Building upon the addictive and easy-to-learn gameplay of a puzzle game by integrating story and character progression elements found in RPGs. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords delivers a brand new type of game that pushes the puzzle genre to a previously unseen level.

User Reviews about Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

I first learned about this game a few weeks ago at a friend's house. I saw him playing it and said something like "What is that? You playing bejeweled or something? You wuss!" He started defending it and so i started reading the reviews and decided to make the purchase. The basic idea, a bejeweled type game overlaying a RPG fantasy setting seems a little odd on paper, but when you fire up Puzzle Quest on your PSP it won't take long for you to understand what all the hype is about. Puzzle Quest in a portable format just seems perfect. If you've played bejeweled before, you already have a good grasp of this game. You match up different symbols in groups of 3 or more to gain a bonus, for instance, skulls do direct damage, purple stars give you experience, gold gives you....surprise! Gold! There are 4 different forms of mana corresponding with different colors that fuel your different abilities and spells as you level your character up. The storyline is probably not going to "move" you or anything but it doesn't need to. Puzzle Quest is extremely addicting, its really hard to stop once you start and when the computer defeats you, believe me it will, you will stop at nothing to exact revenge! There are many different items to find and purchase to customize your avatar and it also allows you to upgrade your citadel with different facilities. Companions can join you and give you a boost at the beginning of battle but i've heard there is some kind of bug that keeps them from working correctly. In summary, everyone needs to try this game out, it is creativity at its best. -- Simple Name, Simple Game, Simply AWESOME!

Good game - easy to learn and yet hard to master. High replay value even though I haven't finish it yet. I choose PSP version over NDS because it looks amazing on PSP. -- Beautiful and Intriguing Game

Reviewed for Big Boss Games by: Tim

Puzzle Quest
By: Vicious Cycle Software
Published by: D3 Publisher of America
System: PlayStation Portable - PSP

The story intro (taken from the instruction book):
Enter the world of Etheria, a mythical land quickly becoming overrun with evil. You must help protect the kingdom of Bartonia from the undead invasion and seek out the source of these vile creatures to ensure the safety of your countrymen.

Story: 2.5/5
The world of Etheria is a large place filled with many cities, ruins and monsters. You can choose from four different classes and this will alter the story a bit. The classes that you can choose from are Druid - a master of nature magic (Healing and status boost). I picked this one for my first time through and liked it a lot. Knight - good with swords and shields. Warrior - Great with axes! Then the Wizard - great offensive spells used later in the game, poor hit points to start with, so choosing this one as your first choice might be a mistake and ruin the game for you.

Sound: 2/5
The sound was Ok, although not much to remember.

Graphics: 2.5/5
The graphics were ok, for a puzzle game.

Gameplay: 4.5/5
Your home city is Bartonia; here you will have access to your Citadel, the ability to get quests, access the local tavern for rumors, visit the shop to outfit your hero with some new equipment and access your hero's inventory. Where the game truly shines is in the gameplay. You move on a point-to-point, top down world. Then you battle a monster, overlord, or "thing" on a puzzle grid. The object is to match up at least 4 of the same colors, up/down and left/right. By doing that, you could afflict damage to your opponent. You also have spells and special moves that affect yours or your opponent's status. By playing well you will gain EXP that will level you up and give you access to better spells and special attacks. You can also be awarded armor and weapons at the end of a battle.

After a while, you will be given a Citadel that you can build up with the money that you acquired. By doing so, you will gain access to a dungeon that will hold monsters and enemies that you capture on the battlefield. With the addition of a mage tower you can try to learn some very useful spells from the monsters in your dungeon. The stable will allow you to capture and train mounts like giant spiders and griffons, and wolves. A forge will let you use runes that you find on the battlefield to make useful items. The siege shop allows you to lay siege to cities, so that you can earn more money to build up your citadel. The temple is a place where you can donate funds to increase your base status points. Towers will decrease the odds that a conquered city will revolt against you. The vault will increase the tribute the conquered cities will pay to you. The statues will gain you the title of king or queen and a one-time morale boost. So much to do so little time!

Replay Value: 4/5
The replay value for this game is very high because with the choice of four different classes to start with and all the choices you make throughout the game affects the story and the final outcome of the game. Also, the puzzle game addictiveness level is super high with this game.

Overall: 3.5/5
Overall this was a very good and solid game. This game was easy to play and ultra tough to master. I really liked this game. I recommend this game for all puzzle fans, also some hardcore fantasy fans that are looking for a new challenge. -- Not for the faint of heart!