Man, I really need to learn to quit while I'm ahead. Once I ditched the wasp (who sucked me in with no elemental weakness and lots of elemental strength, but whose moves would be locked) and started using the Power Beetle (who has a nice "clear almost the entire board" ability) life got much easier. I decimated all of Stage 5 pretty readily. Including a rush on the boss which was glorious. This is where I should have quit.
In Stage 6,
1) My Lv23 fighting a Lv25 went about as well as I figured it would. Seriously, no amount of fancy twisting could have won there.
2) Wanted to get a Gyro code on my way back to the door, but the stone in front of it required a x5 cascade. After about half an hour with plenty of "crafting" flashbacks from PQ I gave up. Are people really able to set that up at will? I was trying to play the bottom but honestly I would have had just as much luck getting a match of 3 at the top, and having 5 more sets of 3 fall into their place. Did get x4 several times tho.
Also, in hindsight I have no idea why I bought this for XBLA. I don't think I knew the Steam release was concurrent. With PQ and Galactrix I played them on the PC and generally would be chatting or watching TV at the same time. It feels a little strange to play this on the 360 and only be doing that.
Man, I really need to learn to quit while I'm ahead. Once I ditched the wasp (who sucked me in with no elemental weakness and lots of elemental strength, but whose moves would be locked) and started using the Power Beetle (who has a nice "clear almost the entire board" ability) life got much easier. I decimated all of Stage 5 pretty readily. Including a rush on the boss which was glorious. This is where I should have quit.
In Stage 6,
1) My Lv23 fighting a Lv25 went about as well as I figured it would. Seriously, no amount of fancy twisting could have won there.
2) Wanted to get a Gyro code on my way back to the door, but the stone in front of it required a x5 cascade. After about half an hour with plenty of "crafting" flashbacks from PQ I gave up. Are people really able to set that up at will? I was trying to play the bottom but honestly I would have had just as much luck getting a match of 3 at the top, and having 5 more sets of 3 fall into their place. Did get x4 several times tho.
Also, in hindsight I have no idea why I bought this for XBLA. I don't think I knew the Steam release was concurrent. With PQ and Galactrix I played them on the PC and generally would be chatting or watching TV at the same time. It feels a little strange to play this on the 360 and only be doing that.
For the 5x cascade challenge, can you idle twist? If so, it would be relatively simple. If not....
It seems like just about any cascade requirement could be met by doing something like this (spoilered for bad ASCII art):
XXA
AAB
BBC
CCD
DDX
XXAAXA
Have X be anything. You can even restart the sequence after two different colored gems in a row. Stack that up as high as you want. Then just twist the bottom into a match and the whole thing falls down.
I thought I would give that a try first, to see if I wanted to actually purchase the thing.
So I downloaded the demo via Steam, but it doesn't seem to want to launch. I never even see anything, it just closes right away.
Stab me in the face if I'm wrong, but I think the cascade challenges are presented weird. I completed one that makes me think that the challenge is to cause 7 cascades, rather than a single cascade that causes 7 individual gem clears.
Redcat on
360 Metatag for Borderlands: PA Borderwangs
My 360 tag: Redcat Rising
@Vi Monks. Right idea, but that doesn't work. That's only a 2x cascade (because all of the ones above will simultaneously clear themselves on the next drop). They need to be staggered. It was actually pretty funny; I got my 5x completely on accident while trying to set up a fancy one elsewhere. Actually, it ended up being an 8x. But now that I need the 7x I'm having trouble even with deliberate preparation. Trying to think that far ahead (and not making sets while moving stuff around) = brain asplode.
@Vi Monks. Right idea, but that doesn't work. That's only a 2x cascade (because all of the ones above will simultaneously clear themselves on the next drop). They need to be staggered. It was actually pretty funny; I got my 5x completely on accident while trying to set up a fancy one elsewhere. Actually, it ended up being an 8x. But now that I need the 7x I'm having trouble even with deliberate preparation. Trying to think that far ahead (and not making sets while moving stuff around) = brain asplode.
I could have sworn I did the 3x cascade like that. Maybe I just happened to get another cascade when it cleared. Sounds like quite a nightmare either way.
