Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Encyclopedia
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is a game developed
by Australian company Infinite Interactive
and published
by D3 Publisher
. The game combines role-playing
with strategy
and puzzle elements. It uses a competitive Bejeweled
-style playfield to simulate combat and other activities common to role-playing games.
The game was first published simultaneously for the Nintendo DS
and PlayStation Portable
in early 2007, and several ports to other systems were subsequently announced. The Xbox Live Arcade
version was released on 10 October 2007. The Wii
version came out on 29 November 2007. The retail version for Windows
came out on 22 October 2007, although the downloadable PC version was available as of 10 October 2007. A version for PlayStation 2
was released on 13 November 2007, and was followed by a mobile version for cell phones in early 2008. It was released for PlayStation 3
on 9 October 2008 through the PlayStation Network, and for the iPhone OS
through the App Store on 23 December 2008.
On 16 November 2007, at Game Connect
, a conference for Australian game developers, lead designer Steve Fawkner
announced that Infinite Interactive is working on a free, web-based game that will tie-in with Puzzle Quest and the developer's future titles.
In a D3 Publisher
press release regarding the hiring of Adam Roberts as VP of Europe, a sequel was announced for Puzzle Quest with a 2008 release date. At the 2008 Game Developers Conference
, Galactrix became publicly known as Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
.
game universe. Players assume the role of a character with various statistics such as combat ability, morale, and magical affinity. A character's predisposition toward individual attributes and spells is determined by the selection of one of four professions at the start of the game. During play, the player takes on quests as part of the main storyline, as well as accepting side quests in order to gain items, experience and gold. Gold can be used to buy equipment that offers bonuses in combat, or it can be used to build up a citadel that unlocks additional content and customization for the character.
The game uses a simple map, and as players accept quests, new towns, cities, and other points of interest appear as available destinations. Each location is connected together by roads, and foes periodically appear between locations, blocking movement until they are defeated. Key quest locations are also marked on the map, and completing quests typically involves visiting such locations in order to defeat one or more opponents in one-on-one battles.
Combat in the title is conducted entirely via turn-based puzzle action similar to Bejeweled
or Zoo Keeper
. The player and the computer-controlled opponent take turns swapping the position of two horizontally or vertically adjacent tiles on a grid to make a row or column of at least 3 like tiles; these tiles are removed with various effects as listed below, and all tiles above them fall to fill in the spaces, with new tiles created at the top of the board. If, by this action, a new row or column of three or more like tiles is formed, this is also removed and the chain can continue indefinitely. An extremely long chain can earn the player additional bonuses.
Once either the player or computer opponent runs out of life, the battle is over. Most battles can be re-fought if the player loses, although only those which are part of the main quest need be completed in order to advance the game plot.
Advanced Tiles (Minigames):
As the game progresses, players can engage in multiple style minigames aside from main quest and battle formats. These include the collection of runes, mounts, or capturing enemies. Some of these minigames introduce new tiles:
Four in a Row: When a player gets a row or column of 4 or more tiles, they will be granted an extra turn.
Five in a Row: A row or column of 5 will additionally make a wildcard tile appear.
Six, Seven, Eight in a Row: It is possible to do Puzzle Quest 6, 7 and 8 in a Row, but no extra rewards are registered.
As the player gains levels and distributes skill points, they can alter the benefits received when clearing tiles, such as receiving additional mana when a certain color tile is cleared. Similar effects are provided by armor, weapons, and accessories the player can purchase, manufacture, or obtain through quests.
A player that makes an illegal move suffers self-inflicted damage, the move is ignored, and the player must choose a different move. Should no legal move be possible, the board is reset/cleared, and both players lose all accumulated mana.
Computerized opponents can also cast spells during their turn, with the available spells depending on the type of foe. For example, a fire elemental opponent might specialize in spells which make heavy use of red mana. Players can use this knowledge to try and plan their own strategy, e.g., attempting to deny access to chains of gems of a given color.
Spells also are associated with one or more of the four elements of mana - air, earth, water, and fire. Equipment, abilities, and spells used by both the player and his/her opponents can provide resistance to one or more of these elements. This is expressed as a percentage chance that a spell that uses the color of that mana failing when an opponent uses it. As most spells use more than one color of mana, resistances can have wide-ranging effects.
Once the citadel has received certain upgrades, gold can also be spent at the citadel in order to directly improve player statistics (through training). The cost for such training increases as the current value of the statistic increases.
