
If it's one thing Intelligent Systems has become well known for over the years, it's their diverse game development. While they've had their hands in quite a few of Nintendo's biggest selling hits over the years, it's their Advance Wars and Paper Mario series that tend to stick out in most people's minds. Now, they've decided to try something a little different with their newest DSiWare puzzler, and the end result turns out to be a unique idea that actually feels fairly fresh in a genre that's chock full of clones and cheap knock-offs.
The core gameplay of Link 'n' Launch is built around the idea of launching a rocket ship into space enough times to reach the target planet. To accomplish this, you must divert fuel into the rocket ship's thrusters via various shaped tiles, each containing different shapes of fuel pipes. Some tiles contain straight pipes whereas others are "L" and "T" shaped. You have to rotate and flip them around the playing field using various pivot points on each tile. Once you manage to create a line for the fuel to flow into the thrusters, the rocket ship will launch further into space.
You can also guide the rocket ship directionally by lighting different combinations of thrusters. For example, if you light only the thrusters on one side, the rocket ship will launch diagonally in the opposite direction, whereas lighting the thrusters evenly will cause it to fly straight up. It's important to use these varying combinations in order to keep the rocket ship within the set boundaries of the playing field. Travelling outside of these barriers will cause you to lose the mission and be forced to start over.

There are basically three modes of play in Link 'n' Launch to choose from: Mission Mode allows you to attempt to guide your rocket ship to a target planet. The distance to the planet is measured in Astronomical Units (Au) and you're constantly given an update of how much further you need to travel in order to reach the planet and complete the mission. Of course you also have a three minute time limit to work with, making the speed with which you complete the many puzzles in each mission a vital part of the winning equation. Along the way you will be able to pick up spare parts to upgrade your rocket ship as well as time tiles to add additional time to your limit.
Aside from the main Mission Mode, the game also features a Training Mode to teach you all of the basics of the game in a very well-designed tutorial. There's also a Puzzle Mode that features the same type of puzzles you'll find in Mission Mode, only minus the time limit. Instead, you're measured by how many moves it takes you to complete the puzzle and then awarded one of three medals based upon your performance. And with 100 puzzles to take on, this mode alone is enough to keep you busy for very a long time.
Intelligent Systems have done a solid job of creating an engaging puzzle experience out of such a simple gameplay premise. All of the control are easy to pick up and master, but the puzzles do tend to be a bit too similar in style and can become a little repetitive over time. There's still plenty of challenge to be had and the game's later missions are absolutely diabolical in design and difficulty. You won't blow through this one in one sitting, that's for sure.

Visually, Link 'n' Launch is a very well designed game. While the outer space theme is simple enough, there are some nice touches in the detail of the rocket ship and the many tiles. Even the readouts on the screen are very legible and easy to read, even in the heat of moment when you're trying to quickly finish a mission before time runs out.
The music in the game is also quite catchy, and the subtle way the music plays in the background during the puzzles is a perfect mix for the action taking place onscreen. It's nice to see a developer keep the background music in the background instead of allowing it to dominate the presentation the way so many other puzzle titles tend to do.
Conclusion
Link 'n' Launch is easily one of the more unique puzzlers you're ever likely to play. It takes a very basic gameplay premise and moulds a unique outer space puzzle theme around it all. Intuitive touchscreen controls and an extremely basic set of gameplay objectives make the game easy to pick up but difficult to put down. While the game can become a little repetitive after awhile, it's a game that you'll find better suited for short quick bursts of play rather than long drawn-out playing sessions. Link 'n' Launch might not go so far as to set the puzzle genre on fire, but it's definitely unique enough to warrant a look from puzzler fans.
Comments 16
Eh, I'd maybe pick this up if it were 200 points. Looks like it's Escapee Go for me!
i cant see the "escapee go!" on this
Pretty much an insta-download methinks. Thanks
Really nicely crafted game (and review, Corbs!). What can you say, Intelligent Systems and Nintendo are a killer combination!
@abgar: Looks like 47drift only has 200 points to spend, so that's why he's choosing Escapee Go. An excellent choice imo.
Link 'n' Launch looks good but is it worth 500 points? Still a little on the fence about this. I remember a similar game to this on a minigame compilation I had a while back. You placed pipe pieces on a launchpad grid to route the most fuel to your spaceship. The difference was it was a 4 player game.
Wow, a 7? I was honestly expecting a 9 or at the very least an 8. Even IGN gave it a "Love It". This is definitely one of my favorites.
Oh, so this isn't a new Zelda game? =p
bboy2970: I have learned to read these reviews with a grain of salt. Listen to your friends, and the forums. Keep in mind that the review is one person's sole opinion. A 7 is pretty close to an 8 though, and that's what I gave this game, so take that for what its worth.
I was also expecting it would be a 9. If nothing good comes out on Monday, I'll either get this or Rollaway Puzzle.
@sonic_brawler95: Definitely get this. Rollaway Puzzle is Ok but the technology is just too imprecise. This game definitely has a higher level of polish to it.
Remember our 7 is about an 8 on many site's review score tables. It's a solid puzzler, I just felt like there was more they could have done with it to keep it feeling fresh through all 8 Missions and 100 Puzzles. Still, good value for 500 points. And as grumblegrumble said, always check out other reviews and opinions of the game before making any kind of judgement. Every reviewer is different.
So I can have something to compare this game's score to, have you played Glow Artisan, Corbie? If so, what would you rate that game, especially in comparison to Link 'n' Launch? If not, no need to reply.
Glow Artisan Seems to have more includedinit. it is challenging, has differt difficulties, modes, more that 100 puzzles, and you can make your own puzzles. I like G.A. more than L.nL.
Glow Artisan and LnL are very different experiences to play. GA is more of an outstanding collection of logic puzzles. In LnL your goal is to pick the first strategy you can think of to solve 20 consecutive puzzles in about five seconds each. GA does have a time attack mode, but doesn't have the excellent space theme or rotating pieces to go with it. Overall, they're just different and can't really be compared.
As far as having more content, in LnL the content is predetermined, but the paths you take are basically random, and there isn't the pressure to require an optimal solution, so you can still do a ton with the content in LnL.
This game is worse than a seven.
The game is not bad, but you really need to know how to move the parts, so I recommend everyone that have buy these game to make all the tutorials AT LEAST 3 TIMES
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