Puzzle Quest

Puzzle Quest is a fusion of a puzzle game and a role-playing game that became quite popular on the PSP and DS and has now been ported for Xbox Live Arcade. Read on for the review of one of the deepest games on the Arcade!

Gameplay - 10

As you start Puzzle Quest, you are introduced to both the role-playing and puzzle elements of the game. The RPG is quite deep and the puzzle is how combat takes place.

The puzzle element is very similar to Bejeweled. You and your opponent take turns trying to make matches. Match three of a kind to have them removed, four of a kind additionally grants you an extra turn, and five of a kind gives you a wild card and an extra turn. Instead of making a match, you may choose to cast a spell instead. The spells have varied effects so you need to figure out which ones will suit your style of play and will work best against your enemies.

I play the battles very defensively, looking for which of the four mana types the enemy needs to cast its best spells and trying to prevent them from getting it. Players also need to be careful not give the opponent an easy set of skulls (those are the “gems” that damage you).

The AI of the Puzzle Quest opponents gets more difficult as you progress through the game. Even at the high levels, though, they don't always do the smartest thing. There are three difficulty levels. I’ve played mostly on Normal and noticed that the enemy may end up with a ton of mana and still will refuse to cast some very damaging spell on me. Switching to Hard seems to make the enemies smarter in this regard.

These battles happen within a fairly deep role-playing game. First, you choose a class of characters to be and each has different attributes. I chose to be a wizard which gave me more fire and air mastery. Next, you start getting quests and exploring the map. These quests are varied and while mainly only resulting in gold and experience, you can also obtain items and companions. You also must choose which spells out of the many you can learn you will take into battle with you.

Each of these items, companions, spells, attributes and mounts alter how you play the puzzle battles. Through questing and even grinding you can level up which gives you new spells and points to increase your attributes.

The controls work efficiently letting you move about the map and the three sections of the battle screen with ease. Multiplayer also makes an appearance; you can battle other Puzzle Quest players through Xbox Live.

My only real complaint about the gameplay is the hint system. You have to be very wary when taking advantage of it. It is akin to the hints in Bejeweled but the best move in that game won’t necessarily be the best move in Puzzle Quest. By making the match it suggests, you may be setting yourself up for even more matches or setting your opponent up to do serious damage to you.

Visuals - 8

Puzzle Quest may not have HD graphics, but the graphics are far from mediocre. When a spell is cast, effects hit the game board that match the spell (ice, fire, etc). Casting something like my current favorite, Flaming Skulls, results in a lot of fire effects plus, hopefully, a lot of matches being made and new gems falling into the board. Messages pop-up when you get 4 or 5 of a kind and when you get a large sequence of matches from one move (a "heroic effort"). Other graphics in the game are simple but classic static RPG art. Interactions with characters entail a picture of your character, the NPC you are talking to and reading a lot of text.

Puzzle Quest for XBLA is a port of the PSP version and also subject to the limited file space of XBLA games. Still, I would prefer more animation during the parts of the game that occur outside of the puzzle battles such as the talks with NPCs and traveling the map.

Sound - 8

Other than messages like "Heroic Efffort" and "Quest Completed", there are no voices as the dialogue is done completely through text. However this actually a great thing since it adds to the classic RPG feel of the game.

The soundtrack, though limited, is great but during long gaming sessions the gamer may want to switch to some of his own music because the in-game music can get repetitive.

The sound effects, however, are great and appropriate to the moment. When you damage someone, a zap sound plays. The are also different sounds for each kind of match you can make. Experience stars make a magical twinkle while coins make a gratifying "ka-ching".

Longevity - 9 (High)

Puzzle Quest’s single player portion is quite long even if you skip some of the side quests and grinding. The side quests, though optional, can greatly benefit the player or add to the experience if completed. A side quest could be to track down the assassins that are hunting a character, which results in multiple battles. Or you may have to fight a creature on another part of the map to bring back tasty food to Drong. (Do this enough and he joins your party. He does 10 points of damage to any animal at the beginning of a battle.)

Add the ability to go to your citadel and forging items, learning spells from your captured creatures, sieging cities and XBL multiplayer, and Puzzle Quest becomes the longest experience on the Arcade. Playing it through again as a different class and trying some different strategies is highly recommended.

Learning Curve - 10 (Easy)

Puzzle Quest is easy to learn especially if you have played either Bejeweled or a standard RPG. Once you realize that colored gems give you mana, stars give you experience, coins give you money, and skulls do damage to the opponent, you are ready to take on the rest of the game. The beginning of the game even gives you a tutorial and a “practice dummy”.

It should be easy for gamers, even casual ones, to understand how to play Puzzle Quest.