Save the world from Undead armies, battle fierce enemies, talk back to a god! Just don't do it on a PSP...
D3 and Vicious managed to take the long-familiar gameplay of Lumines, Tetris, Hexic, Bejeweled (the list goes on and on), brush off the proverbial dust, and make it shine like new. The gameplay doesn't change much at all during the singleplayer campaign's main mission, but gets spiced up a bit when you start to investigate the side opportunities provided by "Your Citadel". I spent more time trying to perfect the art of forging and learning spells than I did pursuing the "quest".
Also, I was intrigued and astonished (alternating in turn) by my hero's script. No traditional or trite fantasy RPG dialogue for her! When your hero stars at a mini-boss and says something like -- "This is where I tell you to walk away, if you promised to stay out of trouble. But, I don't think I'll bother and just kill you instead." -- you know you've found a jewel of a game.
The Bad
The score was well-written, but gets repetitious after a while, making me wish they'd composed more than 2-3 pieces for the battles.
As mentioned in some other reviews, there's a terrible stutter that sometimes pops up during battle. It can lose you some precious time in a time-limited game, but most often appears if one of the opponents has taken a huge amount of damage that triggers victory/defeat. Annoying, but nothing too serious.
I also have to agree that some enemies early on in the game were just too hard. Unlike others, though, I took this as an indicator that I should go explore side quests and my Citadel instead. This philosophy allowed me to take a break, drop down the pace a bit, and avoid too much frustration. It also put me in a much better position than some when the Final Boss battle came around. ;)
The Ugly
I picked up the PSP version of the game, while a friend bought the DS one. I've regretted my decision ever since. First of all, the explanatory text during battle (describing spells, item effects, etc.) is excruciating to read. A font that has 2 screens to luxuriate upon on the DS becomes cramped and blurry on the PSP to the point of giving me a headache within 30 minutes of beginning gameplay.
My second concern needs a little more background... As you build your citadel and capture enemies creatures to serve as mounts, you can train them by fighting them at increasing levels and with decreasing time limits. This means that you're eventually fighting a level 15 griffin with a 3-second time limit per move. Now -- here's where my irritation with the PSP comes in. Because I'm limited to rapid button presses to get over to the gems I want to clear, it's extremely difficult to clear a line within the 3 second time limit. It's also extremely frustrating to watch a friend playing it on the DS instantly clear that same challenge with the simple flick of a little white stylus. Not for him the tired and cumbersome lurch, old-school Tetris-style, to "GET OVER THERE, YOU &%(*#!"
I suspect that when the PC version eventually removes itself from the 'Release Date: TBD' list, that some PSP owners might pick up another copy of the game, just to relieve themselves of the sore fingers and sorer feelings inspired by that platform for Puzzle Quest.
The Big Picture
I'm an absolute fan of puzzle games and RPGs, and feel like I got the best of both worlds here. A few issues held it back from being a truly phenomenal game, but I am thoroughly satisfied by Puzzle Quest, and am only disappointed by how little attention it has gotten. Just avoid the PSP version if you have the option, and be prepared to have hours upon hours of your life sucked away by this little .. *ahem*... gem of a game.