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Gyromancer

EMAIL PRINT xbox360

7.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 27 critic reviews
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Based on 4 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Square Enix

Genre(s): Role-Playing Game

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: November 18, 2009

Summary

[Xbox Live Arcade] Gyromanceris a puzzle-roleplaying game (RPG) featuring a unique battle system based on Bejeweled Twist combined with elements of Square Enix role-playing games. Battle system: Gyromancer has a new battle system based on Bejeweled Twist. Command unique beasts to battle your foes. Hidden treasures: Search the map for items, coins, and new beasts to fight at your side. Gain levels in battle and acquire powerful new beasts. Deadly mage: Assume the role of Rivel, a deadly mage, as he rids Aldemona Wood of a brooding darkness. [Square Enix]

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TeamXbox

PopCap and Square Enix have managed to find just the right amount to take from each of their strengths to make a game that’s easily accessible and instantly addictive.

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NZGamer

A true successor to the Puzzle Quest throne and the new puzzle game RPG champion.

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Kombo

Fans of Bejeweled will love this game. Fans of Square Enix's stories and art have a lot to enjoy, too. If you like both, I'll go call rehab.

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IGN

Gamers looking for fast-paced excitement and thrills might find themselves nodding off, but there is quite a bit of depth to be explored if puzzlers and dungeon crawling is your thing.

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Eurogamer

Gyromancer has longevity, it's fearsomely addictive, and it's more absorbing the more you play it.

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My Gamer

Gyromancer is fun though, despite the weird difficulty curve but playing against human opponents can be more entertaining. Here’s the skinny: it’s defiantly not as great as Puzzle Quest, but it’s defiantly better than the oft forgotten Puzzle Kingdom.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Despite the re-hashed ideas, there are more than enough unique tweaks to the formula to warrant giving Gyromancer a spin.

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Gamervision

Popcap and Square-Enix's first joint effort isn't perfect, but damn if it isn't enjoyable.

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Worth Playing

Gyromancer manages to present itself as a worthy rival to Puzzle Quest but doesn't quite pack in enough to make it the new favored franchise in the genre

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Console Monster

Gyromancer is an interesting game and puts a slightly different twist on the puzzle-matching-RPG spliced game play. The trouble here is Puzzle Quest can now be had for 400 MSP pummelling the 1200 asked for by Square-Enix, particularly given just how much entertainment can be had in the alternate game.

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Game Informer

Gyromancer is not as complex or demanding as many of the big name titles on retail shelves, but high production values and polished gameplay carry it a long way.

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GameTrailers

While it doesn't grant a great sense of depth or progression, Gyromancer successfully leverages fantasy RPG elements to add an additional level of interest to a proven puzzle game experience.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

The game does have a surprising amount of content for its price tag. Beating the boss is only the beginning of each level, as the fights unlock additional parts of the map, complete with mini-bosses, unique puzzles, and new beasts to collect.

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GameSpot

In another hard-to-put-down game from PopCap, casual puzzles meet card games and role-playing games.

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Official Xbox Magazine

Great aesthetics and monster designs. [Feb 2010, p.85]

GamingTrend

In the end, however, Gyromancer feels like somewhat of a wasted opportunity because of some poor design decisions, which is a major disappointment.

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GamingXP

Gyromancer is an addictive puzzle game, yet the setting might feel a little stale.

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MS Xbox World

While most RPG style puzzlers will always be in the shadow of Puzzle Quest; Gyromancer makes a strive to be more, but falls short of that goal. Players will spend hours enjoying the puzzle part of the game, but for 1200 Microsoft points some may feel a bit cheated because of the insipid story.

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X360 Magazine UK

Each ruckus ends by attributing your loyal companion with experience points, and it's this part of the game that really drives you to continue on your journey. [Issue#54, p.105]

Edge Magazine

It's easy to assume that Gyromancer is a clone of Puzzle Quest...The truth, perhaps, is that it's simply an improvement on the formula. [Jan 2010, p.98]

Gamer.nl

PopCap and Square-Enix come together to create a successful puzzle-RPG. The well thought out game mechanics ensure that you keep on playing to get another reward. On the other hand, the game costs a lot of time and after a few hours you can’t help but wonder what on earth you’ve been doing for the past couple of hours.

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Teletext GameCentral

A shameless clone of role-playing puzzle hybrid Puzzle Quest, but a slick and addictive one all the same.

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GamePro

Gyromancer also takes a while to get the hang of thanks to a poorly explained tutorial, and the lack of multiplayer seriously hurts the game's replay value; still, gamers get quite a bit of bang for their buck (it's priced at 1200 MS Points, which is $15), and while it won't win any awards for originality, it's a slick and addictive puzzle experience that's sure to keep Bejeweled and Puzzle Quest fans playing late into the night.

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Gamer 2.0

if you’ve got a PC, and if you’re reading this you obviously do, then you might be better served to just buy Bejeweled 2.

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Official Xbox Magazine UK

For match-three nutters only. [Jan 2010, p.115]

Gamer Limit

A few hours of Gyromancer and the novelty will wear off, and you will be left bereft, wishing you were playing the original RPG puzzler, not this knock-off with prettier pictures.

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GameShark

Gyromancer has its heart in the right place. The unique abilities of beasts add an enjoyable twist to a familiar game, but efforts to innovate are nearly thwarted by a single mechanic that is often more punishing than challenging.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Alan R gave it a3:
A poor POOR attempt at making a Puzzle Quest type game. It lacks depth on so many levels it's not even funny. Puzzle Quest is infinitely better than this garbage.

[anonymous] gave it a5:
Comparisons to Puzzle Quest are inevitable, and sadly, this game is inferior. As expected, Square Enix delivers on the music and graphics fronts; character art looks gorgeous and the music is nice to listen to, but the gameplay itself falls flat. Where Puzzle Quest had TWO people duking it out on the same board, Gyromancer has you playing by yourself; the only one twisting gems is YOU. All the enemy is good for is dropping his "ability gems" on the board now and again, which will eventually kill you if you don't get rid of them. So, basically, you're playing alone. There's also no inventory system; for that matter, all the customisation in the game comes down to choosing which 3 monsters you're going to bring with you. Difficulty is NON-EXISTANT; whenever you hover your mouse over a cluster of gems which will give a match, it glows. All you have to do to win is swish your cursor all over the screen untill you find a glowy spot. Of course, there is room for skill and finesse, but the casual crowd can do whatever it wants. In the end it looks and sounds nice, but feels shallow.

[anonymous] gave it a10:
Wonderful game. Great graphics for a puzzle game and fun to play! It took a little bit to get used to needing to make matches every turn to deal max damage and take less damage from the enemy, and I kept dying because I was trying to set up awesome matches, but the game style really focuses on making sure you recognize matches immediately instead of setting things up without making a match.

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Game Info

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What The Critics Said

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