Tech: Puzzle Quest - Challenge of the Warlords Review (DS version)

Puzzle game: A computer program designed to entertain by forcing the user
to solve problems that involve reasoning, often with abstract elements such as
shapes or colors.

Role-playing game: A computer program designed to entertain by forcing the
user to develop an in-game persona that typically defeats enemies and completes
quests.

Puzzle Role-playing game: Bookworm Adventures, Puzzle
Quest

While it's fairly common for video games nowadays to blend various genres together (a racing game with weapons and jumping, for example), perhaps no mash-up is as strange as the puzzle RPG. "Puzzle Quest" takes the conventional RPG formula seen in games like Final Fantasy or Baldur's Gate and mixes it with a healthy dose of Bejeweled.

Maybe a video will explain it better:

The game is pretty good, and maddeningly addictive. The DS version looks and sounds much worse than the PSP version, but the DS also has stylus control, which is probably the best way to play the game. I remember spending a whole afternoon scribbling on my screen, battling giant rats and liches with all manner of multicolored gems.

Normally such addiction within a game is a sign of a true classic, but for some reason, after a long PQ session, you feel burnt-out, not elated. The game is essentially one long grind, and though it's an addictive grind, filled with variety, in the end, all you are doing is playing Bejeweled over and over and over...

Rating: 82/100