Ok, got the game. Game is weird. But strangely cool. Doesn't seem quite as awesome as PQ but still a good way to twirl yer funny round things to make sparks pop out.
Tried the demo and I'm just not feeling it. I'm new to the whole twist idea, and I found it hard to get my head around it. Only being able to turn clockwise makes it seem artificially difficult. On top of that, gems on the sides or in corners are kinda fucked. Not being able to move those gems without idle moves just makes me pull out my hair.
PQ was broken in a good way, in that it was too flexible such that you could really give it to the CPU hard if you wanted. Galactrix was broken because the devs forgot that the gameplay should be centered on the battles and normal gameplay mechanic and not the fucking lame timed puzzles. I won't say Geomancer is broken, but the puzzle mechanic just doesn't appeal to me at all. I just don't find it fun. Pretty art and a weak (and tired) story don't help. I was expecting some innovation here and I just don't see it.
Tried the demo and I'm just not feeling it. I'm new to the whole twist idea, and I found it hard to get my head around it. Only being able to turn clockwise makes it seem artificially difficult. On top of that, gems on the sides or in corners are kinda fucked. Not being able to move those gems without idle moves just makes me pull out my hair.
PQ was broken in a good way, in that it was too flexible such that you could really give it to the CPU hard if you wanted. Galactrix was broken because the devs forgot that the gameplay should be centered on the battles and normal gameplay mechanic and not the fucking lame timed puzzles. I won't say Geomancer is broken, but the puzzle mechanic just doesn't appeal to me at all. I just don't find it fun. Pretty art and a weak (and tired) story don't help. I was expecting some innovation here and I just don't see it.
The game does have several consumable items, such as magic mirrors, which allow you to rotate counter-clockwise when used.
But I do agree with you on several points.
Tried the demo and I'm just not feeling it. I'm new to the whole twist idea, and I found it hard to get my head around it. Only being able to turn clockwise makes it seem artificially difficult. On top of that, gems on the sides or in corners are kinda fucked. Not being able to move those gems without idle moves just makes me pull out my hair.
PQ was broken in a good way, in that it was too flexible such that you could really give it to the CPU hard if you wanted. Galactrix was broken because the devs forgot that the gameplay should be centered on the battles and normal gameplay mechanic and not the fucking lame timed puzzles. I won't say Geomancer is broken, but the puzzle mechanic just doesn't appeal to me at all. I just don't find it fun. Pretty art and a weak (and tired) story don't help. I was expecting some innovation here and I just don't see it.
The "Twist" part that so many of us aren't used to (myself included) really does start to feel very natural after you put a couple hours in, and I personally find Gyromancer very flexible with the right monster usage. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, certain monsters are just beasts. Earlier today, through a couple well-placed yellow twists, I was beating monsters in 3-4 turns. Certain monsters are just total powerhouses. If you just hate the twist, well then, not much to be done. But if it just seems unfamiliar, I would suggesting spending a bit more time with it. The twist really becomes second nature soon enough.
Isn't it weird how under the radar this game is flying? I mean I'm on Popcap's promotional email list, and I didn't get anything from them about it (to say nothing of there being absolutely nothing about it on Popcap's homepage.)
Isn't it weird how under the radar this game is flying? I mean I'm on Popcap's promotional email list, and I didn't get anything from them about it (to say nothing of there being absolutely nothing about it on Popcap's homepage.)
In a sense this is more SquareEnix's baby. PopCap literally gave them the Bejeweled Twist engine and told them to go nuts.
cloudeagle on
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augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
Isn't it weird how under the radar this game is flying? I mean I'm on Popcap's promotional email list, and I didn't get anything from them about it (to say nothing of there being absolutely nothing about it on Popcap's homepage.)
I also don't need IDLE TWIST up in my face every time I do it. You know. I understand the concept, game.
Also I got a Needle.... bug... guy... gnat? Thing. Because I thought it would be awesome. My creature creating locked tiles? At the same time I'm getting the idle twist penalty? Uhh...
Tip for you guys: when you get to "Combo" stones, where you are supposed to get 5 or more combos in a "series", they don't really mean a series. They mean all at once. I was proud of myself for setting up the board properly so that you could get 5 in a row. Just wasn't what they were asking for. And to be honest I didn't think 5+ combos were possible until I was shown how to do it.
