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Hybrid Theory

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 15
Date: April 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

In the video game world, the puzzle genre and the RPG genre are like apples and oranges. Both are delicious fruits to be sure, yet they're two completely different genres. Certainly genres that no one thought could ever actually come together. Yet here stands Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords. A hybrid of the puzzle and RPG genre, and the hybrid works! Puzzle fans and RPG fans alike will absolutely love this game.

You'll start the game by choosing a profession. A warrior, druid, knight or something like that. And as you go through the game, you'll discover there are tons of RPG elements in play here. You'll traverse worlds, visit towns, collect items and equipment, and most important of all: you'll battle, and this is where Puzzle Quest truly shines.

The only puzzle game which comes to mind to compare this to is Bejeweled, a game several of you have probably played on your PC or cellphone several times over. You're given an 8x8 grid where you'll swap two tiles in order to get three of the same tile. When you match up three tiles the tiles will disappear and three more tiles will drop in to fill the void. If you've played bejeweled, it's exactly that. However, the color of the tiles represents something. The purple tiles, for example, are experience points. Each time you make three purple tiles disappear you'll gain additional experience points from the battle. Skull tiles deal damage. You've also got tiles that represent your mana, and when you take those tiles out you get more mana.

The way in which battles take place is really quite interesting. You and your opponent share the same board and will take turns to clear out the grid. Your goal, of course, should be to go after the skull pieces to deal damage, but it doesn't hurt to do other things as well. Red, blue, yellow and green tiles represent your mana, and each color pertains to a different spell. However, you'll want to snag these too to recharge your mana and cast spells. You'll want to go after the purple tiles for more experience, and after the Gold tiles to get more gold. This is much more than just trying to kill your enemy before he/she/it kills you. You'll also want to try and get more than three tiles at a time. Stringing together combos and getting rid of more than three tiles nets you an extra turn, and believe me, your computer opponents are no dummies, they will take advantage of this and kill you. It's surprisingly strategic, addictive, and of course, it wouldn't be a puzzle game without multiplayer, and the multiplayer matches against your friends are just as fun and addictive.

Yet the game never puts aside its RPG elements either. Puzzle quest is actually quite a lengthy quest. Complete with sidequests, optional bosses, characters that join your party and everything! Believe it or not, this game probably does span the length of an RPG. That means you could easily spend over fifty hours with this game. To keep its RPG elements in tact, you get experience points from each of the various battles you'll be in. When you level up, you get a chance to distribute points among your attributes. This means giving you a chance to increase things like your strength, HP or your mana skills.

Visually the game is quite impressive. The PSP looks better than the DS version, of course. It just looks more crisp and has more visuals going for it. The manga style artwork is beautiful, and so are the overworld maps and story sequences. This is quite a game to have on your PSP. The only real problem is the load times. Sometimes they can just be daunting, but it's hardly something to worry about. Most PSP games suffer from the effect of load times. By now PSP owners should be used to this.

On paper it doesn't sound like a good idea to mix the RPG and puzzle genre together, but the final product is certainly a fantastic one. RPGers and puzzle gamers alike owe it to themselves to check the game out. This is more than just another purchase of bejeweled, it's a puzzle game with great RPG elements that keep it interesting for hours on end. A fantastic combination.

Pros:

+An interesting hybrid of puzzle and RPG elements that work
+Addictive and strategic gameplay
+The computer is not stupid
+Fun multiplayer experience
+Engaging quest
+Top notch graphics
+Top notch music
+Hours upon hours upon HOURS of gameplay
+The construction of the games elements (tiles representing mana, gold and so forth) is just so well done and put together and it makes for a far more interesting gaming experience

Cons:

-Load times can be annoying
-Sometimes the computer is unrelenting; thankfully, you're not penalized if you lose a battle!

