PixlBit

Intelligent Systems is well known for their Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, and Paper Mario series, but as it turns it out, they are quite capable of producing many different types of lower budget games. Puzzle games are one of the more familiar genres for these types of games for the company, and Link 'n' Launch is their latest. The DSiWare title is a solid and unique puzzle title with elements that aren't very common for the genre.

The focus of Link 'n' Launch is to try and launch a rocket ship from a starting point to a target planet. To do so, players must build an incomplete fuel link in order to gas up the rocket for launch. This is done by dragging specific tiles with the stylus to the proper locations on the fuel line. When players complete a fuel link, the rocket ship will travel a certain distance and then the process must be repeated to reach the destination within three minutes.

Link 'n' Launch also contains a puzzle mode comprised of 100 different puzzles, in which players will attempt to complete the fuel path with as few moves as possible. If players perform well they will earn a gold medal, and conversely if too many moves are made players will earn a lesser medal. I was pleasantly surprised with how different each of the puzzles were, and considering the variation and difficulty level it felt very satisfying to earn a gold medal on the more challenging puzzles.

One aspect I really enjoyed was the branching paths contained within each level that allow players to control the destination by fueling specific segments of the rocket. This allows players to form a strategy by selecting whether they want to build the path section that will lead to upgrades or time extensions, all the while trying to keep the ship on course.

While almost every aspect about the title was solid and entertaining, my biggest complaint lies with the rate at which the difficulty ramps up. At first, the game started off reasonably, but quite abruptly ramped up in difficulty. This was frustrating as it changed the gameplay from redeeming and enjoyable, to hectic and hasty. Because I felt the difficulty was ramping properly to that point, it was disappointing to see the game take such a turn.

Link 'n' Launch is a solid puzzle game that is enjoyable and rewarding even though there are some frustrating moments that could impede enjoyment of the game. This puzzle title will suit gamers who can think fast, especially when the game throws some tough segments in a tight time limit.