Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 17 April, 2007

Heroic effort.

When has never been a problem (5pm) and neither has where (behind the bike sheds), but Man, as befits a creature so indecisive that he invented TiVo, has never really made up his mind about how to settle differences between his brothers and sisters. Thousands of years ago, right up until someone had an eye out, it was swords. Then there was chess, baccarat, happy slapping, parking tickets and flicking rubber bands. Puzzle Quest, in many respects a bog-standard fantasy RPG, doesn't bother with any of that. Instead you swap tiles until someone dies. Punching rats has never been so B&Q.

Playing as one of four characters (druid, wizard, knight, warrior), you're thrust into battles against skeletons, sorcerers, ogres and worse, but instead of smashing each other to bits with the range of swords, clubs and other items that make up your inventory, you take turns to pick your way through rows of different-coloured orbs in search of combinations. Like Bejeweled or Zoo Keeper, the idea is to find two adjacent tiles so that, when swapped, at least one of them contributes to a line of three matching tiles, which then disappear, allowing others to fall into the gap and potentially chain.

By connecting Puzzle Quest's lines of skulls, you can land basic blows that sap your enemy's health. Other tiles are coloured (red, yellow, green and blue) representing mana, which builds up as you match the coloured tiles and allows you to cast spells - some violent, some buffing, some poisonous, some healing, and so on. Experience tiles (purple stars) add to the experience points you pick up after the fight, while gold tiles earn money. This being an RPG, XP and cash help you toward hit points, big tools and wicked hats, and in a neat touch even a lost battle nets you some experience.

'Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords' Screenshot 1

Stylus control is obligatory on the DS, and while it's not as smooth as Zoo Keeper it's not something you'll worry about after a couple of rounds.

None of it's hard to grasp. In fact, the novelty of using a recognisable puzzle mechanic to solve disputes wears off almost immediately, leaving a vacuum into which another interesting thought settles: this actually makes a lot of sense. Resolving conflicts in your average RPG is usually just a matter of picking attacks and casting spells in the right order, so you don't run out of health before the other chap does. Others, like Fire Emblem, are tightrope walks along narrow beams of concentration, where one false move can kill you. The most surprising thing about Puzzle Quest's approach is that nobody thought of doing it before now: it's simple, balanced and meaningful, rather than just a means to an end. The other surprising thing about Puzzle Quest's approach is that you can ride around on a giant rat.

That's because there's more to the game than simply wandering between castles on the world-map, talking to queens and kings and beating up the undead (why won't they just leave it?). There are countless sub-quests that help build up your character's statistics, and flesh out areas of the story that might otherwise go untended. The arresting battle mechanic means your compulsion to explore these strands is similar, again, to Fire Emblem, and indeed it wouldn't be overly unfair to characterise Puzzle Quest's tale of Darkness In The North as a less gobby equivalent.

But back to the giant rats. Between battles and quests, you can pop back to your Citadel and do a bit of DIY. Build a Mage Tower, and you can research the spells that regular opponents have been using against you. Doing so involves playing a Bejeweled-style puzzle on your own, rather than swapping turns with the AI, until you've collected enough of each type of tile to gain the spell. Elsewhere, besting certain enemies a few times allows you to try and capture them during a subsequent encounter. Faced with an arrangement of tiles that takes up only some of the screen, you have to make lines in such a way that all are used up with none left over. Do that and you have a mount. Head back to the Citadel and you can level it up by playing against the AI with time-limited turns, one skill level at a time. Having a good mount helps when you leave the city walls; a half-decent giant rat increases your cunning, which means that you often get to go first in proper fights.

'Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords' Screenshot 2

Here's the PSP version. Swish! Each has an Instant Action mode, too, so you can simply pick someone to tile up and then 'grout' them.

The amount of variables that weigh on each battle's outcome ought to have RPG fans frothing already (if not, the rat's rabid bite will), and that's before we talk about things like item-forging, spell management, the choices you get to make as part of the story, and developing the sort of tactical knowledge that has you shying away from easy lines in case it develops the board for the other player. You certainly shouldn't worry about getting bored of the puzzles, even if you've played Bejeweled or Zoo Keeper so long that you see the tiles when you close your eyes. While both the puzzles and the set-up are fairly well-worn, the way they combine here refreshes the senses, and makes new demands of the player.