A player's citadel is initially accessible only from a single city, but players can gain access to the citadel screen from other cities by successfully laying siege to these locations. After defeating the city itself in combat, the city is captured and citadel management becomes available from the new location.
noted that the PSP version has a much more challenging artificial intelligence
along with a larger screen and more in-game effects. However, the PSP version also has a bug relating to in-game companions that is not present in the DS version; the companions' stated special abilities do not work. While game designer Steve Fawkner has acknowledged this bug, he claims that only Vicious Cycle
, the port developer, has the ability to produce a patch. The PSN and European version of the game do not have the bug.
, using the service's built-in networking to allow players to compete online similar to the player matches available in the DS and PSP versions.
stated that the PSP version of the game, "managed to combine the best aspects of both [puzzle and RPG] genres into one nice little package." Hyper
s Maurice Branscombe commends the game for being a "fantastic puzzle game, mixed with simple, yet compelling, RPG elements". However, he criticises it for having a "cookie cutter RPG story".
MTV Networks
' GameTrailers
awarded Puzzle Quest the title of "Best Puzzle/Parlor Game" of 2007. Future's Next Generation
online ranked it as the 17th best game released in 2007. GameSpy
awarded it "Best Xbox Live Arcade Game" of 2007. The Xbox Live Arcade version was listed as the 6th best title of all time for that platform by the IGN
staff in a September 2010 compilation.
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Australian company Infinite Interactive
Infinite Interactive
Infinite Interactive was a video game developer with headquarters in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded by Steve Fawkner in 1989. After a long alliance with SSG, resulting in the development of the Warlords series of games, Steve moved on to make Infinite totally independent in...
and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by D3 Publisher
D3 Publisher
D3Publisher is a Japanese video game publisher founded on February 5, 1992. Current CEO and president is Yuji Ito, and It is known for its Simple series of low-priced console games. Their games have been released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2,...
. The game combines role-playing
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
with strategy
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
and puzzle elements. It uses a competitive Bejeweled
Bejeweled
Bejeweled is a puzzle game by PopCap Games, first developed for browsers in 2001. Three follow-ups to this game have been released. More than 75 million copies of Bejeweled have been sold, and the game has been downloaded more than 500 million times....
-style playfield to simulate combat and other activities common to role-playing games.
The game was first published simultaneously for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
in early 2007, and several ports to other systems were subsequently announced. The Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
version was released on 10 October 2007. The Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
version came out on 29 November 2007. The retail version for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
came out on 22 October 2007, although the downloadable PC version was available as of 10 October 2007. A version for PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
was released on 13 November 2007, and was followed by a mobile version for cell phones in early 2008. It was released for PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on 9 October 2008 through the PlayStation Network, and for the iPhone OS
IPhone OS
iOS is Apple's mobile operating system. Originally developed for the iPhone, it has since been extended to support other Apple, Inc. devices such as the iPod Touch, iPad, and Apple TV. Apple, Inc. does not license iOS for installation on third-party hardware...
through the App Store on 23 December 2008.
On 16 November 2007, at Game Connect
Game Connect
GAME CONNECT: ASIA PACIFIC is Australia’s annual game development conference and networking event for the Asia Pacific Games Industry and is administered by the Game Developers’ Association of Australia....
, a conference for Australian game developers, lead designer Steve Fawkner
Steve Fawkner
Steve Fawkner is an Australian software designer, programmer and composer who has worked for several video game design companies.He was originally made famous as the creator of Warlords game series in 1989, but in recent years has found fame once again as creator of the Puzzle Quest series...
announced that Infinite Interactive is working on a free, web-based game that will tie-in with Puzzle Quest and the developer's future titles.
In a D3 Publisher
D3 Publisher
D3Publisher is a Japanese video game publisher founded on February 5, 1992. Current CEO and president is Yuji Ito, and It is known for its Simple series of low-priced console games. Their games have been released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2,...
press release regarding the hiring of Adam Roberts as VP of Europe, a sequel was announced for Puzzle Quest with a 2008 release date. At the 2008 Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
, Galactrix became publicly known as Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, or Galactrix, is a puzzle video game developed by Infinite Interactive for the PC, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network service....
.
Gameplay
The story of Puzzle Quest is based in the WarlordsWarlords (game series)
Warlords is a computer game series created by Steve Fawkner, in which role-playing elements are combined with strategy in a fantasy setting. The series has been split into two different games lines, the traditional turn-based strategy Warlords series , and a newer real-time based strategy Warlords...
game universe. Players assume the role of a character with various statistics such as combat ability, morale, and magical affinity. A character's predisposition toward individual attributes and spells is determined by the selection of one of four professions at the start of the game. During play, the player takes on quests as part of the main storyline, as well as accepting side quests in order to gain items, experience and gold. Gold can be used to buy equipment that offers bonuses in combat, or it can be used to build up a citadel that unlocks additional content and customization for the character.
