Customer Reviews

Puzzle Quest 2

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Preface: I played Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords on PSP from start to finish, and I loved it. I couldn't put it down. I was hooked. I saw little colored gems matching up when I shut my eyes. I consider it one of the best games available. I also played PQ: Galactrix on Nintendo DS from start to finish. It was a painful experience that I don't wish to speak of any further.

Quick Impression of PQ2

Loved: The game sticks to the match 3/4/5 with hybrid RPG elements style of Puzzle Quest 1. It's not like Galactrix. New classes with emphasis on different play styles. Fun minigames that don't interfere with progression. Deeper character customization. No loading times. Silky smooth autosave that doesn't interrupt the flow of the game. Spot-on touch screen controls. Just as addictive as PQ1, if not more so!

Hated: No d-pad or button support. Would like to take a break from using the stylus sometimes. Boring music, not as catchy as PQ1. Subpar audio quality. Sparse but unnecessary voice acting. Difficult to focus on what is happening on top screen while matching gems on the bottom. Would have preferred this game to be released on PSP (if you played PQ1 on PSP, you know what I'm talking about). So addictive, I'm getting carpal tunnel syndrome again.

Bottom line: A must-have for any puzzle/RPG fan, and well worth the price of admission for those who are doubting the price point. You'll get dozens if not hundreds of hours of playtime with great replay value, all in a portable format that goes with you anywhere. Just don't get so addicted that you stop showing up for work.

"Puzzle Quest 2" (PQ2)is a sequel to the popular 'Puzzle Quest' of a few years back.

The overall goal for the game is to defeat some mega-warlord at the bottom of a dungeon, and of course you'll meet hordes of his minions along the way.

This a game much like "Bejeweled" in that you've got to match 3, 4 or 5 gems of the same color. However this is where the similarity ends. PQ2 is basically a RPG that you play against another opponent, either on-line or computer generated. Matching 3, 4 or 5 of a kind gives you bonuses in mana and may do damage to you opponent. Victory earns you an array of upgrades ranging from better weapons, armor, magical artifacts and spells, AND the all important XP (to really boast your avatars skills). In addition to the main game, there a several side game and treasure chests to loot...all of which give you a chance to improve your character's attributes.

PQ2 is VERY addicting..."I'll just do one more battle" and before you know it your playing into the wee hours of the night.

Concerns:
1,) The AI opponents are just that...AI opponents...with all their limitations, often making really questionable decisions resulting in some poor choices of game play.
2.)About 1/4 into the game I came across a 'spell' called 'weaken' that, once I learned how to use it effectively, gave me an overwhelming advantage against all opposition. As a result most 'battles' were almost foregone conclusions.

Conclusions:
A great follow up to the original "Puzzle Quest". Hours of fun, and very addicting.
4 1/2 Stars.

Ray Nicholson

Puzzle Quest 2 is a really super update to the original, offering a whole new quest, new classes, new minigames etc. This game BEGS to be played with a touch-screen interface, so the DS version will always be preferred to the upcoming XBOX 360 Arcade version, despite the 360 version having much better graphics and sound.

The gameplay here is very familiar, but the developers made navigating the game much more intuitive and fun. No longer are you running round a generic map. Now you actually go into towns etc and interact with different people there. It's much more compelling this way.

Also, good news for gamers put off by Puzzle Quest Galactrix and its terrible load times. Puzzle Quest 2's load times are basically nonexistent, so you'll be happily matching tiles for hours on end without interruption.

Overall, an excellent DS game. My only complaint after many hours of playing today is that the music sounds quite typically DS "scratchy," but this is a minor complaint.

5/5 highly recommended!

I LOVED Puzzle Quest 1. I've played it a half dozen times and it still never gets boring. I wish I could say the same about Puzzle Quest 2.

I wanted to love it...I really did. However, it took removed the best parts of the PQ1 and made the rest twice as difficult to use. Take, for instance, navigating on the map. PQ2 puts you into a more immersive map, but it takes twice as many clicks to move from one space to the next. If you want to go from one room to another. You have to click on the arrow to proceed to the next room. This gets really annoying if you have 6 rooms to go through to get to your destination. In PQ1, the amount of mana required to use a spell is directly visible. In PQ2, you have to open the spell to see how much is required. I find it all very irritating.

There are no citadels to seige and as far as I can tell you cannot learn spells. You just acquire new ones after defeating enemies. One of my favorite parts of PQ1 was the logic puzzle needed to defeat an enemy so that you can then learn their spells. There a few new minigames, but I don't think they are nearly as challenging as the minigames in PQ1.

On a final note, the manual for this game is worthless. It is one page of a fuzzy black and white picture of the gameboard with little explanation. Normally I wouldn't care but the in-game tutorial is a little light on information, too.

I offer a mixed review.

The first game being such a wonder and pleasure, I awaited this title eagerly and it was one of my rare new-game purchases. This game improves upon the original in all ways but one. It contains better graphics, better interface, better side puzzle developments, and other improved character elements for game play.

However, its lack is in one crucial area-- the AI. Whereas the first puzzle quest remained challenging even after completing the game several times over the years, this sequel looses interest and challenge just part way into, despite quickly setting the difficulty to max.

It was so little a challenge that I would literally grow sleepy playing it until I finally put it away and am considering trading it in in less than a month of purchasing this long-awaited and beloved title.

