Puzzle Quest is a fascinating example of experimental genre-splicing in videogames done right. 2007's Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords took Bejeweled-style gameplay and dropped it into the fantasy milieu, complete with Orcs, D&D-styled character classes and an engrossing XP-based leveling system. Puzzle Quest: Galactrix takes a similar approach, starting with Hexic-style gameplay and dropping it into the realm of science fiction, complete with space pirates, ship customization, and interstellar exploration. If you enjoyed the original Puzzle Quest, you'll undoubtedly fall in love with the series' latest permutation.

The function of the science fiction setting in Galactrix is to put all the different game varieties into context. Space combat, the default game type, takes ship statistics and special items into account, which includes various lasers, bombs and other game-modifying powers.

As your character progresses in levels, you'll be able to allocate skill points to gunnery, engineering, science, and piloting. Gunnery provides bonuses for red energy, engineering yellow, science green, and piloting blue. The red, yellow, and green energy types are used to power your different weapons and items, while the blue resource restores your ship's shield defenses. The objective in these space battles is always the same: Match the space mines to deal damage to the opposing ship's shields and hull, complement your attacks with your carefully selected weaponry, and blow the enemy to bits.


Other game types mix things up nicely. You'll mine asteroids for different types of cargo by matching different icons without locking the board. You'll play the economy with this cargo to buy new gear and even new ships. The demand for various cargo types changes based on what system you're visiting, so you'll often be schlepping goods all across the galaxy for the best deals.

You unlock "leap gates" which allow you to travel to other parts of the galaxy map by matching different colors in a timed game. Haggling for better prices at various space ports is accomplished by clearing a certain number of tiles on a fixed board that doesn't bring new tiles into the playfield. Acquiring plans for new item types allows you to play a construction game, where you create parts by matching specific colors, and then match those parts together to meet a minimum requirement. The variety of game types is easily as rich and entertaining as the selection from Challenge of the Warlords.