The game uses a simple map, and as players accept quests, new towns, cities, and other points of interest appear as available destinations. Each location is connected together by roads, and foes periodically appear between locations, blocking movement until they are defeated. Key quest locations are also marked on the map, and completing quests typically involves visiting such locations in order to defeat one or more opponents in one-on-one battles.
Combat
Bejeweled
Bejeweled is a puzzle game by PopCap Games, first developed for browsers in 2001. Three follow-ups to this game have been released. More than 75 million copies of Bejeweled have been sold, and the game has been downloaded more than 500 million times....
or Zoo Keeper
Zoo Keeper
Zoo Keeper is an online puzzle game developed by Robot Communications that was later ported to the Nintendo DS by Japanese video game publisher Success...
. The player and the computer-controlled opponent take turns swapping the position of two horizontally or vertically adjacent tiles on a grid to make a row or column of at least 3 like tiles; these tiles are removed with various effects as listed below, and all tiles above them fall to fill in the spaces, with new tiles created at the top of the board. If, by this action, a new row or column of three or more like tiles is formed, this is also removed and the chain can continue indefinitely. An extremely long chain can earn the player additional bonuses.
Once either the player or computer opponent runs out of life, the battle is over. Most battles can be re-fought if the player loses, although only those which are part of the main quest need be completed in order to advance the game plot.
Tiles
Tiles have 5 basic forms:- Colored tiles (red/fire, yellow/air, green/earth, blue/water) represent mana; for each tile removed, the character gains one mana of that color.
- Experience tiles (purple stars) grant the player additional experience after the battle is completed.
- Gold tiles which earn money for the player.
- Skull tiles that directly damage the other player. Some skulls will glow red; these are "+5 skulls", and will then cause more damage as well as destroying adjacent tiles when removed.
- Wildcards, which appear as a multiplier and a number, such as "x5". When wildcards are matched with two or more gems of the same color, the matcher acquires the mana for those gems, multiplied by the given number.
Advanced Tiles (Minigames):
As the game progresses, players can engage in multiple style minigames aside from main quest and battle formats. These include the collection of runes, mounts, or capturing enemies. Some of these minigames introduce new tiles:
- Scroll tiles are revealed when players make a column of 4 or more tiles in some minigames. The collection of scroll tiles to a predetermined amount helps satisfy minigame quest requirements.
- Hammer/Anvil tiles are also available in select minigames and the player is required to rid the board of them to complete a specialized quest.
Four in a Row: When a player gets a row or column of 4 or more tiles, they will be granted an extra turn.
Five in a Row: A row or column of 5 will additionally make a wildcard tile appear.
Six, Seven, Eight in a Row: It is possible to do Puzzle Quest 6, 7 and 8 in a Row, but no extra rewards are registered.
As the player gains levels and distributes skill points, they can alter the benefits received when clearing tiles, such as receiving additional mana when a certain color tile is cleared. Similar effects are provided by armor, weapons, and accessories the player can purchase, manufacture, or obtain through quests.
A player that makes an illegal move suffers self-inflicted damage, the move is ignored, and the player must choose a different move. Should no legal move be possible, the board is reset/cleared, and both players lose all accumulated mana.
Spells
As players gain mana, they can opt to cast a spell instead of swapping tiles, but only if they have enough of the appropriately colored mana. Spell effects include direct offensive damage to the other player, defensive spells, ones that affect certain tiles on the board, ones that make the other player skip a turn, and many more. Certain spells are more powerful, but require more mana. Additionally, in the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, iPhone, and Wii ports, certain spells have a "cool-off" time before they can be cast again. Players select which spells to bring into a battle ahead of time, and may only cast spells from this limited repertoire. A player may also have an "extra" spell provided by a monster that they have captured and used as a mount. This "mount" spell is only filled when a mount is used, and is not available to hold another spell if no mount is used.Computerized opponents can also cast spells during their turn, with the available spells depending on the type of foe. For example, a fire elemental opponent might specialize in spells which make heavy use of red mana. Players can use this knowledge to try and plan their own strategy, e.g., attempting to deny access to chains of gems of a given color.
Spells also are associated with one or more of the four elements of mana - air, earth, water, and fire. Equipment, abilities, and spells used by both the player and his/her opponents can provide resistance to one or more of these elements. This is expressed as a percentage chance that a spell that uses the color of that mana failing when an opponent uses it. As most spells use more than one color of mana, resistances can have wide-ranging effects.
