Puzzle Quest Galactrix takes the fantasy world of the original Puzzle Quest and injects it with a healthy dose of sci-fi. The "match three" gameplay is still present, as are the RPG elements, and it all comes together in a Puzzle Quest experience for those who prefer interstellar drama over orcs and goblins.We're going to write the rest of this hands-on with the idea that the reader has played the original Puzzle Quest, because if they haven't, they should go out and rent/buy it right now. For those who played the first Puzzle Quest and didn't like it, Galactrix won't convert them, unless the sci-fi concept is the only thing they felt was missing from the original.%Gallery-16892%
First Puzzle Quest: Galactrix trailer is rather hexy
We understand that trailers for puzzle games, even ones with strong RPG elements, aren't exactly titillating. With very few explosions, no dialogue, and the repetitive swapping of multi-hued bricks, the odds are somewhat against them. If you never played the first Puzzle Quest, the above trailer will probably look as bland as eating toast at a Kenny G concert -- however, those who have gemswapped their way through the Challenge of the Warlords understand the fancy-tickling capacity of this debut Puzzle Quest: Galactrix trailer. With looks at the new hex-based gameplay, the massive galaxy the game takes place in, and the new visual aesthetic, this one video should be enough to cause visions of hexagons to dance in your head until the game's Q1 '09 release.
Puzzle Quest: Galactrailer
Okay, so Puzzle Quest: Galactrix doesn't have online play. It's still got the rare and ephemeral quality of being Puzzle Quest! That counts for a lot. And besides, it's supposed to be an RPG, right? Those don't need online multiplayer! (Ignore the other versions of Galactrix. And, uh, the MMORPG genre.)If this brief gameplay video is any indication, Galactrix moves really, really quickly. We'd get our futuristic spaceship captain asses handed to us before we could even figure out what all those numbers on the top screen meant. We'll be content to lose to the computer, and to our friends, who can then console/mock us in person.
DS version of Galactrix missing online play
What a bummer. We were all excited when we saw the first screens of the DS version of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix attached to IGN's preview. Then we had to go and read the preview. "Galactrix will feature the same multiplayer modes as Challenge of the Warlords. That means the Xbox 360 and PC versions will be playable online, and the DS will include local multiplayer." And just like that, our dreams of Puzzle Questy Game Nights disappear like four contiguous red blocks.This is less of an issue, of course, for people who have friends outside of the Internet, but we were really hoping Infinite Interactive would bring online play to the platform that made Puzzle Quest a household name (for certain values of "household"). And the screens do look nice.
Want to play Puzzle Quest: Galactrix early?
D3Publisher is looking for some help with the next Puzzle Quest game. See, they need people to give it a play, however it should be noted that this only applies to folks living in the L.A. area. Where's the east coast love, D3? How do you get on board with this? Send an email with the subject "Puzzle Quest Research" to lisa[at]mindofthegamer[dawt]com before April 18th. Names will be chosen on a first come, first serve basis, and are also subject to "additional criteria" needed to qualify. We guess you'll find that out the day of.The lucky gamers that do get to head on down for some quality time with new Puzzle Quest stuff will not only get to play Galactrix, but also that Xbox Live expansion, Revenge of the Plague Lord, along with "other" Puzzle Quest stuff. Any of our west coast readers going to sign up for this?%Gallery-16886%
Help focus test new Puzzle Quest game in LA
D3Publisher of America is looking for volunteers to focus test the "next game in the Puzzle Quest franchise." If you live in the Los Angeles area and have played the original Puzzle Quest, contact lisa[at]mindofthegamer[dawt]com and place "Puzzle Quest Research" in the subject line. Emails must be received by April 18 and participants will be chosen on a first come, first served basis; there will also be screening for "additional criteria." We spoke with a representative who told us participants will be mostly testing Galactrix, a little Revenge of the Plague Lord, and "other" Puzzle Quest related things. Those who score a golden ticket, let us know what you find out.%Gallery-16892%
Rumor: Galactrix landing in October
Given the insane popularity of Puzzle Quest, DS match-three/level-grinding fans are going to line up as soon as they can for Infinite Interactive's follow-up, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. According to Gamestop, they'll be exploring the game's dramatic storyline and color-matching hexagonal gems this October. The retailer's website now lists Galactrix with an October 14th release date.Upon hearing this news, Eric's monocle fell right out and he sprang out of his leather chair, exclaiming "By Jove! I must arrange for delivery of this item immediately upon its release! To the phones -- post haste!" Alisha was more reserved, but we saw her teacup tremble a bit.%Gallery-16886%
