Given the insane popularity of Puzzle Quest, DS match-three/level-grinding fans are going to line up as soon as they can for Infinite Interactive's follow-up, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. According to Gamestop, they'll be exploring the game's dramatic storyline and color-matching hexagonal gems this October. The retailer's website now lists Galactrix with an October 14th release date.

Upon hearing this news, Eric's monocle fell right out and he sprang out of his leather chair, exclaiming "By Jove! I must arrange for delivery of this item immediately upon its release! To the phones -- post haste!" Alisha was more reserved, but we saw her teacup tremble a bit.

via dsfanboy.com

Though we were seriously hoping for a Soul Calibur, Bubble Bobble mashup, it appears that the new Eidos action-puzzler Soul Bubbles might still be worth our time, promising unique puzzle-solving gameplay and... lots of bubbles.

Developed by Mekensleep, Soul Bubbles has players guiding mystical spirits to safety by transporting them in bubbles. The game features 40 levels of gameplay, with each level focused around delicately guiding the spirits in bubbles, as well as using bubbles to solve environmental puzzles. The microphone will appropriately be used for bubble blowing, and the game will also rely heavily on stylus control.

Already Soul Bubbles is sounding a bit more unique than your standard puzzle title, but let's hope that the game doesn't pull an Elebits and ultimately fail in the execution. Soul Bubbles is currently slated for a summer 2008 release.

via joystiq.com

Not content to suck our lives away later this year with Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, D3Publisher of America and Infinite Interactive announced today that a downloadable expansion for the Xbox Live Arcade version of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords will be available this spring. Dubbed "Puzzle Quest 1.5" internally, the officially unnamed expansion pack includes a new area on the southern end of the map with four fresh professions (Bard, Ranger, Rogue, and Warlock), 25 new quests, 50 additional spells, and 40 items in a story centered on Antharg, the Lord of Plague.

"Infinite Interactive has delivered much more than the average expansion pack and the incredible amount of content that it will include sets a new precedent for offerings on Xbox Live Arcade," said Peter Andrew, VP of product development at D3. "As much as 'Puzzle Quest 1.5' appropriately describes the new content, we look forward to having our fans name the next iteration in the Puzzle Quest universe."

via 1up.com

When you think about puzzle games, titles that involve abstract geometrical shapes (like Tetris) are probably the first things that come to mind. Professor Layton, though, is a different breed of puzzle game, one that you might not be used to. This charming title makes you solve actual brainteasers -- the kind that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

It's hard to imagine a game being completely devoted to puzzle solving. Usually, games will include puzzle-solving elements, but they won't revolve around the whole concept. Yet, Professor Layton manages to do this in a way that's enticing, entertaining, and addicting, showing us that even the simplest ideas can become the best of games if handled properly.

via dsfanboy.com

The Venture Beat site is reporting that Three Rings, the developer of the fantastic Puzzle Pirates and the unique microtransaction title Bang! Howdy!, landed a big chest of gold this past summer. I imagine the gold was given to them in the form of American currency, as the company negotiated for some $3.5 million in venture capital money. The site also notes that the company's unique virtual currency platform is enormously successful, with $4 million in revenue reported by the company for 2007.

Though the site's article on the investment is light on what that VC money will be used for, they do briefly discuss Three Rings' work on the Whirled platform: The success of [the virtual currency] model has helped propel the company to 30 employees and is planning its new social networking game world, Whirled, where users will be able to create their own avatars, games, rooms, music, and pets.

via massively.com

The genre "survival horror puzzler" sounds like an unholy union of Professor Layton and Resident Evil, and we'll admit that it's enough to get us interested. WayForward Technologies -- developers of the acclaimed Shantae on Game Boy Color -- have just announced LIT, a 3D horror title currently under development exclusively for WiiWare.

