2007's Puzzle Quest was one of those games that came out of nowhere, did something completely bizarre, and somehow became a viral success. It's hard to imagine two less-compatible genres than puzzle games and RPGs, yet somehow D3's mad decision to warp Bejeweled into a competitive one-player game wrapped in a fantasy yarn was boundlessly addictive and created a genuine following for itself. A wildly different spin-off soon followed (Puzzle Quest Galactrix), but it's only now that we're finally seeing the true sequel, Puzzle Quest 2.
Gone is the sci-fi setting of Galactrix, along with the hex-based game grid. In their place are classic medieval fantasy trappings filled with witches and goblins (not to mention a less anime-influenced art style), and the familiar match-three-colored-items-falling-into-a-well puzzle mechanics. However, this sequel isn't a mere retread of the original. D3 has built in a number of new elements and expanded on others to create a denser, more satisfying game for RPG fanatics and puzzle fans alike.
The most obvious change, by far, is the new world map. Rather than simply playing out on a large, zoomed-out map of a kingdom, Puzzle Quest 2 adopts a perspective similar to Diablo. Players don't directly control their character as he or she moves through the world -- there are eight playable characters, each with different affinities and skills -- but rather move the hero between points of interest. Still, the zoomed-in perspective means the adventure plays out within towns and dungeons and buildings, with each encounter initiated by a monster or other NPC. Not to be too obscure, but Puzzle Quest 2's story mode resembles nothing so much Riviera: The Promised Land, Sting's oddball graphic adventure/RPG mashup from a few years back.
Of course, the combat is totally different than Riviera's, being a pure falling-object puzzle experience. As always, players face off against a foe battling to knock their hit points to zero before being knocked out first. Matching colored gems powers up corresponding spells, which may be unleashed at opportune moments. Matching three skulls knocks three points from the enemy's health, though the impact of these attacks can be augmented by spells and other modifiers. These modifiers include the new weapon system: Players can discover and equip different weapons throughout the game, and once powered up (by matching special weapon gems) these can be used to increase the effect of a standard attack.
Further spicing up the gameplay are a number of minigames, all of which appear to play out as variants on the standard Puzzle Quest battles. For instance, at various points you'll need to break down a door. To do this, you match gems in a single-player round, which convert into special door pieces. Matching these special gems weakens the door; the trick, however, is that it's necessary to reduce the door's "stamina" to zero within a certain number of rounds.
It's impossible to tell from the PAX East show floor demo whether or not
Puzzle Quest 2 addresses some of the shortcomings of the first game --
such as the seemingly unfair computer intelligence found in the latter
chapters of the adventure -- but at the very least it's clear that D3
isn't simply complacent to churn out more of the same. The new quest
structure (which includes branching paths and side quests) may turn out
to be largely cosmetic, but it really does enhance the sensation of an
RPG. The weapons and news spells deepen the puzzle mechanics, too.
Currently, the game is only slated for XBLA and DS (the latter of which
is mostly different only in terms of visuals), with unspecified mobile
versions in the works and the possibility of PSP and PS3 versions
currently up in the air. We're confident that D3 will find a way to
bring the game to all its puzzle-obsessed fans, though.
Originally published on 1UP.com.
