I thought this game is lame but somehow I spent 3 days on it and can't stop playing since.
User Rating: 8.1 | Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords PSP
Puzzle Quest is very straightforward. You choose a character/job and you start your quest. I choosed a man mage. Storyline: I’m not sure if each character storyline goes the same way. So for my choice of character the story goes like this. You travel under the name of the Queen and help neighboring countries as well as your own to reed of demons/rats/bats/ghouls and other monsters which seems to pose a treat to citizens. As you progress through the game you will find companions which I have no idea how to use their skills or that the fact it might be a passive skill and also the ability to seize castles. Also your main mission is to hunt down the Boss that has been going around disturbing the peace. Battle Gameplay: My first thought when I see the gameplay is. “Hey brother is this bejeweled?” I skip the introduction and went to the quest so it took me some time to get use to the gameplay. (Stupid aren’t I SO DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE). There’s a few categories of jewels. You have the experience jewels which is the purple star one, the round coloured ones which is your mana points. As you accumulate the correct amount of mana needed you can cast a spell. Skull ones injure your enemy and Coins jewel give you money (duh). This game is about careful thinking, perseverance, patience (A LOT) and not giving up even if your hp left 10 points while the enemy still has double of it. Like bejeweled you line up 3/4/5 of the same colour to get the points needed. You can either stack up mana and use spells to heal/kill/get more mana points or when there’s an opportunity stack the skulls to deplete enemy hp. Option Gameplay: Why option? Because in Puzzle Quest there’s another option that let you jump the storyline and practically go into battle. Now for me I rather walk and get to know some story base instead of repeatingly stacking up jewels (Then I might as well play bejeweled really). If you follow the story mode, you can accept up to 4 quest posed from individuals. When you accept it you cannot change quest or decline afterwards so it is a Do or Die kind of thing. Finished quest will be rewarded and your main castle will sometimes give you allowances as you past by the place. Minigames: You can build your own training ground when you have enough money. You can buy a stable to store your rides (rats etc) a training tower to learn spells from enemies that you captured and rune tower to get that godlike(not really) equips when you collect the correct runes. To get the rides you want or capture an enemy to learn spells you need to complete a puzzle of erasing all jewels on screen. You also can accumulate the amount of jewels needed to make or unlock certain items. Seizing castle is like waging war against one man with the whole castle building which will deal you a lot of damage. So unless you are properly leveled don’t even think about it. If you failed in seizing castle, your relationship with the country will decrease and they will ask you to do more chores(coughs) quest. Music: Nothing really amazing but it is appropriate and it gets a little lay down when you progress in the game because it just keeps on repeating the same song. Although what I found interesting is when your at the brink of winning or losing a battle, the rhythm starts to get faster and louder. Kinky!
Graphic: It is 2D but not too shabby for a 2D game. Character illustrations are good but the quest map is too big in my point of view. When I want to move from one neighboring country to the other I have to scroll all the way down and click on the castle I wanted to go. Now that part I cant tolerate but the bad part about it is, on the way, there’s monster blocking your path and you can’t go forth without battling them. And when you enter battle you can’t tell where your character is. Sometimes there is alternative routes but it is a hassle to connect one point to the other. So should you play it? If you’re a fan of Bejewelled, YES. If your not a patient person, NO If you’re not a Devil May Cry or Kingdom Hearts fan. NO. Because Puzzle Quest is quite repetitive. But seriously, if you own a PSP, just get this game. It is a good buy to past the time when your on long journeys and doesn’t feel like sleeping all the way through the journey. 