Incredibly fun - both an RPG and Puzzle Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: July 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

PuzzleQuest is an intriguing combination of role playing game and tile-matching puzzle game. There are definitely other role playing games out there - and I own several tile matching games which are this exact same style of gameplay. Somehow the combination of these two games makes the overall gameplay much more fun, because you switch back and forth between the two.

To start with, you can be a fighter, paladin, druid or wizard. You can be male or female, and choose your name and image. These little touches really do help to personalize your experience. Soon you're off exploring your kingdom, realizing that evil exists in the world and doing your part to combat it.

When you come across an enemy - say a wolf or an orc - instead of hitting X to slash at it, you launch into a puzzle game. You might wonder how this wolf is smart enough (or has opposible thumbs) to play a puzzle game like this, but you have to suspend your disbelief a bit here. It's the standard three-in-a-row style game, with a twist. You're not just trying to clear the screen. The colors you remove have meaning.

First, there are red, blue, green and yellow tiles - these fill up your four types of mana. You have a variety of spells you can cast, and each spell requires different combinations and values of these mana types. If you're fond of a spell that requires yellow and green mana, those would be the tiles you focus on removing.

Not only that, but if your enemy seems to be fond of a spell requiring blue and red mana, you would do your utmost to clear those tiles before he can get to them, to minimize his ability to attack.

There are skulls that cause instant damage when you match them up, and other tiles that give you extra experience and cash. These come in handy because ...

Yes, it's an RPG too. When you're roaming the world, you can stop into a shop to buy weapons and armor. These give you bonusses during your puzzle stage. You can beef up your main home base, adding on new buildings. The buildings then let you have additional abilities - learn new spells, capture mounts to ride, take over enemy towns, and much more.

There are of course quests to go on - from delivering messages to taking out specific bad guys. There are interesting people you run in to talk to, with personalities and backgrounds to explore. Sure, this isn't a 800-hour multi-class leveller RPG like Dungeon Siege - but it's still a ton of fun.

I love the graphics in the game, and I really love the music. One or two of the songs aren't my favorites, but the rest are songs I really enjoy. These guys did an awesome job with every aspect of the game. If I'm going to find a flaw, it's that the annoying messages that "float up" over the screen when you're trying to play the puzzle game obscure the tiles, so then you have to sit there and wait to see what remains to know what to do next. That and the messages are generic, so you can't tell if something affects you or your enemy. You might think it would be obvious - but sometimes if you do a chain sequence, and then he moves immediately after you, it's hard to tell what parts of the chain are coming on you and what messages are from his immediately following move.

Highly recommended!

PSP Version Has a Bug

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 18 / 27
Date: April 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I had to let unsuspecting people here know about a bug in the PSP version since none of the reviews here covered it.

Basically, a bug prevents your companions in the game from applying their unique bonuses? What does this mean? It means the game will be harder than intended by the designers and some wasted time if you spend it earning bonuses which cannot be used. Your mileage will vary if this is a big bug or not. So fr, no patches exist since the developer is downplaying it.

The bug does not exist in the DS version of the game.

Sleeper HIt of 2007

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: April 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

When Bejeweled came out years ago many people got hooked on the game. NOw, with this game, many people will be hooked all over again, yet never be able to go back to Bejeweled. The combat for this "RPG" plays out on a Bejeweled like board. Match up three symbols and you get mana for a spell, additional money, cause direct damage, or get expereince points. You must defeat your opponent to move on. If you lose, you still get to keep the money and experience points you earned, and it gives you the option to fight again right away, with no penalty except for the time you spent. It can take 15 minutes for some of the battles to take place, so it can be exciting when you are both down to a few hit points each.

The RPG portion is more story, and very light on the role playing. You get to level up your character, but you have few choices. But, in my opinion, it is as deep as it should be. This game could take a 100 hours if you do all the quests. It is so addictive. I am a huge RPG player, but am ignoring them now to play this game and do one more fight, go for one more item that will allow me to get more extra turns.

I hope for a sequel, but don't know what to add. Great job, developer. Your game is amazing!!!

