Gunpey - Seeing Shapes Like the First Time
Among the trifecta of PSP puzzle games from Q Entertainment, Gunpey probably garnered the least pre-release hype. Lumines II was the obvious attention-grabber, having been one of the surprise hits of the PSP’s catalog; and Every Extend Extra getting sloppy-seconds from its E3 2006 exposure. Yet Gunpey sat like the neglected middle child, just waiting to be released so it can get it all over with.
But over the course of the past month, some strange things have occurred which changed the shift of focus. After the very American Lumines II (Hoobastank? Black Eyed Peas? Please…) was released, I think fans of the original realized there isn’t much that can be done with the core gameplay mechanic, aside from new skins and music. Lumines is Lumines, no matter which way you shake it. That L2 (my abbreviation) even recycled some skins from the first game, coupled with the much-publicized Lumines Live debacle, I think the franchise lost a little respect with the population of fans that escalated it to top-tier status. I’ve shied away from Every Extend Extra - partly because the reviews have been less than stellar, but mostly because it’s based on a freeware PC game that I really should try out first.
So then there was Gunpey. God love it.
Gunpey, like Every Extend Extra, is a remake of an existing title, having originally been released for the defunct Bandai Wonderswan in Japan. And the title also has significance: Gunpey is named after Gunpei Yokoi, the famed creator of Nintendo’s Gameboy, Virtual Boy, and Game & Watch products. Aside from the name-dropping and forced homage, the premise of the game sounded interesting enough. A random selection of four shapes scroll slowly to the top of the screen; the goal is to arrange the shapes five-across into a solid line, before the shapes reach the top of the screen.
This is definitely a Q title, but not as clear as one might think. First, the obvious: a generous helping of skins comprise each of the game’s levels, with each skin providing its own unique look and sound. And, of course, each of the skins contributes to the challenge by throwing distracting visuals at the player.
But now the less obvious: Where L2 is in-your-face (and slightly obnoxious, for the examples mentioned above), Gunpey is decidedly Asian, culturally-rooted, at times trance-inducing, and overall refreshing. Achieving a level unlocks the skin for that level, and looking at the list of unlockable skins it easily trumps the number available for L2, both in quantity and quality. Overall menu design is simplistic, yet futuristic, and the route from power-up to play is just a few clicks (and a loading screen) away. Nothing about Gunpey follows the same nay-subtle presentation of its Q puzzle cousins.
And the gameplay? Again, five-across eliminates the shapes. Several game options are available, but the meat of the game is in the Challenge mode to unlock skins. Here you can play Break, where eliminating shapes causes those above to drop; or Original, where those shapes at the top keep moving up regardless. Shapes can be rotated up or down within a single block on the puzzle grid, creating multiple combinations. The real treat is when a five-across is achieved, the grid freezes for a couple of seconds and other shapes can be added to the line, rewarding the player with a higher elimination score as well as the ability to dump some of those rogue shapes that keep causing problems toward the top of the screen. Setting up lines for that one needed piece is one thing, but rearranging orphan shapes to fit within the line before it disappears is a complete rush. Like Tetris meets Perfection, if anyone can imagine that combination.
Accessibility and skill are major factors in determining if a puzzle game is successful, and Gunpey nails them both. What it also has are those intangible factors that really propel it to must-buy status. Every time I play I realize what I did to cause the game to end, which drives me to pick it up and play just one more time. Of course, with all of the available combinations, there is a different cause every time I play. Which means I can’t put it down. Its addictive nature also has caused me to see shapes in my head - a symptom created by the original Tetris, and achieved by only a few select games since. Gunpey is proudly one of them.
So with its least visible title, Q Entertainment manages to release its best of its puzzle offerings. It’s a game that is clearly worth the low $30 retail price, but dare I say worth buying a PSP? At the very least, it makes that initial investment of owing one a lot less painful. I’ll be playing Gunpey for a long while. Let’s just hope I never see the Gwen Stefani version anytime soon.
