PAX East 2010 – Puzzle Quest 2 Impressions

by: Tina - posted: 3/29/2010 2:24:00 PM

Gameplay in the first title of the Puzzle Quest series was, I have to admit, addictive. I didn’t particularly pay any mind to the bore of exploration in terms of locating quests and completing them until I was met with Puzzle Quest 2.

Puzzle Quest 2 completely revamps the exploration experience of the game in favor of something a bit more modern. You can control your character on an actual zoomed in playing field, walking across Verloren and picking up quests from NPCs indicated with an exclamation point in true RPG fashion. Quests themselves are fairly familiar, along with various side missions requiring you to pick up certain gems over others for particular reasons.

Gameplay in terms of battling is the original match-3 that you might remember from the series. However, there are distinct differences. For one thing, you can kiss grinding for money or experience points goodbye. While those gems have disappeared from the board, there is a new one called the Gauntlet, which is a new way to attack your enemy. By filling your quota of Gauntlet gems, you can activate your weapon to hit your opponent much in the same way that using spells or abilities functions.

In addition to these differences are the new classes that you can choose for your character. Infinite Interactive has added the Assassin, Barbarian, Sorcerer and Templar. I’ve always been a fan of magic-based characters, particularly specializing in destruction spells, so the Sorcerer was an immediate appeal.

Ultimately, Puzzle Quest 2 offers the same puzzle-type battling with RPG aspects engrained into it from the day of the original Puzzle Quest. A few new additions and a huge improvement in the visual graphics are what build upon the greatness of the first game to make this new iteration.