Great game with major flaws

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: July 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm a casual gamer who loves games but doesn't want them to be so difficult that they cause stress. So there's nothing I hate worse than investing long hours in a game, only to find that I can't beat the final boss no matter how hard I try. And this is one of those games. I agree with every positive comment that any other reviewer has made; this game is great fun. But now I'm up against a final boss that somehow gets to take five or more turns almost every round, and who blocks most magic. Oh, and my experience is at the 50 level cap, so I can't do anything to improve my stats without raising tons of money. And the side quests for creating better items and spells are too frustrating to bother with. So I'm basically going to have to give up on the game at the very end, because it's a better alternative to throwing my PSP against the wall in anger. I would really like to wring some game developers' necks for assuming that all gamers are hard-core strategists; I just want one RPG that I can beat without breaking a sweat.

I've enjoyed Puzzle Quest enormously, more than any game in recent memory, but without the satisfaction of playing it through to the end, it still almost feels like a waste of time.

Very inventive and fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

They've really come up with something unique here. In it's day, bejeweled won tons of fans, but now the 3-in-a-row game has become somewhat archaic and definitely overused.

However, Puzzle Quest has brought in a much needed element to give the 3-in-a-row mechanic something it desperately needed - strategy! It's no longer just a matter of matching up items. Now it's important WHICH items get matched up. All of them have benefits and usefulness, but it comes down to strategy as to which you need.

So far, I've got about 10 hours of gameplay under my belt, so I know I haven't seen everything yet. But I do believe I've seen all of the game's features.
~ I find the story to be enjoyable. Nothing overly intricate, but it helps give purpose to the game.
~ The whole 'bejeweled as combat' format really works well. I find myself constantly wanting to play "just one more fight".
~ The classic RPG elements are present - skill sets, spells, items, and the like. There's enough variety to keep things very interesting for quite some time.
~ I think the city building aspect was a nice addition as well. I like how it opens up new features of gameplay - ie - capturing characters, learning new spells, creating your own magic items. There's a lot to be done.
~ Even with a pleasantly suprising amount of depth, the game is very approachable and easy to pick up. You don't even really have to worry about the story, or all the extra things to do. But, then again, that's all the stuff that makes the game so much fun and drives the replayability.

Classic Puzzle Action With A Twist

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you're a fan of Bejeweled, this is quite a treat for the PSP. However, the one major difference in the gameplay is that you are competing with AI which alternately takes turns on the game board. Whereas you always want to set yourself up in Bejeweled, you don't want to leave a nice board for the AI in Puzzle Quest.

Though the RPG element is fairly limited and simply a framework for the puzzle gameplay, it provides an interesting and engaging twist to the experience.

Quite a treat!

...I chose the PSP version

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: March 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have both handhelds, the PSP and the DS Lite. Since this game has been released for both systems I could have chosen either one. At first I thought the use of the stylus on the DS with this kind of puzzle gameplay would warrant my purchase of that version, but after downloading a demo on my PC and seeing what a beautiful and colorful game it was, I decided to get Puzzle Quest for the PSP. Since both versions are the same price, the choice for me was easier. Which version you decide to get depends on your personal preference. Keep in mind that the DS version uses solely the stylus for gameplay. If you like RPGs with engrossing stories and also like puzzle games you can't go wrong with this game, it uniquely combines both genres very effectively and delivers a fun and entertaining title, ...regardless of what version you purchase.

Worst Game Evar

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 20
Date: September 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This weekend, I played two games: Bioshock and Puzzle Quest. Bioshock was pretty good. Puzzle Quest was the "Worst Game Evar." Three handled trophy and all, this has to be, hands down, the dumbest idea I have ever encountered, implemented in a manner that can only charitably be characterized as ham-fisted, with so arbitrary and flimsy a primary play mechanic that any fun that this game threatens to have gets crushed into dust before it ever happens.

