Planet Delta (Xbox Indie Games) Review
Posted by Trace Aber on 09.09.2009
Planet Delta has you traveling to the core of a mysterious place, but is the trip worth the price? Find out in Trace Aber's latest review
Title: Planet Delta
Publisher: Evolution Dreams Studio
Developer: Evolution Dreams Studio
Players: 1
Genre: Puzzle
Rated: N/A
Evolution Dreams Studio has thus far made three games, with two of them being released on the Xbox 360’s Indie Games Service. I have reviewed their most recent game, Bomb Disposal Expert, but now we’re going to go back to their first game, Planet Delta. Released in November of last year, Planet Delta will run you only a buck (or 80MP) and offers a couple of twists on the typical match three puzzle games. It features both a story and arcade mode (along with a practice mode) and forty levels overall. But is it enough to spend your spare Microsoft points on?
First off, for the two of you not familiar with the concept of a match three puzzle game, your goal is to group three like items and this typically will erase them from the screen. When you get rid of every item on the screen, you win the level. That is the basic premise behind Planet Delta but the people at Evolution Dreams Studio have put a bit more work into the game than that. First off, you’re on a journey to the core of Planet Delta and how you choose to get there is up to you. Well, at least you can choose which background you would like to play seeing as how there’s not much else to differentiate levels. But the backgrounds are nice, if basic looking. They range from mountains to jungles to, of course, the core of Planet Delta. You have a little robot companion (I like to call him Paul Roma) who cheers you on and floats in the air. He will also push the balls where they need to go. So, all in all, pretty sweet life for Paul Roma.
Ok, so he doesn't look anything like Paul Roma.
Anyways, you and Paul Roma will encounter a series of roadblocks and obstacles along your path. You place balls in the field by holding the ‘A’ button until the shadow of the ball is where you want it to be. After a few rounds of this, however, Paul Roma gets lazy and decides to not tell you where the ball will land and you have to figure it out on your own. This can be a bit tricky at first but after a few rounds you start to get the hang of it. There are also a wide variety of different obstacles in your way, including the typical rocks and what not. Planet Delta does offer some new ball types you don’t typically see in similar games, though none of them prove too difficult. If you hit some they will cause the screen to rise up, and some that will cause the screen to lower. Some can be destroyed after matching three balls around it, and some will change colors to whatever you destroyed on it. While they provide a few more levels of strategy, they never really add to the game and you can beat the level without realizing what each one does.
Planet Delta is your typical match three game that tries to be different but doesn’t succeed completely. Yes, there are different elements that could make it stand out but unfortunately they don’t add the challenge you would first expect. Obviously towards the end of the game they do get more difficult, but I never found myself retrying a level more than a couple of times. But, for the dollar asking price you do get a lot of game and fans of match three games should definitely look into Planet Delta. For the rest, you’ll probably be better off without it.
Graphics
7.0
Nothing too special but nothing offensive
Gameplay
6.5
Fans of the puzzle genre will get a bargain
Sound
5.0
The game does feature dynamic music but it's nothing special
Lasting Appeal
7.0
Fans of match three games have plenty of levels to play and for 80MP they're getting a great deal
Fun Factor
6.5
Simple to learn gameplay and it's worth checking out the new additions to the genre
