Square/PopCap Team-Up Gyromancer Twists Into Retail Nov. 18th

Grab your hair gel and thinking caps, people: Square-Enix/PopCap collaboration Gyromancer will be hitting XBLA and Windows in just twelve days.

Gyromancer, a team-up between casual magnate PopCap Games - makers of Bejeweled, Peggled, and Plants vs. Zombiesed, also known as the most addictive crack substitutes this side of World of Warcraft - and JRPG giant Square-Enix - makers of Final Fantasy and other games starring androgynous teenagers with hair that makes gravity feel inconsequential - turned some heads when it was announced at the Tokyo Games Show back in September.

Though the combination of traditional over-the-top JRPG spell effects and Bejeweled Twist started as a joke between the two companies, it's certainly a full-fledged project right now. It takes more than a few cues from Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, but with the astoundingly high production values PopCap and Squeenix's flagship titles are known for - plus, it's a twisting match-three game, which makes it totally different.

Either way, you'll be able to pick it up on Xbox Live Arcade and Windows on Wednesday, November 18th. While the above trailer doesn't mention what distribution platforms the game will use for the PC, one can surmise that like most recent PopCap offerings, Gyromancer will be available both on PopCap's own site as well as Valve's Steam.

Who's excited? Are we excited? Awesome - let's all be excited together.

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I am excited. As long as it doesn't exceed $15, I'll check it out. Hell, maybe I'd even be willing to part with a Jackson for this.

Can the human brain actually cope with that much epicness?!

Puzzle Quest was one of the best casual puzzle games ever. If this one will be just as enjoyable and available for a reasonable price, I'll definitely be checking it out.

Also, I'm pleasantly surprised that this game doesn't look like a typical Squeenix game.

not looking like i would ever buy that

I'm excited.

Considering I actually enjoyed Puzzle Quest Galactrix...

This might be pretty cool. :)

I really liked the concept of "Puzzle Quest"--hearing it awhile ago made it sound interesting and I was eager to try it. After getting it for my DS though...I just thought the system was kind of intimidating for me.

In some ways the system felt too "random" for me. I love that it felt like a simplified "Magic: The Gathering" game, but I hate how acquiring Mana in the game was confusing for me. It added further insult to me when the enemy could get multi-chain Mana easily on the board to the point that I just couldn't get any mana.

I'm interested in seeing how this game works. Maybe it would be better for me than "Puzzle Quest" is.

Waaait, again no mention of a Mac version? Seriously, when will those developers learn there's a whole other market out there...

...I want this game now. Like, right now. If I don't get it...

i still expect this to be 16 hours of rickrolling, but i thought the same thing about DJ HERO which turned out okay, i guess, kinda, if it weren't for the horrible music i would have picked it up, but anyway, after reading the escapists review i will decide whether to buy it or not.

My sister enjoyed the Puzzle Quest game, but I never really gave it a second glance. This, however, looks fairly interesting, especially consdering it's co-produced by the makers of Final Fantasy. I don't quite get the gameplay though - are you supposed to twist the four blocks in the circle around? And what was with all those lights? I guess I'll just have to play it find out...

3rd rung:
not looking like i would ever buy that

...and yet, I think this is awesome. I may never get around to playing it, but I feel happier knowing that I live in a world in which it exists.

How about that now, Schopenhauer?

The actual puzzle aspect looks like bejeweled. And well... I never really liked bejeweled. I was always more into stuff like Tetris, Super Puzzle Figher, or Tetris Attack (or Pokemon Puzzle League, or Panel De Pon, or whatever title they give that game these days).

Gyromancy? Seriously?

Here lets look the definition

Gyromancy is a method of divination in which a person spins around inside or walks the circumference of a circle drawn on the ground, the perimeter of which is marked with the letters of an alphabet. The divination is inferred from the letter at the position where the person either stumbles or falls across the circle's edge. The person would repeat the practice "...till he evolved an intelligible sentence, or till death or madness intervened."

I worry how we're supposed to solve said puzzles.

In the video at 0:26 comes right out and says "addictive + immersive".
At least Pop Cap doesn't have any trouble admitting that they sell cyber-crack.

Even I am kind of allured by this.

ace_of_something:
Gyromancy? Seriously?

Here lets look the definition

Gyromancy is a method of divination in which a person spins around inside or walks the circumference of a circle drawn on the ground, the perimeter of which is marked with the letters of an alphabet. The divination is inferred from the letter at the position where the person either stumbles or falls across the circle's edge. The person would repeat the practice "...till he evolved an intelligible sentence, or till death or madness intervened."

I worry how we're supposed to solve said puzzles.

Simple, you play the game either until you learn something, go crazy, or kill yourself.

Looks good to me, then again there's not a Popcap game that I've been disappointed with.

And so that apocalypse begins...

Fun-pacolypse.

I'd buy it.