Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords [DS, PSP]

Bejeweled is a fairly popular downloadable puzzle game that can be found online. The premise is that you have a grid filled with coloured jewels, and your goal is to swap jewels one space above, below or across to get at least three jewels of the same colour in a row, whereupon they vanish, and a new set of jewels drop in from the top. Depending partly on luck and skill, you can get up to four-of-a-kind jewels together for extra points, and depending on what jewels drop from the ceiling, you can chain together long strings of combos without actually doing anything.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords takes the simple, addictive and fun nature of Bejeweled, sprucing it up with several RPG elements, such as the epic hero sallying forth to rid the land of evil; while leveling up, and acquiring spells and companions that affect performance in battle.

The basic gameplay is this: First, you create a character based on one of four classes, Druid, Warrior, Knight and Wizard. These classes learn different abilities to help them in their quest, and have different growth allocations for their skill points. Your choice will affect the way you play in each individual battle.

Then you will be tasked with a series of quests mostly in the form of battles. In battle, you are presented with a grid filled with coloured gems, skulls, purple crystals, and gold coins. And much like Bejeweled, your task is to manipulate the various items on the game board to create strategic combos of three or more of the same object. Coloured gems will refill their respective mana bars, allowing you to cast spells, skulls will do direct damage to the enemy, crystals grant you much needed experience to boost your levels, and gold coins add to – you guessed it – your gold supply with which you can purchase equipment.

You and your respective foe will take turns on the game board. When one has lost, having their life points depleted (either through being damaged through lining up of skulls or through offensive spells), the battle ends, and you earn the spoils of the battle.

The game has its complexities that 'hardcore' players will enjoy, but those looking for a more casual experience can have fun here too – there is no penalty for losing a match, and thus you needn’t feel the frustration of reloading your saved game again and again. At the start, randomly matching gems whenever you see an opening might net you victories. As you progress, enemies use their different spells and abilities to give each battle a unique feel. You have to plan ahead, watching to ensure that your strategy won't give the enemy an opportunity to inflict a crushing combo on you. The gameplay is immensely addictive, and it's amazing how the blend of the puzzle and RPG elements creates this beautifully executed and well-designed game.

The accompanying music is topnotch. Although the battles use a small variety of tunes, they are all pleasing to the ear. The main theme that plays at the title menu is great.

Graphically, it gets the job done. The PSP version looks better, of course, but the graphics on the DS are still crisp and clear, allowing you to play the game with no impediment.

Best of all, it fits perfectly the handheld console philosophy: a game you can pick up, play for five minutes and put away again - and still feel like you have accomplished something. While both versions have their unique advantages (the DS version supports stylus control, which I prefer, the PSP has a slightly less cluttered looking screen), you honestly can’t go wrong with either version.

If you own either handheld, buy this game. NOW.

By Jonathan Lau