Dialhex is a good puzzle game, but its simplicity works against it.Dialhex is a game I want to like. The gameplay is solid, but the package it comes in does it no justice. Well, the
package is pretty cool, with the shiny chrome look and the collector-type box. But the game as it is played on a Game Boy Advance is too limited in scope to make it worth the import, even though it is a unique concept.
The playfield is a giant hexagon that has small colored triangle tiles raining down into it. A hexagonal-shaped cursor controlled by the player can be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise, and in doing so the triangles inside will be rotated along with it. Grouping six like-colored pieces into a hexagon will clear them from play, where surrounding tiles slide in to fill the hole.
At the start of a game, the tiles drop down at a slow rate. Too slow, actually. The option to speed up the falling tiles is awkward, requiring both the rotational buttons to be held down. That makes it tricky to keep a steady stream of new tiles falling and spin the tile cursor at the same time, especially on the GB Micro. (A/B or L/R can be used for tile rotation.) The beginning of most games are boring as a result, almost feeling like a waste of time.
As a game goes on, though, the tiles drop rate begins to ramp up considerably. Eventually, they fall faster than you can realistically clear them. Special tiles can save your bacon when that starts to happen. Clearing a hex that contains a flashing special tile will cause all tiles of a color to clear from the board, make all tiles of one color change to another, or open up a hole underneath the stack that drains most of the tiles out of the hexagonal container. The latter can eliminate around 70% of the tiles in play if it's used in the right spot.
Forming the hexagons is what makes the gameplay interesting. Two overlapping hexagons share two triangle tiles, meaning if you have formed a partial hex that needs just one more wedge, you'll need to position the final piece so that it can spin in at the same time the off-color piece spins out. It's easy when the tile pool is shallow, but as the fishbowl starts filling up with raining triangles, you need to quickly decide whether or not it'll be worth it to take the time to make multiple spins for just one hex, versus two or three easier ones elsewhere. This is important to know for the special tiles, because if you take too much time rounding up the bits of matching color to clear one, the downpour of tiles that come in the meanwhile will end your game. Figuring out how clear tiles quickly and efficiently is the only way to keep the session going.
Dialhex has three game types: Solo, Endless, and Versus. (I was unable to try Versus mode, unfortunately.) Solo requires that you clear six hexes of a particular color, after which a new color tile is introduced. Clearing six of that color will send in another. After clearing the eighth color, the game is completed. By clearing the fourth color in Solo, Endless becomes available. It's a self-explanatory mode in which four different colors (which change from time to time) are to be cleared for as long as possible, with your best score saved for future record-breaking attempts.
And then...well, that's it. Solo mode will take no more than a half-dozen attempts to clear completely--being the puzzle veteran I am, it only took me two tries--and there is no incentive to keep playing it after doing so. Endless mode can be opened up quite easily, and all it's good for is to see if you can better your best score. Aside from the two-player option, I've just described the entire game. There is not enough content in the game to make it worth the price of importing, especially since you'd probably be playing it by yourself.
What's worse is the unrealized potential of the Dialhex mechanic. Solo and Endless are good starts, but a time trial mode would have been good to see how many hexes could be cleared in a given time limit. A puzzle mode to clear a given playfield in a certain amount of spins could have added a lot more variety. The triangle tiles could have also been manipulated to make various patterns, like how tangrams are made up of different shapes. If just one of these hypothetical game modes were included, it would have helped the game considerably. Tetris is the most basic puzzle game there is, yet developers still seem to come up with new ways to play the same game. Why not with Dialhex?
Dialhex is supposed to be simple like the rest of the titles in the bit Generations series, but with only two single-player modes—which are really one mode with two different rule sets—it's too simple for its own good. The gameplay is strong enough to make it a game worth trying out, but probably not until it comes to the United States with (hopefully) a budget price. Dialhex is an example of how a little bit more could have gone a long way in making a game better, and that sometimes simple can be a bad thing.
If Dialhex sounds like it would be a game you'd like to try out, our import partners at Lik-Sang will be glad to hook you up!
Pros:
Interesting gameplay concept, strong enough to carry the game Sounds and music simple, yet soothing
Cons:
Not much to do, and not much incentive to keep playing what's there Unrealized potential
Graphics: 4.0
The game doesn't look bad. The graphics are just the minimum needed to show the player what's happening. Plain black backgrounds with simple colored triangles falling in, with appropriate visual cues. Putting in some more flash would have done the game a lot better.
Sound: 7.0
The music is okay, but it really acts as a complement to the tings and tangs made by falling pieces. Combined, the two provide a soothing, almost hypnotic background in which you can dial hexes uninterrupted.
Control: 8.0
Solid controls, except for one complaint. L/R and A/B control the rotation of the dial, but to manually speed up the raining tiles, you need to press L+R or A+B. If there was an option for one-button speed up, it would make things easier to grasp on the GB Micro.
Gameplay: 7.5
It's a nice puzzle game concept that keeps you on your toes as the difficulty ramps up. Special tiles can be a lifesaver or a death sentence, depending on how quickly they can be activated. There is a lot of unrealized potential for different game modes, unfortunately. That doesn't take anything away from how good the game plays, but the real killer is...
Lastability: 3.0
There is not a lot to do. Solo mode may take a few times through to beat, but chances are you're going to unlock Endless mode on the first or second attempt. Once that happens, you may come back to Endless once every two or three days to try to improve your score. Even though the game is good, you're going to see the whole thing within the first hour and wish there was more stuff to do.
Final: 6.0
Dialhex is thin on features, but to its credit, the gameplay is strong enough to stand on its own. It could have been so much more if it weren't so basic, but what's there is there. Puzzle game fans will like it, but probably not enough for it to be worth the import price. Keep this one in the back of your mind, because it may be worth a look if it comes to your region on the cheap.
Topic: REVIEWS: Dialhex (Read 1755 times)
