Gunpey

Gunpey DS/Gunpey
Developer(s)	Q Entertainment, Art Co., Ltd, Koto Laboratory
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai Games
Designer(s)	Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color
Release date(s)	October 19, 2006 Nintendo DS JP October 19, 2006 NA November 17, 2006 EU March 30, 2007 AUS April 13, 2007 PlayStation Portable NA November 17, 2006 JP January 11, 2007 EU March 30, 2007 AUS April 13, 2007
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone 10+ OFLC: General

Gunpey and Gunpey DS are a pair of puzzle games for the Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable handheld video game console. It is based on a video game of the same name that appeared on the Wonderswan handheld. The game was named as a tribute to the developer of the game, Gunpei Yokoi.^[1] He is also the designer of the Wonderswan and Nintendo's Game Boy system.

Gameplay

The DS and the PSP versions are essentially the same, but each of them have something unique about them. Lines of four various angles, namely a caret, inverted caret, left slash, and right slash, scroll towards the top of the screen in a five column wide playing field. The player may slide the line fragments only vertically, either to move them or switch them with another segment. The objective is to assemble an unbroken line from the left side of the screen to the right. After doing so, the line will glow and there will be a few seconds for the player to augment the line with additional branching segments to achieve a combo bonus. A large bonus is awarded when all of the line segments are cleared from the playing field. The rate at which the new pieces scroll up from the bottom increases as the levels go on, and the game ends if any broken line fragments reach the top of the screen before they have been assembled into a full line.

DS Version

The DS version has a more "extreme" space cowboy theme, and does not suffer from slow D-Pad controls. Players have the option of using the touchscreen to more efficiently slide pieces up or down, or go with the classic, though more sluggish, D-Pad. There are two modes called Music Box, and G-Note, which add a slight variety to gameplay. There are nine playable characters, each with a different skin, and different sounds during gameplay.

PSP Version

The PSP version is reminiscent of Lumines, and has a total of 40 skins, which slightly "alter" gameplay. Additionally, it offers two modes of play, "Original" and "Break". Break mode differs from original in that any line segments above a completed line will drop down after that line has been cleared, which makes it without a doubt the easier of the two.

Additionally, the player is given the option in the main menu to play a 10 x 10 grid versus the default size for added challenge.

References

1. ^ IGN: Gunpey DS [1]

External links

Official sites

• Gunpey official site (2006/2007 DS/PSP edition)