Game and Watch. Kid Icarus. Metroid. Game Boy. Super Mario Land. Metroid II. Dr. Mario. Virutal Boy. Wonderswan. Minus the striked out one, that's a pretty substantial list of games and products to have on your resume. The man in charge of each of these products - the late Gunpei Yokoi - undoubtedly had the golden touch, turning nearly everything he came into contact with into a success. His final game, the line puzzler Gunpey, on paper should serve as a fitting close to one of gaming's most significant chapters, but its limited gameplay and forgettable presentation leave Gunpey as a game best left with its creator.

Gunpey's gameplay is very simple in concept, yet enigmatic in execution. Set on a 5 x 10 grid, you must use panels with lines inside them to connect the left side of the grid to the right side. However, these panels gradually rise up the screen and if you let a panel go over the top line of the grid then you lose. There are four different types of panels to use - all of which feature lines at an angle, like top left to bottom right or top left down to center and back up to top right - that randomly scroll up from the bottom of the grid. By moving the panels up and down, you can create simple five panel lines or crazy, zigzag, snaking lines that can clean a whole screen. Thankfully the PSP version leaves out the special moves added to the DS version, which are either over or under powered and not a good addition to the game.

What takes this simple gameplay concept and turns it into an enigma is the inability to move your panels left and right. Without this elementary feature, you find yourself spending far too much time waiting for just the right panel as your screen fills with panels you can't use. You are forced to sit there, with your screen filling up with panels in four of the five columns, at the mercy of one vertical grid. This is about the biggest mistake a puzzle game developer could make, as the moment you take the player out of the action is the moment you take the player out of the puzzle. By simply allowing panels to be moved horizontally this problem could have been eliminated, as your work moving panels around would never come to a grinding halt every couple of minutes.

Where the DS version goes off on a tangent of insanity and blind color matching, the PSP version sticks with presentation that echoes the PSP puzzle measuring bar, namely Lumines. You're presented with slightly animated hi-resolution backgrounds, many with quirky themes such as the kangaroo DJ, all set to the beat of techno tunes. All of it works, but there really is nothing here that could be labeled memorable or innovated; to be honest, I would use the word safe.

The only area where the PSP version doesn't excel the DS version is in the lasting appeal department. Single player modes include Challenge, Double Skin, where you play two versions of the game at the same time, flopping between the two with the shoulder buttons, Time Attack and Gunpey 10 x 10, where the horizontal aspect of the grid matches the vertical. There is also a barebones two player Vs. mode. However, these modes do little to change the way you play the game, but if you enjoy what Gunpey has to offer then they will extend the time you spend playing it.

With a gaming pedigree as diverse, extensive and impressive as Gunpei Yokoi's, it's a shame to see his final game drag so much. While leaps and bounds ahead of the DS version, Gunpey on PSP does little to distinguish itself from the puzzle pack in both presentation and gameplay. Puzzle fanatics or gamers looking for a cheap fix (this game is headed for the bargain bins any day now) should be the only that apply here.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).