Unfortunately there are occasions when you'll feel those demands are too severe, and there's certainly no question that Puzzle Quest is challenging. Being able to redo things without losing progress, or head off and tackle a different quest, is soothing, but the greater problem is the doubt you'll feel about whether the AI is cheating to win. In fairness, the problem's more that luck is an inevitable part of each battle. With tiles descending from the top of the screen to fill gaps, sometimes you're going to benefit and sometimes you're not, and while it's easy to remember the occasions when you felt hard done by (just ask my neighbours, who've heard most of them through the wall), a bit of honest reflection probably recalls enough good luck to balance it out.

'Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords' Screenshot 4

Navigating the world-map is easy, with simple animations and icons to show where you can find quests, hunt for runes and so on.

Where the game actually falls down is in the way that it sometimes chooses to simulate luck on the AI's part . When you see three skulls in close proximity on the board, and it's possible to make a line out of them and inflict damage, the only reason not to do so is if you have another turn coming up and you want to save them. Usually this is because you can make a line of four or five tiles somewhere else on the screen, which automatically extends your go. What grates is when the AI chooses to complete a line of three relatively benign tiles, which normally would end its turn, after which the tiles that descend from the top of the screen magically form a line of four that ensures it gets to continue, offering another opportunity to line up the skulls. That sort of gamble is simply inhuman, and erodes the trust between game and player.

Fortunately it's something that - a few hissy tantrums and the odd parking ticket aside - the average grown-up will be able to cope with, and there's little else to stop us recommending Puzzle Quest. As to which version, the PSP is the better-looking, but reportedly suffers from a trifling bug that renders your quest companions' skills useless, so you might prefer to play it on the DS, where it looks slightly less exciting, but does offer stylus controls, which mostly work fine. Whichever you opt for, we reckon the score below fits. If you disagree, perhaps we'll see you at the usual time and the usual place, but do remember to bring Puzzle Quest, because it has excellent local wireless multiplayer, and we're out of rubber bands to flick at you.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (62) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Freelancepolice #1 5 years ago

    Yup and available for a bargain 14.99 on play.

  • _grumpy #2 5 years ago

    tempting .... so tempting...

    "giant rats"

    sold!

  • Fodder #3 5 years ago

    It's a great game. I dislike match-3 games generally, but this adds enough to the forumla to make it a lot of fun.

    Unless the developer is lying, by the way, the AI doesn't actually cheat. It just genuinely gets lucky sometimes, the same as you do.

  • Dezm0nd #4 5 years ago

    buy it buy it buy it buy it.

    you'll get hooked and spend hours on it and for 14.99 it's a great purchase.

  • repairmanjack #5 5 years ago

    It is indeed utterly brilliant.

  • Hog-lumps #6 5 years ago

    I wholeheartedly agree with this review.

    It's a great game despite the little flaws. Plus for £15 it's great value for money!

  • ProfessorLesser #7 5 years ago

    That sounds completely shit. I just can't take any more Bejeweled-based games.

  • Murbal #8 5 years ago

    The score will please a legion of forumites.

  • Genji #9 5 years ago

    I've heard the PSP version has loading times, too.

  • limepickle #10 5 years ago

    1st Earth Defence Force 2017 and now this......... D3P seem to be in favour at the moment

  • Danj #11 5 years ago

    Gamestation don't seem to stock the PSP version, only the DS one, anybody know why that is?

  • Rirekon #12 5 years ago

    This game is stupidly addictive, an absolute must buy

  • McBradders #13 5 years ago

    Game of the year. I hope this does really well, it totally deserves to.

  • Fodder #14 5 years ago

    FWIW, the guy who wrote the AI explains how it works, and how it doesn't cheat, here:

    http://ww w.infinite-interactive.com/Infi...

  • dirigiblebill #15 5 years ago

    Looks fun. Puzzle game with narrative/mythological context. Me like.

    Has anyone run into the aforementioned bug on the psp version?

  • Royal Fool #16 5 years ago

    Heroes of Might & Magic meets Zoo Keeper?

