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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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capturing them and research them - all done through Bejewelled puzzles. You can even train your mounts and avoid attacks when they are levelled up. Mounts give you an upper hand in certain abilities and an extra spell / attack to execute on the battle field (usually you only have 6).

Everything looks quite unique a package but then the fun factor was completely destroyed by the cheating game design. The thing is the game was programmed in a way that it is almost certain that your enemies have the upper hand. Since once you destroyed certain grid with your matching, new stones or items will appear on the grid, 99.9999999% of the time the new items work to your enemies' advantage. There were so many occasions that you only have one move on the whole grid that's possible, but when you destroyed that part, the enemy suddenly has an advantageous grid that give them 10 moves in a row. There were occasions that I had a lot more HP left but suddenly because of that the enemies just annihilate you in a flash. It is so frustrating that you just want to drain your DS into the toilet.

Also as mentioned you can learn your enemies' spells by capturing them. So you did all that and learnt the spell. It turns out that you need to use a lot more mana points to cast those spells as compared to your enemies. So the enemies can cast deadly spell again and again but for you, once you did it once you have to wait for another century before you can do so again. And almost certainly that once you built up the reserve for spells, the enemies will suddenly use up all moves in the current grid and drain all your mana because there are no possible moves left. You will need a good reserve of explosive words in your language to deal with such frustration.

Further to train mounts you have to defeat enemies within turn time limits. However as they level up, the time became so short in each turn that you don't even have time to look at the grid itself and it is already the enemy's turn. So after certain levels, basically there is no more levelling up. And you are stuck with what you have. And sometimes the mount spell that you got requires so many mana points that it is basically useless and being there to just fill up the screen space.

Storywise it is really not much of story telling but the same old fantasy style with all the creatures you can think of in mythologies. Seriously I felt more refreshing with the small side story I unlocked in Zoo Keeper than the story Puzzle Quest tried to tell.

The problem is with all those frustrations you still wanted to play because you got so annoyed that you just want to try again and again to kill them.

If you are up for some frustrations and swearing with a good cause, definitely get this game and you can feel very fulfilled with yourself.

+ 0 likes

Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

...

capturing them and research them - all done through Bejewelled puzzles. You can even train your mounts and avoid attacks when they are levelled up. Mounts give you an upper hand in certain abilities and an extra spell / attack to execute on the battle field (usually you only have 6).



Everything looks quite unique a package but then the fun factor was completely destroyed by the cheating game design. The thing is the game was programmed in a way that it is almost certain that your enemies have the upper hand. Since once you destroyed certain grid with your matching, new stones or items will appear on the grid, 99.9999999% of the time the new items work to your enemies' advantage. There were so many occasions that you only have one move on the whole grid that's possible, but when you destroyed that part, the enemy suddenly has an advantageous grid that give them 10 moves in a row. There were occasions that I had a lot more HP left but suddenly because of that the enemies just annihilate you in a flash. It is so frustrating that you just want to drain your DS into the toilet.



Also as mentioned you can learn your enemies' spells by capturing them. So you did all that and learnt the spell. It turns out that you need to use a lot more mana points to cast those spells as compared to your enemies. So the enemies can cast deadly spell again and again but for you, once you did it once you have to wait for another century before you can do so again. And almost certainly that once you built up the reserve for spells, the enemies will suddenly use up all moves in the current grid and drain all your mana because there are no possible moves left. You will need a good reserve of explosive words in your language to deal with such frustration.



Further to train mounts you have to defeat enemies within turn time limits. However as they level up, the time became so short in each turn that you don't even have time to look at the grid itself and it is already the enemy's turn. So after certain levels, basically there is no more levelling up. And you are stuck with what you have. And sometimes the mount spell that you got requires so many mana points that it is basically useless and being there to just fill up the screen space.



Storywise it is really not much of story telling but the same old fantasy style with all the creatures you can think of in mythologies. Seriously I felt more refreshing with the small side story I unlocked in Zoo Keeper than the story Puzzle Quest tried to tell.



The problem is with all those frustrations you still wanted to play because you got so annoyed that you just want to try again and again to kill them.



If you are up for some frustrations and swearing with a good cause, definitely get this game and you can feel very fulfilled with yourself.

+ 0 likes

Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

...

capturing them and research them - all done through Bejewelled puzzles. You can even train your mounts and avoid attacks when they are levelled up. Mounts give you an upper hand in certain abilities and an extra spell / attack to execute on the battle field (usually you only have 6).





Everything looks quite unique a package but then the fun factor was completely destroyed by the cheating game design. The thing is the game was programmed in a way that it is almost certain that your enemies have the upper hand. Since once you destroyed certain grid with your matching, new stones or items will appear on the grid, 99.9999999% of the time the new items work to your enemies' advantage. There were so many occasions that you only have one move on the whole grid that's possible, but when you destroyed that part, the enemy suddenly has an advantageous grid that give them 10 moves in a row. There were occasions that I had a lot more HP left but suddenly because of that the enemies just annihilate you in a flash. It is so frustrating that you just want to drain your DS into the toilet.





