Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords review

Two games you've played before merge to become a unique puzzler

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Based upon a great puzzle game

  • +

    Quirky added elements

  • +

    Playing against a friend

Cons

  • -

    No online play

  • -

    Bejeweled is free online

  • -

    Instant deaths when the AI gets lucky

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Sometimes, explaining the mechanics of a puzzle game is nightmarishly difficult. It's usually some variation of "this colored widget goes there, and if you make a certain shape, more widgets blast in from some direction", but filling in the details is a pain. Not so with Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. If you've ever played Bejeweled - and several million people have - you know 90% of what this game is about.

The remaining ten percent sure is interesting, though. Yes, you're basically still staring at a grid of differently-hued jewels and swapping them from one square to another in an effort to make rows of three. However, instead of poofing away into points when you match three or more, they're used to power your elementally-themed magic spells and special attacks. There are also coin icons, which net you money to buy new gear, purple stars that give experience points, and skulls that do damage to your enemy.

What's that? Gear and enemies and magic? Well, yeah. See, this is actually a classic role-playing game in which you select from four slightly different classes (druid, knight, warrior, or wizard) and go on quests, but with typical battles replaced with puzzle matches.

Thus, when you find yourself ambushed by a giant spider, you and it take turns moving gems on a shared game board. Your equipment and stats dictate how much damage you give and take, and special moves can blow out tiles, gain hit points, freeze the opponent (giving you multiple turns in a row), and so on. You can also build up your home citadel, enabling you to capture enemies and learn their spells or make new gear for you and your party by solving specific puzzle grids - yep, you have a posse, who can give you bonuses like dealing extra damage against certain enemy types. You can even lay siege to other cities, and if you defeat them in puzzle battle, they will then pay you every time you visit them.

More info

GenrePuzzle
DescriptionHead to head puzzles and single player rewards systems head your way in this portable genre mash-up.
Platform"PSP","DS","PC","PS2","Wii"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating"","","","",""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.