I am surprised at this because every single other area saw great improvement, I just cannot see how the first game had such a great and challenging computer opponent, this one is so stupid.

Decent game just not a worthy sequel to one of my favorite games.
Some will like this game more than the first. It is easier, the layout is different. They even added action gems and a new mana color.
But for most hard core gamers this game lacks the "magic" PQ 1 had. Pun intended.
It removes the mounts, castle sieges, weapon creation.. well this list can go on with the things took out of PQ 2.
The thing that hurts it the most is the lack of true customizing to your class compared to the first.
On the plus side, parts of the puzzle game itself feels more balanced.
Overall just felt rushed and put out way too soon. The script writing and story even feel rushed and half done.
If you must have anything Puzzle Quest get the game, if you liked the first but felt it was too difficult get this one.
But for hardcore gamers just be aware it is not Puzzle Quest 1.

Pluses:
- Wide range of new character classes to choose from (unlike Galactrix)
- Interesting dungeon format: portals, hidden traps, secrets, lock-picking
- Many new mini-games such as lock-picking, treasure-grabbing, door-bashing

Minuses:
- Not challenging enough: even setting the game to "hard" difficulty, I found the monster and boss fights WAY too easy.
- Monster fights take a really long time until you get to high levels.
- Boring fights - the monsters make dumb moves. They would be easy to beat except that they have LOTS of HP, so the fights become long boring slogs.
- Not a long enough storyline. I completed this game within a few weeks of desultory gameplay and am now working my way through some of the smaller side quests, just so I can finish it.

Overall recommendation: Buy this game if you're a match-3 newbie, or want a new match-3 game. if you're looking for a challenge, forget it. Puzzle Quest 2 fails to deliver on the promise of the original.

I was a huge fan of the first Puzzle Quest, but didn't like Puzzle Guest Galactrix - so I was really excited for a proper sequel to one of my favorite games. If you haven't played any of the previous games, imagine a cross between Bejeweled and Final Fantasy.

I'm going to focus this review on how this new games compares to the previous entries in the series. Here's a rundown of my experience:

The Good:

- The game moved back to the original Puzzle Quest icon-matching formula, without any of the multi-directional weirdness of Galactrix.
- They did a better job of making the different classes play out in different ways.
- Quick load times. Galactrix had long long times that were really annoying for a game of this style.
- You actually go into towns, instead of just staying up on the world map like in the first Puzzle Quest. This makes the game and world feel much more intimate.
- The actual battles are faster and more streamlined than in the original.

The Bad:

- Many things are much simpler than the original Puzzle Quest. The equipment is simpler, they removed things like mounts, castle sieges, and item creation. Lots of people will not even notice they are gone, but for the truly involved there's something missing.
- When it comes down to it, this game is just more Puzzle Quest. This isn't _necessarily_ a bad thing, but the gameplay experience is just not significantly different, and I can see many people being happy by just sticking with the first game in the series.
- It's a bummer that the only way to control the game is with the stylus. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to use the d-pad as an alternate control method.
- The music is pretty uninspired. Low quality and fairly boring.
- Puzzle Quest 2 is easy. I had a much easier time with it than Puzzle Quest 1.

I was addicted to the first game, and found myself playing until the wee hours of the morning, so I was very excited about the sequel. Although they had tried the other games carrying the "Puzzle Quest" name, they were far from fun. This game makes some dramatic changes to the RPG portions of the game, allowing for a more interactive environment. There are some storyline elements which are quite weak, but overall the gameplay changes are all very good. The core puzzle element, while still holding true to the formula, is actually a bit less fun and addictive than the original. The overall speed and quality are just shy of what made the original a true pleasure. The other additions to the game though more than make up for this slight detraction. Overall it is a wonderfully fun experience, and yet I had to rate it with 3 stars for the overall game as you spend the majority of your time in the core puzzle element. My only true negative on this game is the "loot" minigame which can be just a frustrating aspect after a long fought battle.

After the epic fail of Galactrix and the more epic fail of Kingdoms, were right back on form.
The gameplay is back to the orignal Puzzle Quest, only speeded up.
Only negative things I have to say about it:
1) Its easy as heck. After the tutorial area (much faster and more enganing than PQ1's tutorial area, at least) you face some goblins who can be annoying as they wil just about always go first and pull decent sized chains (though the ai doesn't cheat as it did in PQ1). Once you get past them however, the diffacutly rapidly plummets, even on the hardest setting. The bosses are A LOT easier than they were in PQ1, though this is partly because they are much less cheap.
2) The game is repetive. Several quests require you to fight the same few enemies several times in a row. This is less annoying than it might be because the battles have been speeded up. Their are a few repetive minigames, but their fast and easy, and nothing like the pain of gate hacking. Their all just varitons of the standard puzzle gameplay.
3) The customization has been severly toned down. I don't think you can learn spells from monsters anymore, and equipment rarely does much beyond "+X defense or +X attack"
4) The story is even slimmer than the first game..... but you really shouldn't be playing these games for the story anyway.

If this isn't a problem you will find this an excelent and worthy sequal.

For those who haven't played PQ, its basically Bejwelled with rpg stuff. If you don't like bejewelled (unless you could swing a sword or throw some spells around) you won't like this game. The gameplay is also repetive. If thats not a big deal, welcome and enjoy the party. Just mind the early goblins, their pretty annoying