Konductra (Nintendo DS) - Review by Dennis

Introduction

oeFun and O3 Entertainment bring their first Nintendo DS title to the gaming crowd in the form of Konductra. With a slight resemblance to Nintendo's Polarium, Konductra is also a puzzle/action title in which creating links is the central concept.

In Konductra, the game field consists out of a grid in which the player must place colored tiles. Adjacent tiles of the same color can be linked and removed from the field. A simple concept, but harder than it sounds.

Gameplay

Konductra contains 4 different game modes, of which one remains a secret until you've fully played it. Each of the three remaining modes offers a completely different way of playing the game.

In Score mode for example, you can take your time determining your strategy and prepare long links of tiles to increase your score.

In Task mode, you focus on just a select group of tiles. Make sure you reproduce a given template and get rid of all the other tiles as quickly as possible. There's no need to create long links here, just fulfil your task. The puzzles are not extremely hard once you get the hang of it.

The Versus mode (either against the CPU, or a human being over local Wi-Fi or the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service), your task is to eliminate your opponent as soon as possible. No time to think, it's act, act, act! Beware though: while the Versus CPU mode presents you little resistance during the first few levels, the pace is rapidly picked up!

Controls

The game is played using the stylus only. Tiles always come in blocks of two, which you place by dragging the stylus over two empty spaces. No need to think about rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise, simply drag and be done. Creating links of tiles is also implemented very intuitive; Simply drag the stylus over the adjacent tiles to draw out the path of tiles to be removed. Release the stylus at the ending block and you're done.

Graphics

Konductra is a puzzle/action game. Are graphics really important in a puzzle game? I say no. The true value of a puzzle game lies within the difficulty and originality of the puzzle-concept. As for the action part of the title, graphics can indeed have a major impact on the gaming experience of a title, for example as it is necessary to distinguish different tiles fast to be able to withstand your opponent.

Konductra's graphics cannot be called state of the art, however the graphic artists did manage to fulfil their task. Using bright colors, one can easily see the different tiles within mere seconds and get a decent overview of the situation. Flashy tiles can only distract you in times of need, but I have to admit that there is some room for improvement.

Sound

Just as with graphics, sound is not what makes or breaks a puzzle title. However, the background music in Konductra ca be considered to be annoying after hearing it loop time after time after time. My suggestion is just to disable the sound as a whole, as you're better off without it.

Dual screen

Most of the action goes on at the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS. The top screen is used for displaying information about your opponent during versus matches, to show the template you need to copy during Task mode, or to display your current score. Also, on the bottom of the top screen oeFun decided to show the block of tiles heading for your field. This leaves a clearer view on the bottom screen, while keeping the information you need nearby.

During versus matches, you'll be mostly paying attention to your own playfield on the bottom screen. As action takes on, the pace in which you need to decide where to put a block of tiles picks on too. This leaves you with limited time to observe your opponents status and thus to decide what the optimal position for your tiles will be.

Final comments

Konductra is a nice title to pick up for puzzle loving fans. Those who worship Polarium may either think of this title as blasphemy or a worthy addition to their gaming stock.

Pro: Nice puzzle concept.
Con: Puzzles are a bit easy, versus mode picks on difficulty rapidly.
Final score: 7.5

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