Homemademech - PSP Puzzle Quest reviews

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Puzzle Quest

When I first heard about the coming of God of War on the PSP I made abit of a fuss about it.
Sure, sure, I have been quite happy with the franchise to date, even giving it a 5 out of 5 twice (second review I’m writing right now, hold your harpies) to date! So then, what could possibly make me lose faith in the franchise I have so much faith for? How about the possibility of a third party taking over the reins of one of my favorite PS2 series. That is sure to make anyone cringe something fierce, yes it would.

However what if I were to tell you that there is a game out now, from one of these third party developers, that will regain your faith in their skills AND make you feel abit more comforted that it might be very possible to see a genuinely good God of War game come out. Puzzle Quest may be just that game.

I have never heard of the following : D3Publisher, Infinite Interactive Play -- well I’ve heard of Vicious Cycle, but I don’t think I heard of Vicious Engine. Anyway from these come a game that is part traditional sword and sorcery RPG, part old school puzzler. It’s as if a style of D&D knockoff game got it on with, and brought forth a child with… Zoo Keeper. Yes, I said Zoo Keeper, not to be mistaken for the underwhelming zoo sim known as Zoo Tycoon (Nintendo DS). Taking the basic game mechanics of Zoo Keeper (if you are familiar with it then no problem, if not I’ll explain briefly), it combines it with an RPG format for a most addictive, easy to learn hard to master, filled with abit of variety and things to do with a full set of options and over 150+ missions to undertake RPG Puzzler addiction worth trying out on either the PSP (this review) or the Nintendo DS. Think of it this way… DS for the quick satisfaction of tapping the touch screen and getting instant action, and the PSP for those who want to think out every move and play strategy like a long drawn out chess battle of wills.

The game boasts of a epic story of good vs. evil… only it’s not so epic.
But don’t walk away! Don’t! What this game kinda lacks in it’s not so epic story it supplements with a massively addictive gameplay mechanics that takes the already addictive gameplay of Zoo Keeper and amps it up with RPG elements, several different modes of play (which makes it possible for you to accomplish different tasks during the game), and both a single player storyline as well as multiplayer. The one chink in this game’s armor is, probably, the lack of online multiplayer since this game should have been experienced over WiFi so you can find opponents far far away (since this game is just screaming for that option).

Regardless, even without that it’s still a good game.
During your quest to stop an ancient evil, you’ll find yourself engaged often in the life and death (though you can’t actually die in this game) struggle of Zoo Keeper style icon matching. Only this time instead of cute animal heads which you match quickly to make vanish before they pile up, you’ll find yourself having all the time in the world to plan out strategy. Strategy such as you lining up mana energy (in order not only to fill your coffers but to deny your enemy the energy they need), death skulls (to damage your enemies), gold and experience points. The more you line up (4 or 5 at a time) you gain an extra turn, and the more combos you make in one move is also good, with a 5-combo hit being a “Heroic Combo” which is also good. What? I’m not explaining this in depth? No need. This game is easy to pick up, easy to learn, yet once you learn it you find it’ll be hard to master. Just learning the way of playing the game is easy, but once you do you’ll find that the game offers up more than enough challenge to keep you going.

Like any good RPG you’ll find all the requirements for total immersion into the title’s fantasy world.
Your character levels up as you play, giving you points which you spread amongst your attributes which makes you stronger. There are shops where you can buy the four primary modifiers that give you an advantage in battle (helmets, armor, weapons and misc. items) (some of which you can gain during your quests). You have a pub where you can buy rumors which help you in your quest. Along the way you can pick up companions which will aid you in your quest (though whether they join or not depend on the actions you take during gameplay).

And then there’s the Citadel you run which is kinda like your own private version of “This Old Citadel”, because as you dump your money into the structure to improve on it you can open up new options in gameplay like capturing/imprisoning enemies to learn their powers, creating a siege workshop in order to take over other cities to expand your money making abilities and access your citadel from other cities, open a church so you can trade money for skill upgrades, and the ability to forge mystical items through the uncovering of relic items. All of these options, by the way, each have their own Zoo Keeper style mini-game to play, each with differing rules which makes them fresh and different from the normal gameplay (yet easy to pick up and play once you got the main part of the game down pat while remaining challenging).

With 150+ Quests (both main story quests and sideline secondary missions) to keep you occupied, the many mini-games and side jobs you can do like enemy capturing, relic finding, city sieging, and so forth? This game should keep you playing for hours and hours on end, which makes D3Publisher a worthy 3rd Party Developer in my book (for releasing a truly addictive game that keeps you playing and playing).
Yes, Puzzle Quest is no God of War, but if the makers of God of War remember to make their game as addictive and all consuming as D3Publisher did with Puzzle Quest then they will do themselves (and us) proud. Thumbs up, D3, you get 4 Golden Citadel Awards out of 5 (aka a Silver Recommendation).

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