Official Website

Platform: PSP, Nintendo DS

Genre: Puzzle / RPG

Number of Players: 1 - 2

There have been quite a few occasions where I’ve lost the computer to my wife as she stares, glossy eyed at the screen, obsessed over playing Bejeweled.  Actually this craze for her started with a Japanese game that was quite similar, Zoo Keeper (not to be confused with the early 80’s arcade game), but she’s managed to find each and every clone of Bejeweled that comes along (and if it’s not this game, then it’s whatever the latest Mystery Case Files happens to be.) For me, I’d rather be tackling a role-playing game or a good action title, though there’s still a place in my gaming repertoire for puzzle games, but what do you get if you combine puzzle elements with an RPG?

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is just that game. While it’s more heavy on the puzzle element that the RPG aspect, the two genres still combine as one to create a game that is almost impossible to put down (something I can testify to after spending untold hours playing the game before the PSP fell into my wife’s clutches, never to be seen again . . . . okay, I’m exaggerating the last part.) Once you’ve chosen your characters profession (knight, druid, wizard or warrior) it’s off to explore the world. There aren’t any robust, 3D towns to explore, but instead just an overhead map where you move from place to place. Remember, puzzle is the key here; puzzle.

After doing a little training you can start to gain quests easily enough by selecting the Get Quest option. Here you will have a number of selections that you can take on. They might be something easy, like delivering a message, or you may need to defeat some fearsome monster terrorizing the helpless villagers. Your means of doing battle is . . . with puzzles.

Puzzle Quest plays in this part just like Bejeweled, though it does have some differences. In the 8X8 grid, you simply need to match up a series of three colors. These will help improve your mana, something that is used for spells (if you have access to them) and there are also the multi-colored squares that will let you create a match with only two colored squares. There are also coins (though they don’t work with the colored squares) that earn you more money. Your character and your opponent both have hit points, but, how to do damage them? That’s done with the skulls that appear on the play field, and like anything else, you need to match up three of them. The game generally works with each player selecting their move and then the game passes over, however if you match four or more squares, you get an additional turn. If you make a mistake and don’t get a match, you will loose health and if there are no moves left, both players get mana drain and lose all of their available magic, being forced to build it back up.

I’ve played Bejeweled and similar games plenty of times, but Puzzle Quest really can be a bit more than you’re ready for. The computer AI is actually quite good, though there are times when it seems like the game really has it in for you. I’ve been hit with combo after combo of skull squares, losing half my health before I can do anything about it and being left with nothing to counter with. Some of your opponents will also have magic they can use against you such as the Undead who enjoy tuning skulls into deadlier items that cause higher damage. While this skips their turn effectively, it rarely seems to work in your advantage.

But, you can grow stronger. As you defeat more and more enemies you will gain experience, gold, even items on occasion. When you reach a higher level you will be given points that can be put into your other abilities. So, you can raise your hit points, your mana skills, or even the damage you do with physical attacks. Items and weapons can be equipped to lessen the blow of certain types of magic or to improve the damage that you are doing when it combat. There are also scrolls and other sources of magic that can be purchased and you are allowed to add members into your party or capture creatures and use them once you have created a citadel for yourself.  You can also forge new items here, donate money to religious causes in order to improve your stats, prepare to lay siege on other villages and even research spells. So, there’s a bit more going on than just trying to win puzzle battles with monsters across the countryside.

If you grow wearier of your battles across the kingdom (or having the game “cheat” as my wife loves to claim) you can always play the multiplayer version of the game against a friend. Here it’s hero vs. hero not just to see who the better player is but also who has the most powerful character. But, being powerful doesn’t always guarantee a quick or easy victory.

A game of this nature really doesn’t need a great deal of flashy graphics. The puzzle grid itself is quite basic in its design and appearance, but it works ideally for the purposes of the game. However, there are some animations used to demonstrate monsters, or your character, using their skills in battle to liven things up a little. The overworld portion of the game has just the fight look to it and the story scenes are just stills with the characters and NPC’s represented though the backgrounds are usually very detail oriented. But, this is a puzzle game, and simplicity is always the key, and it works very well here.

Is Puzzle Quest addictive though? Absolutely, and after playing for a number of hours, my wife finally managed to get her hands on the PSP. For me at that point, any hope of playing the game was lost, at least not until she finishes or another puzzle game comes along to distract here. Gentlemen, if you have a significant other who loves the puzzle genre, consider yourself warned. If you’re a fan yourself though, this blend of role-playing and puzzle is just the thing you need.

Now . . . . about me getting my PSP back into my hands again . . . . . 

-mike-