It's been amazing to me how much some of the beasts suck to use. Particularly the Wasp and Cait Sith. I keep expecting the higher level ones to have better versions (i.e. bigger affected area) of their previous spells, but with few exceptions this isn't the case. I kinda wish it was free to switch them in and out so I could experiment more. Or have an "ability preview" beyond just the description. My favorite is still the beetle with the big 3x3 cross move. It's very reliable to be able to set up rushes with.
Following previous advice, I've also found the game to be much better/easier when you just NEVER Idle Twist. It's very, very rare that there isn't a single match on the board. Don't rush to your moves, don't rush to cancel theirs. Just keep your chain going. 90% of the time things "just work out" anyway, resulting in victory.
So I tried the demo yesterday (well, most of it. Had to stop early).
As a pretty big fan of puzzle quest, I was impressed!
I'm curious about a couple things though, as money is tight, and I'm not sure if I want to pay the $15 when I could buy Torchlight or something (or maybe the PC version of PQ :P ).
1. How does the difficulty scale? Having the enemies attacks on an actual timer rather than a turn timer, seems to make the game pretty easy. I mean, you just need to click fast enough to move two same colored gems near it, and your golden.
edit: I know that your opponent gets extra power for each meaningless twist you make, though it didn't really seem to matter, as I could generally be carefree about it, and he would either not get enough power for his next move, or if he did, I would just cancel it out again anyway! Randomly matching stones as I go to boost my own power.
2. How long is it, and how exactly do the RPG elements fit in? I know you level up and stuff, though I didn't notice what that actually did. More HP or something? Any mini-games or "sidequests" (such as the literal sidequests in PQ, or making armor and weapons, etc)?
So I tried the demo yesterday (well, most of it. Had to stop early).
As a pretty big fan of puzzle quest, I was impressed!
I'm curious about a couple things though, as money is tight, and I'm not sure if I want to pay the $15 when I could buy Torchlight or something (or maybe the PC version of PQ :P ).
1. How does the difficulty scale? Having the enemies attacks on an actual timer rather than a turn timer, seems to make the game pretty easy. I mean, you just need to click fast enough to move two same colored gems near it, and your golden.
edit: I know that your opponent gets extra power for each meaningless twist you make, though it didn't really seem to matter, as I could generally be carefree about it, and he would either not get enough power for his next move, or if he did, I would just cancel it out again anyway! Randomly matching stones as I go to boost my own power.
2. How long is it, and how exactly do the RPG elements fit in? I know you level up and stuff, though I didn't notice what that actually did. More HP or something? Any mini-games or "sidequests" (such as the literal sidequests in PQ, or making armor and weapons, etc)?
I can't really answer your second question, but for your first, you've got the enemy attack system wrong. The number above the enemy ability gem is the number of twists until it explodes. It's not a timer so much as a turn limit. And the difficulty scales quite quickly from what I've heard (and rather sharply). Pretty soon, you start being punished for idle twists, which grant the enemy a large portion of their ability gauge and counts down double on their ability gems. So yes, it gets much more difficult.
So I tried the demo yesterday (well, most of it. Had to stop early).
As a pretty big fan of puzzle quest, I was impressed!
I'm curious about a couple things though, as money is tight, and I'm not sure if I want to pay the $15 when I could buy Torchlight or something (or maybe the PC version of PQ :P ).
1. How does the difficulty scale? Having the enemies attacks on an actual timer rather than a turn timer, seems to make the game pretty easy. I mean, you just need to click fast enough to move two same colored gems near it, and your golden.
edit: I know that your opponent gets extra power for each meaningless twist you make, though it didn't really seem to matter, as I could generally be carefree about it, and he would either not get enough power for his next move, or if he did, I would just cancel it out again anyway! Randomly matching stones as I go to boost my own power.
2. How long is it, and how exactly do the RPG elements fit in? I know you level up and stuff, though I didn't notice what that actually did. More HP or something? Any mini-games or "sidequests" (such as the literal sidequests in PQ, or making armor and weapons, etc)?
