Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

"Bejeweled meets Magic the Gathering."

What exactly is this game called puzzle quest? I'll summarize my review real quick if you don't feel like reading the whole thing. Puzzle quest = Greatest Xbox live arcade game available = most expensive Xbox live arcade game available = trip down to memory lane = one heck of a good purchase. Hmm, I actually had to re-read that part and well, that pretty much sums it up. For those of you who aren't convinced, let's take a look at the details shall we?


What is Puzzle quest?

Puzzle quest is a great puzzle/ Rpg (Not the gun) game. As my title says, imagine Bejeweled crossed with the ever so popular Magic the Gathering card game from the 90's. Simply put, you take turns against a opponent trying to match different types of gems (Mana gems for your spells), Gold (To buy new armor and weapons), Skulls (To ditch out the damage to your enemy) and Stars (To gain your XP). Bejeweled fans will feel right at home in this environment as most game mechanics will stay the same. The object of the game is to take turns in switching 2 gems, skulls or any other object on a grid to match 3-4 or 5 of the same. Matching Colored gems will give you valuable Mana for your skills and spells (Mana is separated in 4 colors , Red for Fire magic , Blue for Water , Green for Earth , Yellow for Air/Wind ... All were missing is Pink for Heart and we would have a Captain Planet game but thankfully , they left that one out). Now no good Rpg would be without its class system and Puzzle Quest isn't a exception to that as you can play as a Wizard, Druid, Warrior or Knight (Each have special skills and attributes). During the main quest of the game, you will travel all over the world fighting enemies, completing quests, shopping for goods and gaining levels. This pretty much summarize what Puzzle Quest is all about.


Graphics and story

Now I believe that for this kind of game, graphics are not that important but surprisingly, this is actually some pretty good stuff. Now all cut scenes are done through text and still images but with a HDTV, you get a pretty nice looking puzzle game (This is not a old school Pac-man game ported with better graphics loll). The characters and enemies are drawn nicely however the over world map tends to shrink down everything when you move from town to town but other than that , the colors , game style and backgrounds will be everything but irritating. The story seems solid (I have yet to finish it but I am enjoying every moment I have with the game) but again, you are mostly building your character to its full potential, that's pretty much the best story you can get in my book.



Gameplay

The gameplay is pretty straightforward. You select a gem or item on a Grid and then press 1 direction on your controller and the 2 change places. You won't need to memorize combos or anything of such so pretty much anybody can play this game and pick it up easily. What makes this game different from other puzzle type games like Bejeweled, Tetris and other puzzle games is mostly the RPG elements. The game is based on developing your Character and finding what skills works best for you. You can only equip 6 skills for a fight but considering that there is about 15 skills per class + all the skills you can learn from the enemies , the possibilities or practically endless. Once you chose your skills , your off adventuring trying to find new cities , shops , try to craft magical items , train pets , capture monsters, the replay value Is really worth your time and efforts. Considering that this game also offers Ranked matches on Xbox live so if you think you got the perfect build , try your luck online against someone who might just have what it takes to bring your “almost” perfect character build down. This aspect really resembles the “Magic the Gathering” system where you would have 5 different mana types, and no matter what kind of deck you would have, you could never be invincible, as someone could easily counter you if he had the right tools. This is the main reason why I got hooked on this game as I remembered my good old days where I would pull out my Black deck and being so confident, only to have my butt kicked by a new player to the game who had thought of a good counter combo to my deck.

The gameplay is the Main selling point of the game and trust me, if you enjoy Puzzle games or if you liked Magic the Gathering back in the days, you're going to like what you see here.


In conclusion, there isn't much left to say about this game, Its 1200 Microsoft points (about 15 $) but as usual, you can try out the Demo first to see if you like the game. The demo limits you to a maximum of Level 7 , you cannot save your character but pretty much all is left intact concerning the actual gameplay so I will finish by saying this : Try the Demo , if you like it , there's so much more to come when you unlock the actual game.

Definitely a Must Have

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/07

Game Release: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (US, 10/10/07)