Puzzle games either last for forever or for 15 minutes. If the gimmick takes hold, it never lets go and people are still clearing lines 20 years later (Tetris) or being adapted into oddly captivating RPG hybrids a la Puzzle Quest (Bejeweled). Honeycomb, like its dual-colored DS cousin Polarium, just doesn't grip the player, and it's not apparent why. The key elements are there: simple gameplay that scales as the game progresses, puzzle mode, and timed challenge mode.

Honeycomb Beat is trying to capitalize on the success of Q Entertainment's Lumines - this much is obvious from the title. Beat implies that there is a rhythm component to the game, but it's just what Hudson has decided to call the tap of a hexagon - or honeycomb.

In puzzle mode, the player is supplied with a random assortment of honeycombs - all of which are either orange or white. The goal is to turn all the honeycombs white in the prescribed number of moves. There's no time limit, but there is a par value for each puzzle. Shoot 10 over par and you get to try again. Every time a puzzle is cleared the adjacent puzzles (arranged in a honeycomb pattern) are available to the player. To break up the tedium "tap a honeycomb and watch the six surrounding honeycombs flip as well" Honeycomb Beat's puzzle mode also features special tiles. Dual-headed arrows, when beaten, flip all honeycombs in their path, numbered honeycombs must be beaten until they count down to zero and then act normally, and Hudson Bee honeycombs flip all honeycombs of the same color. With as powerful as the Bee honeycomb is, you'll be seeing a lot more arrows and numbers than you will insects. Puzzle mode is all about thinking, after all.

Timed challenge mode, much like puzzle mode, feels very much like a hexagonal version of Polarium. Lines of honeycombs scroll up from the bottom of the screen, and as lines are made monochromatic they are removed from the board. Challenge in this mode comes from two places: the speed at which new honeycombs enter the playing field and their size. Honeycombs are far too big and after the first level they move far too quickly.

Honeycomb Beat is a competent single-player game, but it lacks multiplayer - not online multiplayer, any multiplayer. In today's online-enabled world, lack of online multiplayer is unforgivable in game types that lend themselves to it, and puzzle games do just that.

Honeycomb Beat's lack of multiplayer combined with its lack of staying power make for a puzzle game that will only really appeal to those that bought their DS for Brain Age and other mental sharpening games. It's not robust enough to keep the typical gamer's attention, and its low difficulty level will leave puzzle fanatics wondering where the rest of their game is.

Apr 13, 2007 | 0 comments
Justin Last