I can't really answer your second question, but for your first, you've got the enemy attack system wrong. The number above the enemy ability gem is the number of twists until it explodes. It's not a timer so much as a turn limit. And the difficulty scales quite quickly from what I've heard (and rather sharply). Pretty soon, you start being punished for idle twists, which grant the enemy a large portion of their ability gauge and counts down double on their ability gems. So yes, it gets much more difficult.
Correct. Based on this board and a few others I've read the now infamous "Idle Twist Penalty" stage is a real sticking point for a lot of gamers. The solution, ironically, is to not Idle Twist. It's just that for people who haven't played Twist before (like me) this sort of comes up sooner than you're ready for it. The other time the game can be hard/frustrating is if you rush and start playing against creatures that are at or above your level. There's some voodoo going on behind the scenes and it's pretty much impossible to beat them. For example, they will get all of their abilities unlocked on almost every turn, whether you Idle Twist or not.
As far as length: I've been playing several hours (10 maybe?) and I'm on Stage 10 of 12. I've been pretty meticulous about at least getting the gyro codes in each stage (but not necessarily grinding for the high score awards). Gathering the gyros is sort of optional, and many are guarded by a little specific game (such as the x5 combo/cascade discussed above). Unless there's some big surprise gameplay twist at the end of the game, this is going to have zero replayability for me. No character class, no stat builds, no fortresses, no equipment. And likely by the end of the game you will have experimented with most of the pokemon.
So in terms of "ambition" it does fall well short of PQ. But god damn I still love the fact that I don't have to sit and watch the computer get a 4 match, to be replaced with all +5 skulls and kill me. (Yes I still believe that shit was rigged so sue me).
Really? It bothers me that the opponent is just these two guages that fuck with you when they get full, and they don't interact with the board at all.
Later in the game it's a bit more interesting. Playing -as- a wasp sucks. Playing -against- a wasp can be a challenge (as all of their ability stones will be locked). By Lv30 a single Idle Twist will put all 3 of your opponents moves on the board. It is then up to you to figure out whether to chase after them, focus on your offense, etc. I agree with you for early on. But later fights feel much more like an epic duel, and man I can't even imagine if the computer was also taking turns. It would just be a mess.
Really? It bothers me that the opponent is just these two guages that fuck with you when they get full, and they don't interact with the board at all.
Later in the game it's a bit more interesting. Playing -as- a wasp sucks. Playing -against- a wasp can be a challenge (as all of their ability stones will be locked). By Lv30 a single Idle Twist will put all 3 of your opponents moves on the board. It is then up to you to figure out whether to chase after them, focus on your offense, etc. I agree with you for early on. But later fights feel much more like an epic duel, and man I can't even imagine if the computer was also taking turns. It would just be a mess.
I dunno. Seems like a pretty cushy job being the computer. You just sit there...the other guys fucks up? you do cool shit. He doesn't match anything? you do cool shit. He dooesn't match the right color? you do cool shit.
Really? It bothers me that the opponent is just these two guages that fuck with you when they get full, and they don't interact with the board at all.
Later in the game it's a bit more interesting. Playing -as- a wasp sucks. Playing -against- a wasp can be a challenge (as all of their ability stones will be locked). By Lv30 a single Idle Twist will put all 3 of your opponents moves on the board. It is then up to you to figure out whether to chase after them, focus on your offense, etc. I agree with you for early on. But later fights feel much more like an epic duel, and man I can't even imagine if the computer was also taking turns. It would just be a mess.
I dunno. Seems like a pretty cushy job being the computer. You just sit there...the other guys fucks up? you do cool shit. He doesn't match anything? you do cool shit. He dooesn't match the right color? you do cool shit.
This. It's basically SE's way of being lazy and not program an AI.
Really? It bothers me that the opponent is just these two guages that fuck with you when they get full, and they don't interact with the board at all.
Later in the game it's a bit more interesting. Playing -as- a wasp sucks. Playing -against- a wasp can be a challenge (as all of their ability stones will be locked). By Lv30 a single Idle Twist will put all 3 of your opponents moves on the board. It is then up to you to figure out whether to chase after them, focus on your offense, etc. I agree with you for early on. But later fights feel much more like an epic duel, and man I can't even imagine if the computer was also taking turns. It would just be a mess.
