Nerd Mentality

DS REVIEW – Puzzle Quest 2

Posted July 18th 2010 by Daisy Garcia.

Combining puzzle games with gemstones is a winning team in my book, so when I received Puzzle Quest 2 in the mail from D3 Publishing, I did a happy little dance. I had played and enjoyed the original, so I got out my trusty DSiXL, popped in the game, and bam! Instant success. Deciding what gender to make my character was easy enough; I don't think I've ever played as a male if I can help it, although I do know several men in my life who have no issues with picking opposite gender characters to play as when given the option. But for me, I like when the hero can be a heroine. That's about as far as I can stomach getting into feminism in games. We'll leave that thought for an entirely separate article.

So, you choose your character, pick the type it is: sorcerer, barbarian, templar, etc., name it, and all that jazz and embark on your quest (if you've chosen quest mode, which of course you did because you just opened up the game so why would you not be playing through to see what it's all about before skipping around, right? Moving on, you hit this village that needs your help because it's been overrun by all sorts of baddies: rats, goblins, ghouls, zombies, polar bears, YOU NAME IT. You have to defeat each enemy that either blocks your path or has upset some villager and needs you to fix everything and make it better. So being the wonderful person you are, you do it, despite the fact that some of the villagers are quite whiny about what they need you to do, others are quite rude and were apparently never taught proper manners, and some seem big enough that they should be able to handle a few measly rats on their own. Some people might not like the addition of so many extra side quests, but for those with memory problems, you can easily see your tasks if you go to your menu. Besides, you're there to help these villagers, so you do what you can to help them by battling the monsters that plague their day, however insignificantly.

Battles are where the puzzle game aspect really comes into play; you are basically matching up gem stones of certain colors to fill up your potion bottles in order to cast certain spells to defeat the enemy. Sometimes you can damage the enemy without a spell if you can get three or more skulls in a row, but that's not nearly as fun as maxing your gems to fill up your vials to the brim and then unleashing some massive damage inducing spell on the enemy. While it may take you a number of turns and some damage to get your vials filled up, there is nothing more satisfying than hitting someone with a 32 damage spell that renders them useless for a turn. You also get to brandish up to two weapons (one for each hand, one that requires two hands, or one weapon and one bonus potion type thing), which while not requiring potion from the colored gems, do require matches of fist blocks.

There are also "bonus" type puzzle games within each quest. If you come to a locked door, if you find a trap that you have to disarm, etc., all of these require you to play a puzzle game and win in order to move on. Every time you defeat a "boss" you unlock a hidden portal that helps move you from various areas of the village without having to cross paths with too many bystanders or enemies that are really just there to waste your time.  The only issue I've had with Puzzle Quest 2 is, as mentioned in the debut episode of the Nerd Mentality Podcast, the way the gems seem to be stacked in favor of the computer.  Battle after battle, you can try setting up your future plays to receive the highly sought after four or give gems in a row which give you bonus turns and extra goodies, but the computer will consistently get multiples in a row that throw off any plans you may have had.  So instead of being able to set up your moves the way you can in chess, oftentimes you have to rethink your strategy because the computer enemy will receive gems in their favor and ruin your chances.  But it's a game and I don't like thinking of conspiracies in games.

Posted in: Gaming, Reviews

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