The trouble with great handheld games is that you can take them anywhere. You’re not very likely to cart around your PlayStation 3 for playing on the bus or while waiting for the doctor; on the other hand, it’s a cinch to slip your PlayStation Portable or DS in your pocket. That’s what makes Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlord so dangerous. This surprising game is utterly addictive due to its unique breed of role-playing and puzzle-inspired gameplay.
Puzzle Quest has you trekking across the fantasy world of Etheria in a quest to eradicate evil from its lands. From hulking orc warriors to slithering sandworms to wicked wizards, you confront Etheria’s foes one-by-one with the ultimate goal of reaching their grand master, Lord Bane. Choosing from four classes—druid, warrior, knight, or wizard—it’s up to you to take down this vicious villain in order to restore peace.
While traditional role-playing games require you to wield a sword and shield to beat back the beast, Puzzle Quest calls upon you to unsheathe your stylus and harness the power of the puzzle. You still engage enemies in combat to earn experience and develop your character; the difference here is that battles play out as competitive puzzles. Imagine a mix of Connect Four, Bejeweled, and The Elder Scrolls series—that’s Puzzle Quest.
Much of your time with the game is spent in combat, which takes place on a 64-square grid at the center of the screen. Squares on the grid are occupied by colored mana gems (red, yellow, green, and blue), skulls, coins, and purple stars. The objective is to bring together matching items into lines of three, four, or five. You and your opponent take turns moving items into triplets; get lucky with lines of four or five and you can take another turn.
When you successfully create a line, the items are cleared from the grid and you gain their effects. For example, lining up three red gems adds that amount of mana to your reserves for casting magic. Other items lend different effects: coins add to your gold pile, purple stars boost your experience so you can level up, and skulls deal direct damage to your opponent.
Your aim is to deal enough damage to your enemy so as to drop their health to zero. Don’t worry about trying to clear the grid—focus instead on connecting as many skulls together as possible. Offensive spells are also a great way to hit your enemy. All magic requires mana though, so you have to take a few turns at the beginning of each battle to rake in some mana gems. As you level up you unlock magic for use in battle or you can attempt to learn rare spells by capturing enemies. Spells like "Thump", which knocks your opponent over the head for a bit of damage, are useful in a tight spot.
Considering how ruthless the AI can be, you find yourself in plenty of rough places. Puzzle Quest isn’t an easy game. From the very get-go, the game pits you against rather tough enemies. Progressing to more advanced foes, you notice the game unfairly gives them an advantage. It’s incredibly frustrating to witness an enemy land a string of attacks in the first turn of a battle. When your health drops to half after thirty seconds of starting a puzzle, it’s pretty hard not to get heated. You cannot help but lose a lot of confrontations, but there aren’t any consequences. Nothing is at risk should you lose, except maybe your gamer’s pride so get right back onto that horse and try again.