I dunno. Seems like a pretty cushy job being the computer. You just sit there...the other guys fucks up? you do cool shit. He doesn't match anything? you do cool shit. He dooesn't match the right color? you do cool shit.
This. It's basically SE's way of being lazy and not program an AI.
I don't know if I'd go that far with it. I think it's less about being lazy and more a deliberate design choice. Sure, you lose out on the strategic elements associated with planning for the computer's moves, making sure you don't leave any cascades for it, etc. But you gain a lot more board control. You can plan out how you're going to move everything around because you're the only one messing with the board. Plus I personally like that the AI's attack mechanic is nothing like mine. It's like I'm fighting against something totally different using my own skillset (Bejeweled Twist) as opposed to fighting something with the exact same basic skills I have with slight modifications, a la Puzzle Quest. I'm not saying the Gyromancer system is inherently better than Puzzle Quest's system, but I don't think it's the other way around either. They're just different systems with different pros and cons. After playing tons of Puzzle Quest, I'm finding this one refreshing for now.
I suspect part of the reasoning could be the ongoing debates about cheating AI in Puzzle Quest. This way the AI cannot possible be cheating, because it's not doing anything.
I suspect part of the reasoning could be the ongoing debates about cheating AI in Puzzle Quest. This way the AI cannot possible be cheating, because it's not doing anything.
Oh it can cheat. Just wait until you pop four ability gems and they all just happen to be surrounding the enemy ability gem that's going to explode next turn.
I suspect part of the reasoning could be the ongoing debates about cheating AI in Puzzle Quest. This way the AI cannot possible be cheating, because it's not doing anything.
The AI is still hypothetically in charge of what drops.
Also, I'm completely at a loss. I've beat the game including going back to the last stage, and collected all the gyro codes. But I still don't have any of the beasts in the bottom row. Is it Challenger's Door related? Are they rewards for getting all challenges in a stage (I've only 100%ed one of them)? Or am I missing something completely? If they are uber powerful and I was supposed to have them for the endgame that would suck.
I hope it's not Challenger's Door because I'm not liking that at all. Back to Level 10 I just feel helpless. It's like being back at the point where Idle Twist came into play and I hated the game for a few hours. There must be something awesome you can get tho because one of the challenges there is to :
Get your chain level to 7. I assume it's just some crazy damage attack. Never actually gotten one though.
Pfft. That's why I never got one of those. Totally impractical/unbalanced. You would have to prolong a battle to an absurd length to come anywhere near that. I just tried with 3 of my beasts to get it and it's next to impossible (you will accidentally kill anything by about Chain 4). Hehe. I did actually clear the entire board while trying tho (3 Phalanx Tridents going off at the same time). Guess I'll have to bring a lower level guy.
I wonder if unlocking the uber beasts is related to the Gyro Chains?
I'll keep trying, not for the achievement but just to see the attack. The achievement I doubt I'll get is the 120 awards one. I didn't get the 5000 points on my first runs, and it would just be a ton of grinding for what, 10 GS? Plus all the Challenger's Door ones? No way ...
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In Stage 6,
1) My Lv23 fighting a Lv25 went about as well as I figured it would. Seriously, no amount of fancy twisting could have won there.
2) Wanted to get a Gyro code on my way back to the door, but the stone in front of it required a x5 cascade. After about half an hour with plenty of "crafting" flashbacks from PQ I gave up. Are people really able to set that up at will? I was trying to play the bottom but honestly I would have had just as much luck getting a match of 3 at the top, and having 5 more sets of 3 fall into their place. Did get x4 several times tho.
Also, in hindsight I have no idea why I bought this for XBLA. I don't think I knew the Steam release was concurrent. With PQ and Galactrix I played them on the PC and generally would be chatting or watching TV at the same time. It feels a little strange to play this on the 360 and only be doing that.
For the 5x cascade challenge, can you idle twist? If so, it would be relatively simple. If not....
I'd probably just try matching gems randomly for a while, I seem to get cascades all the time.
You can idle twist to your hearts content during those stone challenges. It makes them rather trivial, though still occasionally frustrating.
