While Galactrix keeps the turn-based 'match at least three of the same kind of tile' gameplay that made Challenge of the Warlords such a compelling time-sink, the observant player will notice that Galactrix's play field, as a whole, has taken on a hexagonal physique. Where the previous iteration of Puzzle Quest was set in a square window with fundamentally cube-like set-ups of shapes therein, the new hexagonal arena appropriately enough brings with it hexagonal objects to eliminate. In turn, this change in shapes (literally) opens up new fields of strategy and gameplay, with six directions available for match-ups and combos, as opposed to the previous games four.
At the same time, the Hexic-like turn of events (pun unintended) doesn't appear to break the franchise's mantra of gameplay applicable to any and all player skill levels. With Galactrix's further promises to turn your strategy on its head literally with its gravity-based tile-replacement (e.g. if a match is being played near a planet, tiles fall from the top, as opposed to play in space, where tiles fall directly in from the area your last move), we were concerned matches would suffer from sheer over-complicatedness. Nevertheless, it's yet another refreshing layer to the Puzzle Quest formula, while making sure Galactrix turns out to be just as near-intuitive and accessible as ever, yet still begging to be mastered.
For all that habit-forming gameplay in the making, it wouldn't be a Puzzle Quest game without the fusion of role-playing and story-telling elements. Again, the sci-fi aesthetics, at first, mask the familiar and established aspects of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords RPG design. Ship shields are the health you'll be depleting; artillery, defence systems and psionic powers just a few of the spells you'll be stacking. The upgrading of pilot skills and ships; the negotiating, mining and trading between factions; the recruiting and coercing new allies, be they human or otherwise, et al. Indeed, our earlier name-drops of Star Control and Master of Orion weren't quite so unfounded. The engrossing gameplay possibilities for Galactrix clearly don't just stop at different coloured tiles signifying different attributes for refilling different gauges. And as a novice pilot going up against four galactic biological mega corporations gone awry, you'll no doubt need all the help you can get in the exploration of Galactrix's jumpgate-fueled universe.
Unfortunately, the eGames PC version of Galactrix at D3 Publisher's booth was seemingly set-up for one-player only – as such, we have yet to taste the sweetness of the measured use of attack tiles against a single unsuspecting human opponent, let alone the four players (online and offline) aimed for in the final game. In any case, playing versus the series' ever-ruthless artificial intelligence puts up a battle that more often than not resulted in our humiliation. Remember folks, in space, no one can hear you whinge about the cheap AI.
At this point, not much can be said about Galactrix's promise of additional downloadable content in the form of areas, missions, items and ships. Likewise, the eGames show floor is an unrelenting mistress of noise pollution, so the game's otherwise slick HD visuals were not accompanied by any sort of discernible audio design. If anything, these final mysteries only add to the anticipation for the already impressive return of Puzzle Quest. Hyper-space drives pending, the first half of 2009 can't get here sooner.
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