Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords Review
At the beginning of the Puzzle Quest craze there was a DS and a PC version. Both of which had a pointer system (ie mouse or stylus) which seemed to just fit the game. The popularity took a bit of time to get off the ground but once it caught there was no stopping it. This game presented a different genre to most gamers a Puzzle RPG, and a damn good one at that. You create a character follow a storyline take on different types of creatures, and battle through a puzzle game on par with bejeweled. I'll write about the DS version since that is what I have but if memory serves me correctly it is also available on the PSP, XBOX Live, the PlayStation Network, and very soon the apple i-phone/touch.
The graphics are very simplistic, but they have to be to get the game to work. the cut scenes are 2D and don't show much movement, it also features speech bubbles. The color scheme used for this game feels really earthy, there's a lot of brown in the game.
The controls for the DS basically revolves around using the stylus almost the entire time. This in my opinion is a good move because it keeps the puzzle game fast because it is turn based.
The gameplay is the best part. When in battle you try to make different color matches of 3 or more. You can match 3 skulls and start doing damage to your opponent. For every colored match you make you gain mana. You can turn around and use that on your next turn to use on of your skills. These skills can range from making your opponent skip their turn, changing the layout of the board, doing direct damage to your opponent, or healing yourself. You will be fighting ogres, orcs, wolves, spiders, dragons, and so much more. You can gain mounts that will give you advantages. Your character will level up as the experience points mount. You will slowly reveal more and more of the map as time goes on. If you feel powerful try to take on a city, capture it and start gaining some money on the side. You can even level up your mounts.
Puzzle Quest may not be for everyone, but it is a good game to play, and almost anyone can pick it up. It has that hardcore feeling with the RPG elements, but it also has the casual game feeling with the battle system. If you don't have a version of this game I highly recommend it. This game gets a 9.1 out of 10.
