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1. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords Review
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Jul 08 2009

   RPG's and puzzle games. Both the genres and their respective fans sound about as compatible as peanut butter and onions. Somebody at D3 Publisher thought differently however, and that person deserves a very large raise. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for the DS, PSP, and XBLA may be the most bizarre genre hybrid since Sigma Star Saga; a game that combined an RPG with 2D shooting on the Game Boy Advance back in 2005. Although creating a puzzle game with RPG elements sounds like a train wreck on paper, the result couldn't be more the opposite.
   
   Upon beginning a new slot in Puzzle Quest, you must choose among various types of Druids, Knights, Warriors and Wizards as your character. Each class has varying abilities and will develop different stats and spell sets as they level up. Once you've chosen your man (or woman), you can either rush straight into a monster fight or dive into the game's story mode. The latter is obviously encouraged, seeing as how you'll be able to see Puzzle Quest's plot unfold as well as gain access to a plethora of other options.
   
   If you choose to take the story route, your character will be placed on a world map. The first thing you'll want to do is get quests, which range from simple fetch chores to escort and rescue missions. Some quests are vital to the plot while others are merely optional. Battles unfold through extra tense rounds of Bejeweled. For those who might be unfamiliar with this oft-copied puzzle game, Bejeweled's formula is switching adjacent jewels in an attempt to line up three or more in a row. Do this, and more jewels fall from the sky. Rinse and repeat.
   
   In Puzzle Quest's version of Bejeweled, you and your enemy take turns lining up three or more jewels on the same field. Lining up three or more skulls inflicts damage on your enemy and lining up three or more stars or gold pieces lands experience and money. The Object of this is to line up different colored jewels to fill up different colored "mana" meters. There are four colors in all (red, yellow, blue and green) with each color representing a different element (fire, wind, water and earth respectively).
   
   As your mana meter fills, you're able to cast a wide variety of spells with numerous effects. Some spells affect the types of jewels on the field, others RPG fans will be accustomed to such as heal, poison and paralyze. There's also spells that inflict direct damage to your opponent and some that do a little bit of everything. Whoever's HP drops to zero first loses.
   
   Depending on the version you may own, you can pay a visit to one of several shops, or travel to your "citadel". Here, you can purchase new weapons and armor to boost your ability to cause and resist damage. In addition, like spells, many armaments and accessories come with added effects on the battlefield like increasing your experience after every battle or reducing your opponent's red mana every time you do damage. You can grow even stronger by enlisting new party members and capturing and training monsters. Both possess unique abilities and spells which can be added to your own.
   
   The great thing about Puzzle Quest is that it can be equally enjoyed by everyone. Casual players will dig the über-addictive puzzle battles while hardcore gamers will get a kick out of raising their own warrior, questing heavily so they can deck him/her out with the best equipment and spells the game has to offer. And let's not forget the city-building minigame, which lets you purchase structures to forge your own items and spells, train captured monsters and earn extra money from the townspeople. Best of all, you can repeat any failed mission or lost battle as many times as you want.
   
   The only chink in the otherwise impenetrable armor of Puzzle Quest is the music. While the anime-style graphics in this game are beautiful, they're not well complemented by the slow, depressing tunes that play over and over again. When most of my mana is drained and I have 5 HP left, the last feeling I want to have is that I'm attending a funeral with my character as the guest of honor. Luckily, someone invented a handy volume button.
   
   Given how RPGs and puzzle games are targeted to totally different audiences, it's most satisfying to see these two very different genres mesh so well together. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is so far possibly the biggest surprise in recent years. Based on its uniqueness alone; this original, fun, and incredibly addicting adventure that should not be missed by anyone.

   
   

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