Galcon Labs

It’s going to be hard to describe Galcon Labs without severe visual aids. The game is weird, to say the least. A mini-game consisting of planets, numbers and triangle spaceships; this title combines shapes with fast-paced math. And while that might sound like a terrible idea or hard to pull off, Galcon Labs can actually be surprisingly addictive.

Galcon Labs is math and things like geometry? I don't know, science stuff.

The goal of the game is to take over the galaxy in a campaign divided in planetary areas. A bunch of circles represent all the planets and the numbers on them stand for the amount of ships within. Two or 3 teams take on each other in various game modes, such as a mode where flying ships can crash into each other or a billiards mode, where planets are constantly moving. The culmination of this short campaign with differing difficulty is the last area that introduces the Stealth mode. Here, the enemy ships are instantly cloaked as they charge towards planets. And while that doesn’t sound like much, it is quite the predicament.

As said, a couple of teams are divided amongst 3 colors, representing both their planets and the ships they spawn. Additionally, grey planets are neutral zones ripe for the taking by whoever takes down the ship number. As all planets vary in size, their girth also indicates the speed at which ships spawn on that specific circle; therefor making larger planets the desired targets.  However, neutral planets do not grow in numbers. Players can select 1 or more planets, even all of them at once, after which they can choose to launch either half of the units or all of them at the desired target. Ultimately, the objective is to take over all enemy planets or targets.

The X represents a cloaked number. Paying attention will help to find out if it's weak.

The fun part is that the instant math and fast pace keep things going, without the time to mull things over. Usually, a battle is a hectic race to thwart the opponent and take over their planets more than it is about taking all circles. It might sound strange, but once playing, most of the math explains itself and it’s simply a matter of looking for the biggest yet weakest planets. Later on, it’s also important to keep a track of targets or try and keep up with the enemy’s cloaked numbers. The variation in game modes is sufficient to keep gameplay fresh. In addition, furthering the campaign also unlocks the modes in the Fusion settings, where players can pick and choose their challenges.

The not-so-fun part is that it can get a bit much to control properly. At least with a regular controller, moving around the planets is somewhat confusing in the cluster of combat. It can become unclear where the current target is, what is selected and so on, which leads to matches lost or unnecessary frustration. This game would definitely benefit from being touch-enabled; in fact, it’s pretty much built for it. This can make it less appealing for console release, but at least it’s not a game breaker.

Pretty much what a game of Galcon Labs is about. Don't try and figure it out, just do it.

As a mini-game, Galcon Labs is definitely worth a try. With its crazy math action and simple visuals and gameplay mechanics, it does open up into a more complex challenge. And while the control issues are annoying at times, the game itself is surprisingly more fun that its very strange appearance would give away at first. But for the best experience, it is recommended to try this one on a touch enabled device.

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Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)