And then you run into the one in the trial that requires a 7x Cascade. :?
AAB
BBC
CCD
DDX
XXAAXA
Have X be anything. You can even restart the sequence after two different colored gems in a row. Stack that up as high as you want. Then just twist the bottom into a match and the whole thing falls down.
I thought I would give that a try first, to see if I wanted to actually purchase the thing.
So I downloaded the demo via Steam, but it doesn't seem to want to launch. I never even see anything, it just closes right away.
My 360 tag: Redcat Rising
I could have sworn I did the 3x cascade like that. Maybe I just happened to get another cascade when it cleared. Sounds like quite a nightmare either way.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
PQ was broken in a good way, in that it was too flexible such that you could really give it to the CPU hard if you wanted. Galactrix was broken because the devs forgot that the gameplay should be centered on the battles and normal gameplay mechanic and not the fucking lame timed puzzles. I won't say Geomancer is broken, but the puzzle mechanic just doesn't appeal to me at all. I just don't find it fun. Pretty art and a weak (and tired) story don't help. I was expecting some innovation here and I just don't see it.
The game does have several consumable items, such as magic mirrors, which allow you to rotate counter-clockwise when used.
But I do agree with you on several points.
The "Twist" part that so many of us aren't used to (myself included) really does start to feel very natural after you put a couple hours in, and I personally find Gyromancer very flexible with the right monster usage. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, certain monsters are just beasts. Earlier today, through a couple well-placed yellow twists, I was beating monsters in 3-4 turns. Certain monsters are just total powerhouses. If you just hate the twist, well then, not much to be done. But if it just seems unfamiliar, I would suggesting spending a bit more time with it. The twist really becomes second nature soon enough.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
In a sense this is more SquareEnix's baby. PopCap literally gave them the Bejeweled Twist engine and told them to go nuts.
I also don't need IDLE TWIST up in my face every time I do it. You know. I understand the concept, game.
Also I got a Needle.... bug... guy... gnat? Thing. Because I thought it would be awesome. My creature creating locked tiles? At the same time I'm getting the idle twist penalty? Uhh...
It's been amazing to me how much some of the beasts suck to use. Particularly the Wasp and Cait Sith. I keep expecting the higher level ones to have better versions (i.e. bigger affected area) of their previous spells, but with few exceptions this isn't the case. I kinda wish it was free to switch them in and out so I could experiment more. Or have an "ability preview" beyond just the description. My favorite is still the beetle with the big 3x3 cross move. It's very reliable to be able to set up rushes with.
Following previous advice, I've also found the game to be much better/easier when you just NEVER Idle Twist. It's very, very rare that there isn't a single match on the board. Don't rush to your moves, don't rush to cancel theirs. Just keep your chain going. 90% of the time things "just work out" anyway, resulting in victory.
As a pretty big fan of puzzle quest, I was impressed!
I'm curious about a couple things though, as money is tight, and I'm not sure if I want to pay the $15 when I could buy Torchlight or something (or maybe the PC version of PQ :P ).
1. How does the difficulty scale? Having the enemies attacks on an actual timer rather than a turn timer, seems to make the game pretty easy. I mean, you just need to click fast enough to move two same colored gems near it, and your golden.
edit: I know that your opponent gets extra power for each meaningless twist you make, though it didn't really seem to matter, as I could generally be carefree about it, and he would either not get enough power for his next move, or if he did, I would just cancel it out again anyway! Randomly matching stones as I go to boost my own power.
2. How long is it, and how exactly do the RPG elements fit in? I know you level up and stuff, though I didn't notice what that actually did. More HP or something? Any mini-games or "sidequests" (such as the literal sidequests in PQ, or making armor and weapons, etc)?
I can't really answer your second question, but for your first, you've got the enemy attack system wrong. The number above the enemy ability gem is the number of twists until it explodes. It's not a timer so much as a turn limit. And the difficulty scales quite quickly from what I've heard (and rather sharply). Pretty soon, you start being punished for idle twists, which grant the enemy a large portion of their ability gauge and counts down double on their ability gems. So yes, it gets much more difficult.