Perhaps I'm being a touch harsh, but I suspect that the game deserves it - however, before I proceed with the bashing, I feel compelled to provide the basic rundown. Puzzle Quest is in many ways a generic RPG - you are Generic Hero of Variable Type (Druid, Warrior, Knight, and Wizard in this game) who is entering into knighthood in the service of the Just and Good Queen who must Save the World from Evil. Pretty basic stuff for an RPG. The art is cartoonish and good at it. What character progression I saw was relatively fast and satisfying. So, decent in that regard.

What kills this game is the "Puzzle" part. Long story short, you basically have to play Bejeweled competitively against anybody and everybody with a grudge to determine who's got the bigger, well, jewels, I guess and move on to the next angry puzzle-phillic skeleton. As you eliminate jewels from the table, various effects, from adding mana to your pool to dealing damage to your enemy to granting experience and cash happen, based on the gems you pull out. Strange concept, but interesting on its face, you might think. Here's the problem, though. There's a REASON Bejeweled was never a competitive game, and certainly not on the same board - puzzle games are hard because random stuff that gets pumped into the board make it hard to achieve your goal. RPGs are hard because your opponent is beefy and strong. This game is hard in both ways, and abusively so at that.

All the way from the beginning of the game to where I quit in frustration to prevent myself from unleashing a barrage of profanity that likely would have blanched my relatives' features, I had to deal with the game essentially arbitrarily deciding that I lose. That's a problem. You can play this game with a perfect, ideal strategy and the computer will STILL rip off a 10-hit combination out of nowhere, based entirely on the pieces filtering down from the random ether above the board that you cannot peek into, and you WILL lose. Period.

But, I hear you thinking, you can do this too, right? So it's, you know, fair, and junk? Well - yes and no. Technically, it should be possible for you to do this. However, in some experimentation that I did, I lagged far behind the internal computer in random crud that I ended up cheesing at him versus random crud that he cheesed at me. It was something like a three to one advantage for the machine. If that ratio were TOTALLY REVERSED, this would still be a broken, practically unplayable game. The reason is pure, basic game design - there's an infinite number of the computer, but only one of the player, so when the computer starts doing cheap things to the player that cause him to lose, that has a much, much greater effect than when the player does something cheap that causes Random Spider #7 to prematurely die.

To call this game infuriating doesn't even begin to describe the experience. I can't say for sure whether the AI was cheating or not, but it most certainly was frequently getting the better of me, and I'm not really a slouch with RPGs and puzzlers. The spells and effects added to the game are theoretically counterbalancing effects, but they're far too little to save this game. ANY game that unintentionally arouses the sort of red fury that leads men to beat each other to death in alleys with pool cues has some serious deficiencies. This game has that in spades.

The glitches are just the extra cheese and bacon on this hamburger. Not only is the game broken in the theoretical sense, but apparently it is also broken in the literal sense. I didn't encounter any of the issues here listed while I played, but my experience was mercifully brief.

Bottom line on Puzzle Quest - this game is EASILY in the running for my personal list of worst games ever implemented, not because you can drive up walls without so much as slowing down and fall through bridges, but because it is a terribly implemented interpretation of what might otherwise have been a good mechanic. This is the kind of game that makes all games look worse than bad or mediocre, the kind of game that drives children and adults away from the pastime, and the kind of game that gamers should NOT tolerate, under any circumstances. I wouldn't recommend that anybody buy this piece of software, and that everybody regard it with raised eyebrows and dubious expressions if offered it as a gift.

Amazingly addictive.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

now I am not one that 'loves' puzzle games. In fact I find them pretty boring. But throw in some RPG elements into the mix and you get something very addictive. Time seems to fly by while I'm playing this bad boy. Very cool concept! I can't wait for D3s' next puzzle hybrid (called Galactrix for those not in the know. This one is to combine RPG/SCI-FI with puzzle elements) Let's hope they can turn this one into another great success! ok, I highly recommend this game to well anyone who enjoys videogames really. See ya!

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