Customer Reviews

Honeycomb Beat

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Where some games which claim to be puzzle games are actually falling block games, which there is nothing wrong with, but this is actually a puzzle game.

To explain how it works, you tap a cell of the hexagon grid and it and all cells which contain a common edge with it will flip to the other color. All you need to do is get rid of the color and turn the shape they give you white. That may sound simple, but it is very hard. In fact, it seems to be the consensus on the internet that Level 4 puzzle 10 is impossible. (So skip that one.) These puzzles do not have time limits, which is nice. You want solve in the minumum number of moves, and it will show you that number. You are not able to go past 10 over the best solution, but the reset puzzle button is right there on the screen and refreshing is instantaneous (and doesn't mess with the music).

What makes me enjoy this game the most, besides the clever puzzles, is the unlockables. They are doled out generously and you know how many there are since they are in the config menu with ??? rather than the name. You start with three background music (two techno and one solo piano) and five backgrounds. Also you can change the color of the cells you are trying to get rid of.

When you do a certain amount of puzzles, you get new wallpaper sets. To unlock music, is seems you use "evolution" mode. This is as close as Honeycomb Beat comes to the falling block genre. The sheet of cells creeps from the bottom and you must eliminate rows before it hits the top. Unfortunately, you can erase a line which is not the top one making it extra difficult for you. And the tools, such as arrows that change lines, etc, start showing up in Evolution mode around level four. The ranking that this mode gives you is rather harsh, or should I be flattered that, while halfway through the game, I have only now transcended from jellyfish to housefly.

This game allows for four different profiles to be made. It seems that, if I am an average player, that you could be finished with half of the puzzle mode in about six hours. And there some of you, and possibly myself, will get stuck. This is not an easy game, but the challenge is fun. Though when I solve some of the harder problems, I have no idea how I did it. Evolution mode I am not good enough at to get past level four, yet, and I have only spent about one hour on that.

As far as content, sure, it's for everyone. Though I think this might be a bit too advanced for the singile digit age crowd. The Sudoku and Akari crowd will probably really dig this. I consider it a solid buy and an el primo time waster and prefrontal cortex stimulator.

Puzzle mode has 20 levels of 10 puzzles. A Tutorial is included.

Honeycomb Beat marks another puzzler release on the DS, which already has it's own hefty line of solid puzzle games. Despite it's derivative feel, gameplay, and overall delivery though, Honeycomb Beat manages to provide enough fun and challenge to make it pretty solid overall. When first poppong in Honeycomb Beat, you'll notice an uncanny resemblance to Lumines as you use the stylus to tap the touch screen in an effort to change the colors of the hexagon-shaped grids that resemble, well, honeycombs. Touching said hexagon in turn changes the color of the surrounding ones and so, and that's basically the kick of the game. Like most other puzzlers, the game gets harder the longer you play, but there isn't much reason to stick around far into the game. There are 200 puzzles to play through, but the real challenge of the game doesn't become apparent until much later, which by that time, you may have already lost interest. There just isn't much incentive to keep playing through like that of which can be found in various other, superior, puzzlers you can find on the DS. Still though, at least Honeycomb Beat looks good and features a charming style with some nice music beats as well. All in all, Honeycomb Beat isn't a bad puzzle excursion one bit, and it will hold your interest for a brief time, but there are other puzzlers for the DS that are much more worth your time.

Basics: You tap hexagons to flip them and their adjacent ones over so that no colored ones remain on the playing field. Directional items, special hexagons and varying field shapes add variety and complexity as the levels increase.

Pros:

Puzzles have no time limit.
Difficulty increases gradually.
You are encouraged to solve them in the fewest steps possible.
Most solutions at most steps are usually symmetrical in some way(The two most asymmetrical solutions, 19-04 and 20-05, are IMO the most challenging to solve).
The earlier levels teach you the techniques you can use in order to solve the harder levels.
Strategies can be developed to find solutions or to at least significantly reduce the number of possible sequences to test.

Cons:

Presentation is somewhat basic.

Comments:

Initially it will seem easy, but rest assured by the later levels, it becomes quite a difficult challenge. I really enjoyed analyzing the harder-level puzzles and deducing the likely sequences to test. If you enjoyed Prism, then you will enjoy this game.

The game also includes a mode where you clear the lines from a moving sheet using the techniques you learned in puzzle mode. If you want watch this mode being played at a high level then search "honeycomb deleted" on youtube.

I thought this game was gonna be alot more. And it isnt that the concept is hard. As a previous reviewer said there isnt much reason for a person to keep going. except to unlock different wallpapers and songs. The music is cool and the graphics are ok for a puzzle game. Theres just to many other good puzzle games out there for the ds to recomend this. And with many more on the way.

This game is a lot like Lights Out, for anyone familiar with that game. The goal is to turn all the lit up honeycombs off. It is challenging, but fun. Puzzle mode starts out easy and gets slightly tougher as you move along. It isn't timed, but counts "beats", or moves. Evolution mode is scrolling so you have limited time to clear lines before any of the honeycombs hit the top of the screen.

This game was not as much fun as I thought it would be. It seems a little difficult to move the combs and make the levels disappear.