  • mkreku #17 5 years ago

    There's actually a demo out for this game on the PC. For some reason, I've never seen them actually sell the game for PC anywhere.. but still, it's worth a try:

    [link url=http://www.gamedaily.com/ canvases/gd/_a/download-puzzle-quest-demo/200703151010099900 02
    ]http://ww w.gamedaily.com/canvases/gd/_a/...[/link]

    (Hope the link works)

  • read_only #18 5 years ago

    Does sounds good. Anyone know how long it takes to play through?

  • UncleLou #19 5 years ago

    From all I've heard, it's pretty massive.


    I was wondering about that too, mkreku - I couldn't find any info on any plans to release a PC version, yet there's a demo. Neat idea, but a bit peculiar. :)

  • HiddenAway #20 5 years ago

    You make your own luck. Pressure the AI enough and you start getting the luck.

  • Arwin #21 5 years ago

    Play has it here:

    http://ww w.play.com/Games/PSP/PROD/3-/93...

  • Chris Gardiner #22 5 years ago

    Slightly more addictive than crack, this. And so much to do! Collecting runes, making items out of them, capturing mounts, training mounts, building a stronghold, chasing after side-quests...fabness incarnate. Much fun to be had in combining different skill and equipment loadouts, too. Personally I favour the fire magic - firewalker's staff - enrage - burning skulls path to puzzle-y dominion.

  • HiddenAway #23 5 years ago

    ManicMiner

    You also have to try and predict what's going to fall. The AI will almost always go for a wildcard because mana is needed. I've seen the AI go for a completely random move as you described, giving up a seemingly better move but it doesn't gain anything.

    I think the AI is trying to predict what's going to fall. Think about it :p

    a
    a
    b
    a
    s
    s
    p
    s

    If you had that arrangement, the better move looks like to just take the skulls. If you take the a, and then 2 b's come along, then a skull, you make extra mana AND do damage. Sometimes just taking the skulls doesn't guarantee the best move. Always take wildcards though. Computer eats them whenever they show up unless there's a 4 (in which case it's usually that).

  • haowan #24 5 years ago

    The runs of luck the AI has on occasion do sting a bit, but you get the pleasure of having them yourself often enough. But they sting, they sting to the point where you do want to believe they are cheating. I don't believe they are, as they will often choose a 3 over skulls and get naff-all from it. So I think it really is just random numbers creating the illusion of cheating.

  • Chris Gardiner #25 5 years ago

    I don't think the AI cheats. More likely it occasionally weights gaining a particular colour mana over doing a couple of points of damage in order to get closer to casting a spell.

    And the number of times I've had lucky drops turn one of my own lackluster moves into a dazzling cascade of gushing mana, flashing skulls, shimmering experience points, and a big "Heroic Effort!" sign...well, it's happened by accident a lot more than by design, put it that way.

    Not that I'm rubbish, or anything. No. That would be mad.

  • Fodder #26 5 years ago

    I think it's simply that the AI doesn't always choose the obvious best move, and sometimes that happens to turn out better. On hard, it generally does seem to do what you'd think of as right, but on easy and normal it makes poor moves more often. Only that sometimes goes in its favour.

  • Horse #27 5 years ago

    Does multi-player need one cartridge per player? I reckon both myself & the girlfriend would love this.

  • Scarbir #28 5 years ago

    D3P sure is in my favour. But whereas Earth Defense Force is so bad it's good, Puzzle Quest is polished, higly entertaining and way too addictive. Best play of this year already - sorry Guitar Hero.
    Edited by 1 at 17/04/07 @ 14:38

  • Stoatboy #29 5 years ago

    I'm not sure what to think on the cheating AI issue. I've certainly seen some fairly hefty combos against me, but then I've never actually been wholly responsible for any of my Heroic Effort bonuses. I've never even tried to plan beyond comboing 2 chains together.

    I've seen the AI pass on 3 skulls, and get an unforeseeable 4 for the extra turn, but I've also seen it pass the skulls and get nothing but the 3 mana it was after.

    I'm tempted to say it's fair tbh (but then I still find myself swearing at my DS when hit with a huge combo by a high level opponent).

    Actually, I think it's more likely that it cheats when it suggests your next move - the number of times that would set up a killer move for the AI is just silly.

  • Banksy #30 5 years ago

    Puzzle games!