Also as mentioned you can learn your enemies' spells by capturing them. So you did all that and learnt the spell. It turns out that you need to use a lot more mana points to cast those spells as compared to your enemies. So the enemies can cast deadly spell again and again but for you, once you did it once you have to wait for another century before you can do so again. And almost certainly that once you built up the reserve for spells, the enemies will suddenly use up all moves in the current grid and drain all your mana because there are no possible moves left. You will need a good reserve of explosive words in your language to deal with such frustration.





Further to train mounts you have to defeat enemies within turn time limits. However as they level up, the time became so short in each turn that you don't even have time to look at the grid itself and it is already the enemy's turn. So after certain levels, basically there is no more levelling up. And you are stuck with what you have. And sometimes the mount spell that you got requires so many mana points that it is basically useless and being there to just fill up the screen space.





Storywise it is really not much of story telling but the same old fantasy style with all the creatures you can think of in mythologies. Seriously I felt more refreshing with the small side story I unlocked in Zoo Keeper than the story Puzzle Quest tried to tell.





The problem is with all those frustrations you still wanted to play because you got so annoyed that you just want to try again and again to kill them.





If you are up for some frustrations and swearing with a good cause, definitely get this game and you can feel very fulfilled with yourself.

+ 0 likes

Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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in the musical score. You literally have to play on mute after an hour of gameplay.
*The requirement of multiple game cards for multiplayer is greedy. I have three DSs for my kids and me to play other games. I am not going to purchase three licenses for this game.
*No WiFi play - this is dissapointing as it would have been a fun experience to play with folks on line.

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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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in the musical score. You literally have to play on mute after an hour of gameplay.

*The requirement of multiple game cards for multiplayer is greedy. I have three DSs for my kids and me to play other games. I am not going to purchase three licenses for this game.

*No WiFi play - this is dissapointing as it would have been a fun experience to play with folks on line.

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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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you mana of the 4 different colors (used to cast the spells you’ve learned), purple stars will grant you extra experience, gold coins will add to your money, and matching skulls deals direct damage to your opponent.

You will also encounter puzzles when capturing enemies, where you have a fixed game board and you have to remove all the pieces; when learning a spell from a captured enemy, where you have to match a certain number of scrolls and mana gems; and when crafting an item, where you have to match a certain number of anvils.

The game has a classic RPG-style story, engaging music, and the solid DS graphics that fans of the system have come to expect. If you like RPGs or puzzle games, and especially if you like both, I would definitely recommend picking up this unique title.

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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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same-colored dots gives you mana of that color, which can be accumulated and used for spells or special attacks. Lining up gold coins puts money in your character's coin purse, purple stars give experience points used to level up, and skulls do damage to your opponent. The bigger the line, the bigger the effect (more mana, more damage, etc.).

As you gain experience, you level your character up by spending your earned skill points in different skills that have a variety of effects on future combats. You can spend your gold buying new equipment, or improving your home citadel with buildings like a Dungeon, which allow you to eventually capture creatures and learn their spells and abilities, or a Stable which allows you to train captured creatures to be mounts that you can ride.

The interface is very simple, just like any DS game. Everything is done with the stylus, and you can hold one of the shoulder buttons to swap screens at any time. The graphics on the map screen are necessarily small and not very detailed, but the other graphics in the game are very nice, and the music is typical of the Japanese RPG genre like Final Fantasy.

The only real downside to this game is that it can be extremely frustrating at times because the computer is naturally far superior to the human ability to process the entire board and always seems to put together massive combos that I could never have found without spending 10 minutes every turn trying to plan out my move and maximize my gains. The computer also seems to get incredibly "lucky" with the new tiles that drop down when it makes its play... they always seem to get an extra match or a nice cascade that you would never expect because you can't see what tiles will drop to fill in the board... but I bet the computer knows. It also seems like the hint that comes up if you wait long enough without taking a move suggests the move that sets up the computer's next turn, rather than what would most help you. I tend to take the hinted move as an option of last resort. The computer basically NEVER makes a mistake, and sometimes it seems like it makes the first move of the game and already has you at a huge disadvantage, down 20% of your hitpoints and the only move you can make is something that will set the computer up for another devastating attack. This tends to rob the game of some fun, knowing that the computer is always going to make a play that gives the maximum possible effect, even if it's not remotely obvious to you how the combo comes together.

The best thing is, this is a game my wife can enjoy as much as me, even if it's for different reasons... I like the RPG aspect, and she likes puzzle games like Bejeweled, so this is like buying two games in one that we can both enjoy.