According to the press release, LIT follows the story of Jake, who is trapped in a high school overrun with evil creatures, trying to find his girlfriend, Rachael. WayForward's first original IP since Shantae, LIT will feature horror elements, boss battles, and lofty expectations from its developers, who are excited to be working once again with internally-developed properties. Check out some more slick concept art in the gallery below.

via joystiq.com

D3Publisher and Infinite Interactive sent out word that the latest in the Puzzle Quest franchise, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix will be releasing to the Xbox Live Arcade sometime this Fall. Details are light, but D3Publisher revealed that Galactrix will take the franchise into the sci-fi genre, nearly opposite of its older brother Puzzle Quest: CotW. D3Publisher also promise to include a "rich and detailed storyline and fresh gameplay elements" into the mix. Which is a good thing, we wouldn't want Galactrix to have a non-existent storyline or stale gameplay elements ... that gets a thumbs up from us.

via xbox360fanboy.com

We've known a Puzzle Quest sequel was coming out for some time -- turns out, we've known longer than we thought. In April 2007, D3 Publishers announced Galactrix, a "blend of puzzle, RPG, and strategy games" with sci-fi twist. This week at GDC, D3 announced it again (via Gamespot), only this time re-branded as Puzzle Quest: Galactrix.

The obvious gameplay difference from Puzzle Quest is the hexagonal board, adding to the board's complexity. Galactrix is due out this year for DS, Xbox Live Arcade and PC; a PSP version could not be confirmed.

via joystiq.com

First off, a Bejeweled ‘Match 3’ role-playing game shouldn’t work. The most casual and the least casual ends of the gaming spectrum shouldn’t be brought together and tied in a strange knot like this. However, anyone who played the Nintendo DS version of Puzzle Quest will know that, against reason, it does work - and that this is a finely-balanced and incredibly compulsive re-invention of the basic Bejeweled recipe that should rightfully have slipped into derided cliche.

Basically, you and an opponent take turns on a board populated by four colours of mana, skulls, coins and stars. Swap two adjacent squares to match colours, and you’ll charge your mana reserves. Skulls directly damage your opponent. Coins add to your wealth, and stars give you an XP boost. Spells can be cast at different costs to each of your four elemental mana banks, and the huge range of spells can all be deployed to beneficial effect (and sometimes backfire) depending on the state of the board. On top of competitive play, you can capture enemies, learn their spells, train mounts and forge items from runes - each of which takes you on a variation of the main game’s theme.

via gamesradar.com

In the recent tradition of offbeat, narrative Nintendo DS adventure games like Hotel Dusk and Phoenix Wright, ubiquitous Japanese developer Level 5 has a charming new game heading to stores called Professor Layton and the Curious Village. It's been out in Japan for a good year now, but the game's formidable mix of devilish logic puzzles and a heavy reliance on written and spoken dialogue made importing Professor Layton a daunting prospect for anyone but fluent speakers of Japanese.

Well, good news: Layton is due out in North America next week, and from the looks of a preview build we got to play, it has gotten a top-notch localization. You'll play the role of the affable Layton and his quick-witted assistant, Luke, who have traveled to the village of St. Mystere to solve the mystery of a puzzling last will and testament left by the late, eccentric Baron Reinhold. The will's bequeathal hinges on a mysterious object called the golden apple, so everyone involved with the will in some fashion is scrambling to figure out just what the golden apple is, and where it might be located.

via gamespot.com

Ex-Naughty Dog developers John Hughes and Andrew Gilmour have announced the first title from their new studio, Steel Penny Games. Bruiser and Scratch in the Case of the Puzzling Paw is said to "blend a challenging puzzle game with dramatic fantasy environments and appealing characters for an exceptionally satisfying experience." That's a similar description we'd give to critical darlings Zack & Wiki and Sam & Max. Here's hoping Bruiser enjoys the latter's commercial success (and not, unfortunately, the former's dearth in sales).

via joystiq.com

Meidell and Cordes have founded the Copenhagen, Denmark-based casual game house, The Game Equation. The firm has just released its first game, the puzzler Deep Blue Sea, which features “match three” gameplay and music by Danish composer Rasmus Hartvig...

via next-gen.biz

There is perhaps no other PSP title as innovative and quirky as Zoe Mode's Crush, a puzzler that successfully implemented 2D and 3D gameplay like we've never seen before...

via pspfanboy.com

At first glance Puzzle Guzzle looks like a cheaply made dime-a-dozen puzzle game retread. Sure, this PSP title has characters that resemble the cast of kid show Rolie Polie Olie, but the puzzles look to be, at the very least, different...

via 1up.com

Agetec, Inc. today announced it will be publishing Puzzle Guzzle for North Amercian audiences next spring. According to the press release, "players race to assemble triangles and other shapes by rotating marked squares pieces."...

via pspfanboy.com