Correct. Based on this board and a few others I've read the now infamous "Idle Twist Penalty" stage is a real sticking point for a lot of gamers. The solution, ironically, is to not Idle Twist. It's just that for people who haven't played Twist before (like me) this sort of comes up sooner than you're ready for it. The other time the game can be hard/frustrating is if you rush and start playing against creatures that are at or above your level. There's some voodoo going on behind the scenes and it's pretty much impossible to beat them. For example, they will get all of their abilities unlocked on almost every turn, whether you Idle Twist or not.
As far as length: I've been playing several hours (10 maybe?) and I'm on Stage 10 of 12. I've been pretty meticulous about at least getting the gyro codes in each stage (but not necessarily grinding for the high score awards). Gathering the gyros is sort of optional, and many are guarded by a little specific game (such as the x5 combo/cascade discussed above). Unless there's some big surprise gameplay twist at the end of the game, this is going to have zero replayability for me. No character class, no stat builds, no fortresses, no equipment. And likely by the end of the game you will have experimented with most of the pokemon.
So in terms of "ambition" it does fall well short of PQ. But god damn I still love the fact that I don't have to sit and watch the computer get a 4 match, to be replaced with all +5 skulls and kill me. (Yes I still believe that shit was rigged so sue me).
Later in the game it's a bit more interesting. Playing -as- a wasp sucks. Playing -against- a wasp can be a challenge (as all of their ability stones will be locked). By Lv30 a single Idle Twist will put all 3 of your opponents moves on the board. It is then up to you to figure out whether to chase after them, focus on your offense, etc. I agree with you for early on. But later fights feel much more like an epic duel, and man I can't even imagine if the computer was also taking turns. It would just be a mess.
I dunno. Seems like a pretty cushy job being the computer. You just sit there...the other guys fucks up? you do cool shit. He doesn't match anything? you do cool shit. He dooesn't match the right color? you do cool shit.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
This. It's basically SE's way of being lazy and not program an AI.
Switch: US 1651-2551-4335 JP 6310-4664-2624
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I don't know if I'd go that far with it. I think it's less about being lazy and more a deliberate design choice. Sure, you lose out on the strategic elements associated with planning for the computer's moves, making sure you don't leave any cascades for it, etc. But you gain a lot more board control. You can plan out how you're going to move everything around because you're the only one messing with the board. Plus I personally like that the AI's attack mechanic is nothing like mine. It's like I'm fighting against something totally different using my own skillset (Bejeweled Twist) as opposed to fighting something with the exact same basic skills I have with slight modifications, a la Puzzle Quest. I'm not saying the Gyromancer system is inherently better than Puzzle Quest's system, but I don't think it's the other way around either. They're just different systems with different pros and cons. After playing tons of Puzzle Quest, I'm finding this one refreshing for now.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
Oh it can cheat. Just wait until you pop four ability gems and they all just happen to be surrounding the enemy ability gem that's going to explode next turn.
God damn cheating AI! :P
You can't. You can only switch between full screen and windowed at different aspect ratios. As far as I know, all Popcap games are like that.
The AI is still hypothetically in charge of what drops.
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Also, I'm completely at a loss. I've beat the game including going back to the last stage, and collected all the gyro codes. But I still don't have any of the beasts in the bottom row. Is it Challenger's Door related? Are they rewards for getting all challenges in a stage (I've only 100%ed one of them)? Or am I missing something completely? If they are uber powerful and I was supposed to have them for the endgame that would suck.
I hope it's not Challenger's Door because I'm not liking that at all. Back to Level 10 I just feel helpless. It's like being back at the point where Idle Twist came into play and I hated the game for a few hours. There must be something awesome you can get tho because one of the challenges there is to :
Get your chain level to 7. I assume it's just some crazy damage attack. Never actually gotten one though.
Pfft. That's why I never got one of those. Totally impractical/unbalanced. You would have to prolong a battle to an absurd length to come anywhere near that. I just tried with 3 of my beasts to get it and it's next to impossible (you will accidentally kill anything by about Chain 4). Hehe. I did actually clear the entire board while trying tho (3 Phalanx Tridents going off at the same time). Guess I'll have to bring a lower level guy.
I wonder if unlocking the uber beasts is related to the Gyro Chains?