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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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get three of the same tile. When you match up three tiles the tiles will disappear and three more tiles will drop in to fill the void. If you've played bejeweled, it's exactly that. However, the color of the tiles represents something. The purple tiles, for example, are experience points. Each time you make three purple tiles disappear you'll gain additional experience points from the battle. Skull tiles deal damage. You've also got tiles that represent your mana, and when you take those tiles out you get more mana.

The way in which battles take place is really quite interesting. You and your opponent share the same board and will take turns to clear out the grid. Your goal, of course, should be to go after the skull pieces to deal damage, but it doesn't hurt to do other things as well. Red, blue, yellow and green tiles represent your mana, and each color pertains to a different spell. However, you'll want to snag these too to recharge your mana and cast spells. You'll want to go after the purple tiles for more experience, and after the Gold tiles to get more gold. This is much more than just trying to kill your enemy before he/she/it kills you. You'll also want to try and get more than three tiles at a time. Stringing together combos and getting rid of more than three tiles nets you an extra turn, and believe me, your computer opponents are no dummies, they will take advantage of this and kill you. It's surprisingly strategic, addictive, and of course, it wouldn't be a puzzle game without multiplayer, and the multiplayer matches against your friends are just as fun and addictive.

Yet the game never puts aside its RPG elements either. Puzzle quest is actually quite a lengthy quest. Complete with sidequests, optional bosses, characters that join your party and everything! Believe it or not, this game probably does span the length of an RPG. That means you could easily spend over fifty hours with this game. To keep its RPG elements in tact, you get experience points from each of the various battles you'll be in. When you level up, you get a chance to distribute points among your attributes. This means giving you a chance to increase things like your strength, HP or your mana skills.

Visually the game is quite impressive. The PSP counterpart looks better, of course, but the DS isn't so bad looking. The manga style artwork is beautiful. Sometimes its a little too easy to make a mistake on the DS version, though, mainly because you've got to use the stylus and more often than not you may tap the wrong piece. It's not too much of a burden, though, and the game still plays just fine. The 3D graphics and story sequences are also pretty good looking on the DS, as is the battlefield itself.

On paper it doesn't sound like a good idea to mix the RPG and puzzle genre together, but the final product is certainly a fantastic one. RPGers and puzzle gamers alike owe it to themselves to check the game out. This is more than just another purchase of bejeweled, it's a puzzle game with great RPG elements that keep it interesting for hours on end. A fantastic combination.

Pros:

+An interesting hybrid of puzzle and RPG elements that work
+Addictive and strategic gameplay
+The computer is not stupid
+Fun multiplayer experience
+Engaging quest
+Top notch graphics
+Top notch music
+Hours upon hours upon HOURS of gameplay
+The construction of the games elements (tiles representing mana, gold and so forth) is just so well done and put together and it makes for a far more interesting gaming experience

Cons:

-With the stylus controls you're bound to do something you don't want to do
-Sometimes the computer is unrelenting; thankfully, you're not penalized if you lose a battle!

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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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game.

Alone, this would be a reasonably fun game. However, the game is both a complete puzzle game and a decently-detailed RPG. You level up your character and gain new abilities and add to existing skills - which can affect gameplay radically. Equipment also affects gameplay and varies considerably - a whip does damage when you collect yellow (air) mana, a suit of armor helps reduce damage, a ring may heal you as long as you keep your blue (water) mana above a certain level. You'll find yourself mixing and matching abilities (you can only have six ready at a time), equipment, and more to find new and better strategies.

However, the game then takes this one step further with adding even more - you can capture enemies and use them as mounts (and train them) or learn their special abilities, craft items with runes you can uncover, and build up citadels and bring other towns under control of your Queen. Throw on a lot of optional quests, random monsters, and more and you've got a satisfying RPG experience with plenty of ways to play.

Finally, the icing on the cake is how the plot is handled. It's a sadly standard plot, but it's told with some interesting characters (such as a motormouth dwarf or a scheming princess whose father knows her all too well) and some little details in the game that flesh out the world.

If there are any flaws, its that the presentation graphics are a bit mixed, from an OK overhead map, to barebones status screens, to some very nice character artwork (each class has 4 possible character portraits, 2 of each gender). It's good enough, but I felt the status screens and maps could have been done a bit better.

The only caveat I will add - this is not exactly a casual game. Each combat is very intense and can take a few minutes to play, and you definitely have to think as the AI certainly will. It's not something I can reccomend to truly casual gamers as it takes some investment of time and brainpower.

Overall? A fantastic experience deserving of the hype, and a step forward in gaming.

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Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords

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like increase the damage they do or give you bonus experience and such.

My only gripe with this game is the lack of presentation. You move from dot to dot on a map and menu surf through the whole game which kind of sucks. It's really only a small fault though given how fun the game is. If there's a sequel I think it would serve them well to create actual environments that you can navigate and explore but that's just my opinion.

If nothing else this game serves as a HUGE breath of fresh air in two genres that have been nearly beat to death. If you're bored of other RPGs or Puzzle Games than I highly recommend you pick this game up.