  • chavatar #31 5 years ago

    Great game, but have nearly destroyed my PSP on occasions in mad angry frustration because the AI does seem hideously lucky at times

  • Lutz #32 5 years ago

    This is a stunner of a game.

    One thing aside that wasn't mentioned: The game saves your progress constantly too, so if you have a crash/battery death, you'll lose only that battles work. Unless you're not in a battle, then you'll lose squat. :)

  • Lutz #33 5 years ago

    And re: AI cheating: yeah, it doesn't.
    OK, it's annoying when it flicks a bog standard 3 red mana chain and smacks you over the head with 40 damage from the massive chain that ensues, but I've equally done the same. With the use of 1 spell (stun) and a LOT of luck I've done over 100hp damage to an opponant before it got it's first turn. The luck is geniune.

    MMUK: I've seen the AI pass up 3 skulls to hit 3 reds and get a good combo, but then I've seen it pass up 3 skulls to get 3 coins. Why? Becuase of the layout of the board. If the top of the board had 2 flaming skulls at the top and a coin drop below would let more stuff drop into the board, then sometimes the AI will risk it, in the hoppe it gets the 2 flaming skulls (plus third skull) instead of the 3 normal ones. Or those 3 skulls could be an almost complete 4 or 5 chain. Seriously, try it yourself. Instead of grabbing the obvious moves it can pay off to hope that a what falls down from above is EXACTLY what you need. I've had more 5 chains fall on me than I've actually constructed I reckon, just relying on the luck factor. :)

    There's also apaprently a sequel on way.

    Edited by 1 at 17/04/07 @ 15:07

  • Gulag #34 5 years ago

    For the love of Mike, release this on PC already!

    Somebody lock Valve and Infinitive Interactive in a room together until they agree to put it out over Steam. I can't imagine the discussion will boil down to much more than agreeing who gets to dive into the big pile of money first.

    Get this sorted, pronto!

  • Hendo #35 5 years ago

    An absolute classic game - one of those times when a game just seems to come out of nowhere and is brilliant.
    Best DS game so far this year, and certainly contender for game of the year - yes, really.

  • espy #36 5 years ago

    Brilliant game, pity that the full version is not available for pc.

    Should I *really* buy a DS? Haven't had a console/handheld since the original GB :o

  • Agent_Llama #37 5 years ago

    Sold. /orders

  • Agent_Llama #38 5 years ago

    Out of stock on Play. Tsk. Do I spunk my £15 worth of points on Game and get it for £5 or just wait?

  • Kazzahdrane #39 5 years ago

    This game is ridiculously good. The only reason I've managed to stop playing (level 15ish) is that I have a 4-week holiday in South Africa coming up and am sure this will make the flights fly by!

  • FabricatedLunatic #40 5 years ago

    Just ordered from Play. A puzzler with RPG elements sounds quite heavenly.

  • Fozzie_bear #41 5 years ago

    Heroes of Might & Magic meets Zoo Keeper?

    Pretty much a spot on description there.

    But it's better than either...

  • captain_cupcake #42 5 years ago

    I found wizard to be easiest, but least strategic, as I just blast everything with fireball (lvl 27, hasn't a clue what that means.)

    Class game in all respects, got to say. Shouldn't it be a 9 or something?

    /scores are for virgos
    [edited for hidden character]

    Edited by 1 at 17/04/07 @ 21:25

  • dolphan #43 5 years ago

    "The other surprising thing about Puzzle Quest's approach is that you can ride around on a giant rat."

    I love this site. I really do.

  • jaxon58 #44 5 years ago

    The game was finished on the PC a few months ago, no idea why they haven't released it. Shame. I have the DS version though, and it rocks!

  • GordonJ #45 5 years ago

    The AI definitely cheats, I seen it pass up on a 4 or 5 chain (which gives an extra move) to take a 3 chain, which then magically gives it an extra go (hitting the low percentage extra go chance from it's mastery or battle skills), then take the 4 or 5 chain because it knew it would get an extra go from the 3 chain.

    At which point my knight just hits my 'Stun' spell then move, then Stun cycle and proceeds to kill the cheating AI :)
    Edited by 1 at 18/04/07 @ 09:44

  • Scarbir #46 5 years ago

    Apart from the Ai thing, theres something else I don't really appreciate. Everytime I start the game, I get the same matrix. It counts three vertical skulls on the left and an L-form of Red Mana in the upper right corner. When pulling one of the vertical Reds to make a horizontal line, it provides me a combo with an explosive skull.

