Honeycomb Beat – NDS – Review

Is the
Nintendo DS the best thing that’s ever happened to puzzle games? Some would
argue it’s the first Game Boy, a handheld that put Tetris in the hands of more
than 30 million gamers worldwide. But as important as it was for people to
play Tetris and make the genre a viable platform for developers, it is more
important that the genre continues to evolve. Meteos, Tetris DS, and Kirby:
Canvas Curse are three of the best puzzle (or puzzle-oriented) games released
in the last two years. And they were all made, from the ground up, for
Nintendo DS.

Now Konami
and Hudson have a game they hope will earn just as much acclaim: Honeycomb
Beat. It sounds like a music game and doesn’t look like much of anything. The
linked, six-sided objects (honeycombs) and basic color display are nothing out
of the ordinary. Where could this game possibly take us that we haven’t
visited before?

 

That’s the
easy assumption. It’d be easy to say that about Othello as well. But if you
give that game a shot, you’ll find that while it’s one of the easiest games to
learn, it is impossible to master. Honeycomb Beat is not a game with that much
riding on its shoulders. You will learn to play in minutes (the tutorial is
extremely short) and be overcome with the depth that goes into each puzzle.
But you will not be overwhelmed by its difficulty, which is perfectly
balanced, or become infuriated by a situation that shows no sign of hope. In
this game, all puzzles were designed with logical solutions.

A Touch
of Color

Honeycomb
Beat offers two different puzzle games within the same concept. The two are
separated by game modes, the first being Puzzle Mode.

 

The
fish-shaped pattern is much more demanding than it looks. Your mission: to
remove all yellow pieces (and turn the fish white) in eight moves or less. You
can go over eight – the game is somewhat forgiving. But you won’t fully
complete the level unless the move objective has been met.

Like the
circular objects in Othello, all connecting honeycombs can influence each
other. If you touch the yellow honeycomb in the center of the screen – the one
with six yellow honeycombs surrounding it – all seven honeycombs will change
to white. However, if one of those honeycombs had already been white, then one
of them would be turned to yellow. This is where your thinking cap is most
needed. It is also needed to consider: what happens if the colors are
scattered? How do I manipulate the honeycombs without damaging the puzzle?

The idea of
solving a puzzle within a certain number of moves is as old as Tetris Attack.
But the way it’s done here, with an Othello-style setup, is very unique. There
are 20 areas within Puzzle Mode, and each area has 10 possible paths to
explore. Each path is equal to one puzzle, for a total of 200 different
puzzles in this mode alone.

Puzzles are
reached through a branching point map that works like the puzzles themselves,
as illustrated in the next image:

 

If you look
at the blue honeycomb on the top left corner of the screen (in area 3), you’ll
notice that there are three honeycombs attached to it – one on the right side
in area 3, and two just below it in area 4. The latter three puzzles become
available as soon as the first one (the honeycomb in the top left corner) is
completed. If it’s completed within the given number of moves, the honeycomb
will turn solid blue. If it’s completed in excess of the given number, the
honeycomb turns light blue. All incomplete honeycombs are white.

Besides
unusual shapes and patterns, the game stays challenging with the addition of
arrows and numbers.

 

Arrowed
honeycombs will, once activated, send a color-changing stream in the arrow’s
pointed direction. Numbered honeycombs must be touched the specified number of
times before they’ll become fully active. The two examples in the above image
say “3.” If I touch it once, nothing happens. I touch it again – still
nothing. Only after the third touch will it and all adjacent honeycombs
changes color.

What’s the
point of this? To further challenge and boggle our minds! One helpful hint is
that, while numbered honeycombs will not change by being touched, you may
touch an adjacent honeycomb to alter its color. Consider that and you should
be able to come up with an interesting solution.

Endlessly
Evolving

Honeycomb
Beat’s 200-strong puzzle collection was all it needed to ensure this game will
not leave my DS for the next several weeks. But there’s icing on the cake: a
mode called Evolution. Rather than a series of pre-made puzzles, Evolution is
a mode where rows of honeycombs are constantly moving toward the top of the
screen.

 

Instead of
turning every honeycomb from yellow to white, the goal here is to eliminate
rows by making the entire row the same color. There are several tricks to
doing that, a few of which can get you through most situations.

One of the
hardest-looking scenarios is actually the easiest. Suppose you have one white
honeycomb and five yellow honeycombs. Let’s say that the white honeycomb is
close to the middle, with two yellow honeycombs on its left side and three on
its right side. This puzzle looks hard and can be difficult if you don’t think
it through. But there’s a simple solution: touch the last yellow honeycomb on
the far left. That honeycomb, along with the one next to it, will turn white.
Now you have three white honeycombs in a row. Tap the centermost white
honeycomb and all three will turn yellow, creating a line of six yellow
honeycombs. The line, now all one color, disappears.

 

Needless to
say, Honeycomb Beat is not a game you should resist. Add it to your
games-to-get list at once.


Review
Scoring Details

for Honeycomb Beat

Gameplay: 8.5
A puzzle-ful
classic that marches to its own beat. Honeycomb Beat’s color replacement
strategy gives the game amazing flexibility. Anyone can learn to play it. But
to master the game will take much more than quick reflexes. This is a game of
thought, a game of depth, and a game deception. When a puzzle looks
simple, chances are you aren’t looking close enough. The truth is revealed the
minute you start touching the honeycombs.


Graphics: 4.0
Honeycomb Beat’s
graphics could have come from any generation past the NES. They’re appropriate
for this title, but they’re far from being a tasty treat for those seeking eye
candy.


Sound: 7.9
There’s only one
word needed to describe Honeycomb Beat’s sound and music – catchy.


Difficulty: Medium
The
upward-scrolling Evolution Mode isn’t too heartbreaking, but you’ll be
thinking hard and run the risk of going crazy from the stationary puzzles.
They are a mind-boggling challenge that, upon completion, will fill your brain
with satisfaction.


Concept: 8.5
Two great
puzzlers in one.


Overall: 8.5
A lot of DS games
have attempted originality – Honeycomb Beat actually accomplishes
something. It’s an incredibly fun, obsession-producing puzzler that runs on
brainpower. This game is not about being the fastest player to knock shapes
into place – it’s about coming up with a solution to a very original puzzle
set. You’ll stare at the screen and think, “I’m never going to solve this.”
When you finally do, when it all finally clicks – that’s when this game is
most beautiful. That moment is when Honeycomb Beat becomes the most satisfying
puzzle game since Tetris DS.