Releasing early in 2007 on the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords become one of the most talked-about games of last year. With ever-increasing hype, it released on the Xbox Live Arcade in the fall of 2007. To continue its glorious run, and - of course - to follow the path of releasing on all platforms, it was announced it would be released on the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, and mobile cell phones. Looking at the simple math of it going multiplatform, the only platforms that haven’t received a version of some sorts of Puzzle Quest happened to be the PlayStation 3 and Mac. With all that said, let’s examine how the Nintendo Wii version has turned out amid all of this porting. 

Let’s begin with the basics: Puzzle Quest blends together many features of a traditional RPG and a laid-back puzzler. Does this simplified formula work? Yes; it provides an entry point for both casual and hardcore gamers. The reasoning behind this is that casuals are able to pick up Puzzle Quest and feel right at home with its Bejeweled-esque gem field. For hardcore gamers, especially those that favor RPGs, Puzzle Quest allows players to select a character class - which include the typical knights and wizards – and customize their character throughout the game. After the character class is selected, they’ll be able to embark on quests and gain experience points along the way.

The central gameplay is to go one-on-one with an enemy on the puzzle battlefield. Each player takes a turn flipping over the four different color gems (red, yellow, green, and blue) which all represent different types of mana. Each turn may turn out to be detrimental or beneficial to you or your opponent, so careful planning is needed for the upcoming turns. With flipping over the gems, players are able to collect mana, which, in turn, can be used to cast spells both offensively and defensively against the opposition. Taking this all into consideration, the priority of the game is to continue to attack your enemy until their hit points are reduced to zero. If you happen to lose the battle, Puzzle Quest allows you to continue on with all the experience points gained from the quest and try again.

Now, for the hardcore gamers, let’s address the RPG elements of Puzzle Quest. First off, you are able to level up your character’s stats – one of the biggest attributes of any RPG. Secondly, Puzzle Quest allows players to equip and outfit their character with a lot of gear that they can buy from shops that sell weapons and armor. As seen in any RPG, to use the more powerful weapons, you’ll have to reach a certain level to equip them. To earn more money and experience, the developers implemented gold pieces and experience stars on the battlefield to gain from the battles. So, as you can see, the RPG elements are heavily implemented and are quite interesting if you ask me. 

In addition to all that has been mentioned, players will also be able to build up their “citadel” to include the likes of a tower, dungeons and monster stables. For example, when you build a dungeon and a tower at your citadel, you’ll be able to capture enemies you have defeated countless times before and learn spells from them. The stables on the other hand can be used to train monsters as your mounted beasts for battle. If this doesn’t excite you, then maybe expanding your kingdom will. Players have the ability to attack enemy castles, and if victory is achieved, the citizens of the castle will begin to pay taxes. I haven’t seen any revolts from the citizens that I have conquered, so you shouldn’t have to worry about a revolution of any sorts.

Moving on to the controls, Puzzle Quest allows players to use the two more common of combinations – the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo or the Wiimote pointer by its lonesome. In all cases, I have found using Wiimote/Nunchuck combo to be more accurate and precise than just using the Wiimote. When I used Wiimote alone, it often resulted to costly mistakes on the battlefield. I must warn that with the Nunchuck attached, all of the buttons on the controller seemingly have some menu mapped to them. Another whacky feature of the controls is that when you are in multiplayer with a friend (or should I say foe?), both of you must be using the same controller scheme. 

Sadly, Puzzle Quest disappoints in what I consider the technical departments of video games: sound, multiplayer, and the graphics. The graphics of Puzzle Quest didn’t manage to get an update with the port from the handhelds. While playing the game, you’ll notice that it isn’t in widescreen. The reason that this is a problem is that the game feels squished together, and if you have a larger HDTV, you’ll notice how big of a problem this is with a lot of dead space on the screen. For the music, it hasn’t changed one bit from the Xbox Live Arcade release; this is a bad thing since I found the tunes repetitive on the XBLA. Lastly, the multiplayer is restricted to offline play – sorry if you dreams of online play were shattered.

Gameplay: 8.5
Puzzle Quest is a one-of-a-kind puzzle game that deserves all the attention it has received. The role-playing elements will capture your attention and continue to hold it for several months to come.

Graphics: 5.0
Crammed onto your screen, the visuals are disappointing.

Sound: 6.0
All the tunes are appropriate to the game, but there aren’t enough of them to keep the game refreshing all the way through.

Difficulty: Easy
The true difficulty of Puzzle Quest hinges on your familiarity with the puzzle genre.

Concept: 9.1
Being able to customize a character with spells, armor, weapons, and even using mounted beasts, Puzzle Quest is an outstanding game that should spark interest in innovation within the puzzle genre.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Even though it is fun to play, the lack of online play is what holds Puzzle Quest back from being a must have title.

Overall: 7.6
Having played two other versions of Puzzle Quest already (PC and Xbox 360), it’s evident that the Wii version is the weakest of the bunch. The controls, while sometimes precise and intuitive, are a mess with too many menus for the Wiimote/Nunchuck scheme and accidental mistakes that players will run into with using just the Wiimote. The recommendation is to try out Puzzle Quest on a few of the platforms to determine which one is worth your hard earned money.