    Someone else noticed that? I tend to quit the first session and see what the next one will be, although I have the feeling there aren't that many different matrixes at all.

  • kyotokid #47 5 years ago

    I'm addicted, its got its flaws, but still very good :)

  • coach_mcguirk #48 5 years ago

    Play out of stock. Arg. Wanteee.

  • Caimbeul #49 5 years ago

    DS or PSP version - which would you recommend?

    "but reportedly suffers from a trifling bug that renders your quest companions' skills useless" - is this throughout the game or at one particular point. not a very helpful comment eurogamer a bit mor clarification would help. IGN didnt mention this flaw in the psps version (yes i know its ign but i was looking for more info)
    Edited by 1 at 18/04/07 @ 10:25

  • HiddenAway #50 5 years ago

    Scarbir

    You might have been hit by a bug on the DS version. There's more in the eurogamer thread for details.

    Caimbeul

    The companion skills are useless for the whole game (PSP). That said, it's not a game breaker. I don't think it affects anything story wise.

  • Lutz #51 5 years ago

    GordonJ: Mate, seriously, the AI does NOT cheat. Yesterday I was up against a REALLY tough boss. I was down to 12hp, but he was own to 4hp. On the top row was 2 skulls, a red gem, and another skull. The AI could have linked the 3 skulls for 11hp damage (not killing me), but decided to link up a column of blue gems underneath that red gem, in the hope of a 4-skull link to kill me. It didn't get it. A skull did come out, but came out first, not last. I linked the skulls and won the fight. I've seen the AI be really lucky, but then I've seen it be really unlucky, and the same goes for me/you.

  • ForbiddenForest #52 5 years ago

    It's the C64 Paradroid update i've been dreaming about. Yes, I'm using my imagination here...

  • Caimbeul #53 5 years ago

    Thanks HiddenAway:- so these companion skills dont contribute to gameplay then? even on the DS version? I'd rather get the better looking vefrsion TBH but if it does effect the game (make it more difficult/chang gameplay) i'd pay the extra £3 for the PSP version as play are out of stock.

  • HiddenAway #54 5 years ago

    Caimbeul

    The DS version is not affected. The fights are not really that tough for me nowadays :p. The companions also add a few side quests on when you get them. Don't worry, the PSP recognises they're there, just that they don't give the bonuses you should get from them.

  • Caimbeul #55 5 years ago

    Cheers HiddenAway.

  • dcangel #56 5 years ago

    Brilliant, brilliant game. Spent many late nights up with it. You'd think someone would have thought of this before.

    Oh, and I don't think the AI cheats. It's very ruthless, but I'd say we've both had our fair share of inhuman good fortune. There's no shame in turning the difficulty down to Easy. I did, and it's made the experience much more bearable.

  • warthog2k #57 5 years ago

    Oh god it hurts!

    Make it stop please. I can't hold my PSP anymore due to knackered hands yet I still keep playing.

    I've just lost a whole weekend to this thing...

  • Lutz #58 5 years ago

    Minor funny: Whoever did the box art has put PSP screenshots on the back of the DS case.

    Muppets.

  • Dizzy #59 5 years ago

    Got it yesterday. Stylus controls are a must IMHO.

  • dryden555 #60 4 years ago

    excellent game with surprising RPG depth. There's some randomness to any game that depends upon gems falling from the top of the board. I like the fact that the enemy AI isnt a total pushover and there's quite a variety of enemies to fight. gets a solid 9 from me.

  • dancingphil #61 4 years ago

    Can someone explain to me how the multiplayer works? Do you actually go through the quest together or is it just 'fighting' (ie. playing the puzzle against each other)?

  • Miths #62 4 years ago

    It's on XBox Live Arcade now as well (no reviews up yet, so I had to go dig up some PSP reviews, like this one :)).
    I just spent half an hour with the trial and I'm definately buying this tomorrow - can't keep my eyes open much longer tonight unfortunately, though it was rather tempting :).
    Edited by 1 at 11/10/07 @ 03:51