Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Puzzle games put your wits to the test by challenging you to find solutions to a variety of riddles and conundrums, which usually open the way for you to continue advancing through the levels. Although these mechanics are mostly used in adventure games, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords integrates them into an RPG, along with other unusual elements.

The main story line features almost everything you would expect from a traditional RPG title, including queens, princes and castles, as well as the rising threat of evil that lies at the horizon. As such, the task of saving the kingdom falls upon you yet again and you must use the skills learned throughout your training to battle a variety of foes that threaten the safety of the lands.

In essence, the game acts as an RPG when viewed in story mode, since it allows you to move your character between cities, open the inventory and take on quests. Once you enter combat mode, on the other hand, it quickly changes to an entertaining match-three type of game, which requires you to arrange colorful objects in lines of three or more in order to score points and defeat the enemies.

The main purpose of the combat is, naturally, to damage the opponent, which is achieved by matching three skulls in a row. But, all the other objects have value as well, since some of them give you gold, while others increase the amount of experience you receive at the end of the fight. The colorful pieces, on the other hand, are useful in case you want to cast spells, since every color opens the way to a certain type of magic school, including fire, water and earth.

Thus, by moving blocks around and trying to achieve clever combos, the combat keeps you invested into the action at all times, especially since the opponent gets to move pieces on the same board as you. As you advance through the game, the enemies get more and more powerful, while also being less likely to miss any damaging combos that are available to them.

In the end, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords provides you with a very intriguing plot and an addictive gameplay style, which features an interesting genre combination. Moreover, the colorful graphics give you plenty to look at, with nice effects scattered throughout the combat.