I'd held out on Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for over a year. I wasn't convinced that the Puzzle/RPG hybrid would be anything truly deep or satisfying. I imagined the RPG elements would be weak and non-immersive. I thought the puzzle element would be okay, but wouldn't interface with the RPG side in any truly integral way. I was wrong.

See, lately I've been desperate for a new game. I finished all my current games in early November, and I had made the silly mistake of putting all the other games I wanted at the time on my Christmas list, so I couldn't actually buy any of those games in case someone else got them for me for Christmas. (Well, I guess I could have, but it would have been poor form. Not up to my code.) So, I kind of screwed myself over there.

And then I went into massive gaming withdrawal. I've been desperate for a good game for weeks and it's been killin' me!

I'm not the kind of gamer who can play through just any game to pass the time. I have to do my research and make sure that it is a game that I will completely love and become lost in before I even consider getting it. So, putting my complete list of carefully researched games on my Christmas list left me scavenging for just one more game that could keep me satisfied and occupied until the holidays.

I scoured GameSpot for any other PC, PSP, or PS2 games I hadn't yet played. Absolutely nothing was interesting me. And that's when I came across Puzzle Quest. I didn't think I'd like it, but I had no other prospects. So I tried the PC demo. The basic bejewelled-style puzzle game was diverting enough, but I initially thought it shallow. The RPG framework around which the game is based didn't impress me at first either: no FMV, next to no voice acting. Just static images with speech-bubble text dialogues. I feared the game wasn't enough to satisfy my needs.

But then something gave way. After learning a few basic strategies with the puzzle/combat I started to see how both the puzzle and RPG sides actually did jive. It reminded me of Magic: The Gathering: The way gems are used in one-on-one duels to generate mana and cast spells is very reminiscent of how Magic employs cards to the same end.

So I decided to buy the full game. I got the PSP version so that I could play it on the go, and so that I could wake my PSP up from its months of gaming hibernation, and also so that I could get the game without paying any money, by trading a few old titles into EB Games.

And I've become hooked, just like those hundreds of gamers who talk about PQ's highly addictive quality. I even play during my lunch hour at work. The strategy involved in playing the game continues to grow on me: Choosing between boosting your own mana or preventing enemies from boosting theirs. Allowing enemies to deal some damage for the sake of gathering more mana to unleash that critical spell. After getting my ass kicked at the start of the game by the giant bat ten times in a row, I took a break to complete some other quests and learn some strategy, and I managed to return to defeat its batty ass in a drawn-out, very carefully strategized battle. It was a highly satisfying moment and the no-going-back moment for me with the game.

And now even the story is beginning to grow on me. Despite the lack of voice and animation, I am being won over by the characters, the clashes resulting from their differing objectives, the small amounts of intrigue--nothing worse than your traditional RPG storyline. Actually, the moment that really won me over was when your hero shows little patience for the excessive verbal rambling of the dwarf who accompanies him early on. (I suppose the hero would have little patience for me too.)

Which is not to say that this game is all sunshine. It can be frustrating how much the computer helps itself to massive combos and possesses the foreknowledge of what is going to drop. For gamers who are not used to losing when they play an RPG, Puzzle Quest can be humbling. If you haven't played Puzzle Quest yet, but are thinking about it, be forewarned: Get used to losing.

So that's that. I've now got a game to tide me over to Christmas (at it looks like I've got a number of games waiting for me under the tree). My gaming withdrawal is gone. I'm engaged in another impressive gaming experience. And, as an added bonus, the Tetris Effect is back, Puzzle Quest-style: At night, when I close my eyes, visions of skulls and gems dance in my head.

EDIT: Ugh. Just hours after writing this post, I came across a nasty bug in the game: In the PSP version of Puzzle Quest (for some people), the game will freeze and crash when you try to access spells over level 15. This, combined with the bug where companions' abilities do not work, really puts players at a disadvantage and removes a couple of key elements of the game! Boo!