Gelatinous Good Puzzle Fun

Published May 12, 2009

Have you ever wondered just what would happen if you fused the puzzle-game goodness of a "match-four" game (think Bejeweled® 2, Poker Smash™) with gel-based critters and blocks and a 3-D world? No?

Well, be glad developer Gastronaut Studios (makers of Small Arms™ and Fuzzee Fever on the original Xbox) did. Their latest Xbox LIVE® Arcade entry, Gel: Set & Match, injects some action into the foundation of a puzzle game, or is it puzzle elements into an action game? Whichever way you look at it, Gel represents a new, addictive, and much-appreciated wrinkle on an already much-loved genre.

Better hurry with those blocks!

Gel Matching
Gel is at its core a "match four" game, meaning your basic goal is to move similarly colored blocks next to one another until you've matched four together. Whether the formation is a box, T-shape, L-shape, or in a line, it doesn't matter. Provided one side of each block touches one side of a like-colored block, the blocks dissolve, points are gained, and celebrations are held.

Where Gel breaks free from convention is the manner in which you match these blocks. You interact directly with each block in a 3-D world, literally pushing them, picking them up, throwing them and climbing atop them to slot each block just so in order to clear the area.

Now, in most similar games, your part in the matching process would end after that first step, but in Gel you're just getting started. For example, let's say you slide a fourth green block into a line of three, making a set of four. Rather than instantly disappear in a shower of particles and points, the blocks in Gel begin the relatively slow process of dissolving.

During this melting process, you can run to and fro, grabbing hold of other green blocks and slinging them back into the melting mass. Provided you're swift enough, you can keep adding blocks to the mix, earning bonus Combo points along the way.

Do you see the solution?

A moving block can trigger a meltdown as well. Let's say you've got a line of three blue blocks on one side of the screen and another set of three on the other. If you hurl a spare blue block, you can trigger the melting process on both sets, provided it comes in contact with each set while skidding across the board. Such moves are called Chains.

Gel Modes
Gel offers three different gameplay modes: Puzzle, Action, and Battle, each of which offers a distinctly different Gel experience.

• Action: Clear a path for an aid vehicle on its way to minister assistance to remote Gel villages. Alas, the vehicle either has no brakes or its driver simply doesn't have the patience to apply them. Whatever the case, if you don't clear away the blocks and demolish the obstacles in its path, the vehicle is going to plow right into the mess. If it hits too many objects, the vehicle breaks down. It's this constant time-crunch that gives Action mode a sense of exhilarating tension as you hurry every which way to rid the path of pesky blocks.
• Puzzle: This mode offers a more contemplative but no less challenging approach to Gel gameplay, as you clear a board filled with blocks in as few moves as possible. Each puzzle has its own "par" number of moves, so this mode is all about efficiency.
• Battle: If it's head-to-head competition you crave, Battle mode has you covered. Get ready to battle it out for the highest score in Fever Points, race to match your own marked blocks before your opponents in Emblem, or earn bombs with which to blow your friends sky high in Volleybomb.

Gel with Friends
Puzzle-based games are often a solitary endeavor, but Gel hopes to change all that with cooperative play. If you thought your high scores and level complete times were fast before, imagine the added efficiency gained from a teammate. Whether you're splitting the color responsibilities down the middle in Action mode, or bringing both your minds to bear on a Puzzle level, cooperative problem solving adds another layer of depth to the already weighty gameplay.

Bombs away!

Gel Customization
While the semi-solid bipedal critters you play as in Gel are brimming with charm (use the Right Thumbstick to trigger some hilarious dance moves), you can use the stars you collect through gameplay to buy new heads, bodies, hats, and colors to outfit your character. If you've always longed to sport a glowing yellow complexion with a chef's hat, mutton chops, and shades, go right ahead.

Gel: Set & Match from Gastronaut Studios LLC helps redefine match-four puzzle games, giving life to the genre by way of lovable characters that physically shape abstract puzzles in a 3-dimensional space. Add to that a number of fresh gameplay twists that help infuse a normally static genre with on-the-fly action and reactions, and Gel is set to make a name for itself on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Article by Ryan Treit