By Nick Place
Puzzle games tend to fare better on portable systems than home consoles or the PC. Tetris rocketed the original Game Boy to phenomenal success, and Lumines is still considered one of the best offerings available for PSP. The best puzzle games hit a certain rhythm that addicts players, keeping them going for just a few more cleared lines, a rhythm that “Puzzle Quest” quickly picks up.
The game, available for Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable, takes the basic, proven formula of a proper puzzle game and combines it with equally proven clichéd RPG trappings for a unique, addicting experience.
At the outset, the player creates a character, choosing from a very few static pictures and four character classes. The character is dropped onto an animated overworld map, free to travel from location to location, take quests, fight various monsters, buy new gear from shops, and travel to new locations. It’s a standard RPG setup in a basic Lord of the Rings type world, but drawn in a very Japanese, anime art style.
The meat of “Puzzle Quest” is the combat, which is basically a copy of popular internet and cell phone puzzle game “Bejeweled,” made slightly more complex and competitive. The player squares off against an AI (or human, via local multiplayer on both systems) opponent, matching different colored gems in rows of three to gain mana to cast spells, or matching skulls to directly damage the opponent’s hit points. There are also gold coins and purple stars to match for cash and experience points to upgrade a character’s skills or gear.
The combat is a little more complex and engrossing than “Bejeweled,” thanks to the strategy surrounding selecting your spells before combat and then maneuvering the different colored gems while at the same time keeping your opponent from charging his best spells. It’s an addictive competitive puzzle game, and the RPG trappings that surround the game make it even more fun.
These include numerous side quests, item creation, and endless streams of cash, loot, and experience from fallen enemies. There’s even an option to siege cities to gain extra cash from them.
The story is standard throwaway fantasy, but the gameplay is so compelling that it won’t matter. The music is unremarkable and repetitive, but the static art that makes up most of the game is at least attractive. Your character never changes in appearance however, no matter what gear you equip, which makes new items a little less exciting. Also, the display is a little cramped on both systems, with the PSP’s lettering slightly hard to read and the DS’s playing field too small, cramped and confined on the bottom screen.
Players will become frustrated when difficult encounters are decided by random chance, since when you eliminate a group of icons, there’s no way to tell what gems or skulls will drop from the top of the screen, so a lucky opponent can end a battle quickly. There’s really no way around the luck factor with the “Bejeweled” formula, however, so it comes with the territory.
On the whole, “Puzzle Quest” is remarkably enjoyable and addictive. It doesn’t have a single unique or new idea of its own, but the combination of RPG and puzzle gameplay is an innovative concept by itself. Its presentation isn’t top-notch, but it’s fun, cheap ($30), and unique.
GRADE: B+
