Puzzle Quest 2 Review

Sophie has been hard at work solving puzzles in Infinite Interactive's Puzzle Quest 2 on both Nintendo DS and Xbox Live Arcade.

. Summary: Puzzle Quest 2 is a brand new adventure from Infinite Interactive, the award winning developer of the supreme puzzle-rpg experience. Featuring a hallmark blend of match-3 gem matching and fantasy, Puzzle Quest 2 offers a captivating, rewarding, and accessible journey for players of all skill Puzzle Quest 2 is a brand new adventure from Infinite Interactive, the award winning developer of the supreme puzzle-rpg experience.

Featuring a hallmark blend of match-3 gem matching and fantasy, Puzzle Quest 2 offers a captivating, rewarding, and accessible journey for players of all skill levels as they make their way to reclaim the once peaceful village of Verloren from the evil clutch of the demon Gorgon. Players will get closer to the Puzzle Quest action than ever before with a more intimate viewpoint of the world and choose from any of four character classes, Sorcerer, Templar, Barbarian, or Assassin, each providing interesting twists on class-specific mechanics for hours of replayability. Players will level up their character to progress through the adventure in Story Mode or dive into Instant Action, Tournament Mode, or Multiplayer Mode for a rich and diverse gameplay experience. Why would You give this such a positive review?!?!

I must admit I'm slightly shocked as well. Why would You give this such a positive review?!?! I must admit I'm slightly shocked as well.

Whenever I see my dear Esther, or anyone for that matter, in the claws of a match three game ( which this certainly is, supposedly derived from 'Shariki' thought up in the ancient times of 'Tetris') I cry a little inside thinking of the mind numbing torments the unfortunate is undergoing. These torments are the illusion of logical strategy while in fact being subjected to constant dice rolls (represented by the randomness of the type of stones filling the ones that were removed from the playing board). The inventive folks at Namco however have delivered this rare marriage of mild rpg and match three allowing me to spend quite a few fun evenings, wine, music, indulging in enjoyable recollection of past events with dearest Rachel whom never fancies being excited with my pastimes, opting instead at playing the usually terrible match 3. This unique experience of bringing two nigh separate worlds together merits a laurel wreath. Expect some adequate artwork, quite an intricate system of skills/equipment changing how the otherwise beaten to death premise of match three plays and a somewhat infantile but passable story. Let me underline the main strength here, Puzzle Quest 2 will allow You to find common ground with someone who happens to spend a lot of time on this type of games.

If Diablo & Sudoku had a child it would look a lot like this. This is a wonderful little indie puzzle/RPG hybrid that finds a perfect If Diablo & Sudoku had a child it would look a lot like this.

This is a wonderful little indie puzzle/RPG hybrid that finds a perfect balance between casual intellectual gameplay and good ole fashioned looting & leveling. It is a game that doesn't try to pretend it is something it is not. It only goes as far as it has to in order to quench the gamers-itch for hunting treasure in an intellectually rewarding construct. For aging gamers like myself (re: age 30+) looking for a game to provide a relaxing yet fun & engaging game experience, this is a gem. No twitch-based real-time focus required; just sit back & relax, pour a drink, dust off your old school 'Columns' skills, and see them rewarded with a surprisingly intricate system of loot, abilities, spells, and stats. Be aware that if you're looking for detailed lore or a compelling story, you are in the wrong place. If you're looking for the next revolutionary Portal-esque puzzle gameplay you're also in the wrong place.

This is just a simple puzzle game that has been modded in as many ways as you could imagine, then thrown into an RPG dungeon-crawler setting. The surprising amount of thought put into character synergy, spell synergy, and resource mechanics is what really takes it to the next level. Seemingly endless combinations for customization which when mixed with a core puzzle game that is heavy on luck the result is simple, pure puzzle-gaming bliss.

Playing through Puzzle Quest 2, I found myself bored with the repetitive 'go here, do this' story and the uninteresting loot. There just Playing through Puzzle Quest 2, I found myself bored with the repetitive 'go here, do this' story and the uninteresting loot. There just isn't enough depth to warrant putting in the 20+ hours to complete it. Don't get me wrong this isn't a terrible game by any means.

If you like matching gems for hours and hours without really thinking about what you're doing, this game may be for you. For me, it lacked the personality and innovation of the original Puzzle Quest. Very fun game.

Although it becomes repetitive after a while. Nonetheless, it provides enough variety for a dozen hours of play. Basically, Very fun game.

Although it becomes repetitive after a while. Nonetheless, it provides enough variety for a dozen hours of play.

Basically, you twist spheres to match colors and get points; in such a way you are fighting your opponent, who also tries to math the colors, and both of you have different special powers. On top of that, you get booty at the end of each fight, can cash in, buy/sell equipment, upgrade your inventory and combat ware. The game is set in a different universe and mechanics from the original. The only things common in both games are the spells and enemies.

Such The game is set in a different universe and mechanics from the original. The only things common in both games are the spells and enemies. Such change brings some improvement but also causes more issues ruining the fun of game. Improvement: 1. Skill point reallocation at ease 2.

Use of weapon and armor rather than only casting spell 3. No useless gem like coin and purple star in original which are only useful for specific class 4.

Prefix on equipment adding some kind of variety 5. Equipment upgrade system 6.

Less chance of AI's infinite extra turn simply by luck Issues: 1. Getting equipment with prefix fitting your class can be a trouble, but since enemies level up with you, it is the best way to power you up 2. Too much grinding needed to upgrade your equipment 3. Enemies have nearly 100% blocking chance regardless of their defense 4. Enemies get first run even if they have same agility as you 5. Most enemies have low mana cost board control spell with low or no cool down time, causing another infinite loop of extra turn on their turn 6. Battle grid and chance of no further move are generated in favor of enemies you encounter 7.

Enemies have higher chance to resist magic even if their morale is low Due to the abovementioned issues, some classes are of less advantage against enemies, and less choice is available in late game to defeat enemies. The plot and character or companion development is extremely poor, you will soon forget it and get frustrated in traveling between town and dungeon, and moving along the dungeon, being bothered from unskippable random encounter and mini-games all the time. Weaker than the first in every way except for the art style. The story is barren and barely there.

No character matters and i couldn't name Weaker than the first in every way except for the art style. The story is barren and barely there. No character matters and i couldn't name you one. Removed all of the extra stuff like your castle and taken control of folks.

Side-quest are also terrible with a simple marker and objectives. The combat remains unchanged so that's why it gets a 7. Seriously play the first one. It has it all story, characters and depth Expand.

Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard scoring criteria.

Since the release of Challenge of the Warlords, Puzzle Quest has become a household name. It quickly became one of the most popular puzzle franchises of this console generation, with titles appearing on every major system. If you’ve been keeping up with our issues, you know that fellow staffer James Labalokie is a huge fan of the series. Unlike myself, he had actually played the original Puzzle Quest, and knew how great it was. Well, with the release of Puzzle Quest 2, I finally got to see what Puzzle Quest was all about. I had pretty high expectations going in, and I was not disappointed.

If you’ve never played a Puzzle Quest game before, picture Bejeweled mixed with an rpg. At the beginning of the game you get to create a character. You don’t have too much control, as you only get to choose the name, sex, and class of your character. The four classes are Templar, Barbarian, Sorcerer, and Assassin. Templars have extremely high defense, Barbarians are decent at everything, while Sorcerers and Assassins have low hit points, but can deal massive damage. You will also be able to see all the starting stats of your character. Agility is very important as the character with the highest goes first. After that’s out of the way you are thrust into the fantasy village of Verloren, which is under attack by rats and goblins. The story is mostly told by a maiden with the help of detailed, animated scenes. The only downside is that the story only appears in a small part of the touch screen during these moments, and it is easy to miss part of it.

To move your character, simply tap a character, enemy or destination, all of which must have a green circle under them, as you don’t have total control of where your character goes. This doesn’t turn out to be so bad though, as your character walks pretty fast. Once you’re ready to battle, tap an enemy, and tap the battle option when it comes up. After that, get ready to play Bejeweled! Actually, that’s not quite true. I had said earlier that this game was a mix of Bejeweled and an RPG, and here’s why: while the puzzle board is very similar to Bejeweled‘s, there is much more than mindlessly matching colors. In Puzzle Quest, not only are there the typical colored gems, but there are also action pieces and skulls. If you match a row or column of skulls, you will do damage to your opponent’s life points. If you’re new to puzzle games, there is a help arrow that suggests which pieces to move, though it isn’t always in your best interests. To use your sword or shield, you will need to make action piece matches. All of the colored gems go towards your spells after being matched, with red ones being the most offensive.

The life points of your character and enemy, along with your gems, appears on the top screen, while the game field appears on the bottom. Once the game starts, you and your opponent will take turns matching gems on the same field. Match 4 in a row, and get an extra turn. Match 5, and get an extra turn along with a multiplier. The game ends when with you or your opponent are out of life points. Skulls, spells, and weapons will all help you defeat your enemies. When you have matched enough gems to use a spell or a weapon, its name will begin glowing. To use it, simply tap it and watch your character bring the pain. Of course, not all spells are offensive, as some are defensive or regenerative. Upon the completion of every battle, your character will gain experience. Once you level up, you choose a stat to raise, that corresponds to the gem of the same color. For example, green is stamina, which raises your life points.

Along with the main quest, there are plenty of side quests and mini games to go around. Each of them also revolve around the “match 3” puzzle idea, whether it is to loot treasure chests or pick locks. Each of these mini games can be replayed later on the title screen. Also from the title screen you can choose to do a quick battle instead of the main quest, and in quick battles you fight against enemies previously encountered in the quest mode.

The game features a tiny bit of voice acting, though it gets repetitive very quickly. As far as the music goes, it’s something that you would expect from the medieval era, but nothing too great. The important thing to remember is that this game is all about puzzles and the presentation of menus. Puzzle Quest 2 may not have the best music or voice acting, but the menus and presentation of puzzles and stats is fantastic. Infinite Interactive definitely knows what it is doing here.

There is wireless muli-card play, but no support for the Nintendo Wi Fi connection. It’s really too bad, as this game would’ve been a blast to play online.

So that covers what’s good and bad, right? Unfortunately, there’s more. There was a point in the game where the grinding RPG element of Puzzle Quest 2 took over. As the life points of my character and my enemies got into the 200+ range, battles really started dragging on. This isn’t a game that you can just spend a few minutes in at that point. You have to have a lot of free time, just as you would in a traditional RPG. On the bright side, there is no penalty for dying; you get experience even if you lose.

All in all, Puzzle Quest 2 is very satisfying and everything that I expected it to be. There were a few minor issues, which, if fixed, would make Puzzle Quest one of the best puzzle games ever. If the voice acting is improved (or removed), and if the later battles became quicker or maintained the same time commitment earlier ones did, there’d be no complaints. Puzzle Quest 2 is a solid game, and things will only get better from here.