Companions
The main character receives companions during the game. These companions provide various bonuses in battle, such as damaging enemies or providing bonuses to the main character's attributes. Some companions are fixed to join the player as the game progresses, while others may be obtained via choices that the player makes. The presence of certain Companions unlock various subplots and extra quests. Companions may also be left behind and picked up again at specific locations, as well as leave the player permanently due to conflicting interests. Companions may interact with each other in subplots.Citadel actions
With the money earned from combat and questing, players can either purchase items to provide benefits in battle, or can spend the money to build up their citadel. With an appropriately augmented citadel, players can "capture" enemies they have defeated multiple times in order to learn spells from them, store & train mounts and receive various other benefits. In many cases, actions at the citadel require completing a single-player challenge based on modified game rules. For example, to forge a new item, the player must clear at least one "hammer and anvil" symbol from the board by either matching at least 3 of them in a row or column, or having one in a row or column of a 4 or 5-length match, before the board has no more legal moves.Once the citadel has received certain upgrades, gold can also be spent at the citadel in order to directly improve player statistics (through training). The cost for such training increases as the current value of the statistic increases.
A player's citadel is initially accessible only from a single city, but players can gain access to the citadel screen from other cities by successfully laying siege to these locations. After defeating the city itself in combat, the city is captured and citadel management becomes available from the new location.
Version differences
A side-by-side comparison of the DS and PSP versions by KotakuKotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
noted that the PSP version has a much more challenging artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
along with a larger screen and more in-game effects. However, the PSP version also has a bug relating to in-game companions that is not present in the DS version; the companions' stated special abilities do not work. While game designer Steve Fawkner has acknowledged this bug, he claims that only Vicious Cycle
Vicious Cycle Software
Vicious Cycle Software is a video game development company based in Morrisville, North Carolina, United States.-History:Vicious Cycle was founded in 2000 by Eric Peterson, Dave Ellis, Marc Racine and Wayne Harvey after layoffs at the local MicroProse development studio forced several game...
, the port developer, has the ability to produce a patch. The PSN and European version of the game do not have the bug.
Xbox Live release
In addition to releases for the PlayStation 2 and Wii consoles, the game was ported to Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
, using the service's built-in networking to allow players to compete online similar to the player matches available in the DS and PSP versions.
Expansion
An expansion for the game, Revenge of the Plague Lord, was released on 23 July, for the Xbox Live Arcade and was included in the 9 October 2008 release on the PlayStation Network. It was also released as a free update for the iPhone OS version. The expansion features 4 new character classes (Bard, Rogue, Ranger and Warlock), and an expansive new area on the Southern Map containing more than 25 challenging quests, 50 new spells, 40 new magical items and new monsters to combat, as part of the story of Antharg, the Lord of Plague and brother to Lord Bane.Reception
Puzzle Quest was a giant surprise hit, receiving very positive reviews from the gaming community. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that the PSP version of the game, "managed to combine the best aspects of both [puzzle and RPG] genres into one nice little package." Hyper
Hyper (magazine)
Hyper is a multi-platform Australian video game magazine. Australia's longest running gaming magazine, it has been in publication since 1993, and was released the same month as the better known UK magazine Edge...
s Maurice Branscombe commends the game for being a "fantastic puzzle game, mixed with simple, yet compelling, RPG elements". However, he criticises it for having a "cookie cutter RPG story".
MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
' GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
awarded Puzzle Quest the title of "Best Puzzle/Parlor Game" of 2007. Future's Next Generation
Next Generation Magazine
Next Generation Magazine was a video game magazine that was made by Imagine Media publishing company . It was affiliated to and shared editorial with the UK's Edge magazine. Next Generation ran from January 1995 until January 2002. It was published by Jonathan Simpson-Bint and edited by Neil West...
online ranked it as the 17th best game released in 2007. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
awarded it "Best Xbox Live Arcade Game" of 2007. The Xbox Live Arcade version was listed as the 6th best title of all time for that platform by the IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
staff in a September 2010 compilation.
See also
- Puzzle KingdomsPuzzle KingdomsPuzzle Kingdoms is a puzzle video game developed by Infinite Interactive for the PC, Nintendo DS and Wii. The PC version is currently only available to download online through services such as IGN's Direct2Drive and Steam....
- Puzzle Quest: GalactrixPuzzle Quest: GalactrixPuzzle Quest: Galactrix, or Galactrix, is a puzzle video game developed by Infinite Interactive for the PC, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network service....
- Puzzle Quest 2Puzzle Quest 2Puzzle Quest 2 is a video game developed by Infinite Interactive for the Nintendo DS, Xbox Live Arcade, iOS, Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft Windows. It was released on June 22, 2010 by D3 Publisher. It is the sequel to Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, and like its predecessor, it combines...
- Yohoho! Puzzle PiratesYohoho! Puzzle PiratesYohoho! Puzzle Pirates is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Three Rings Design. The player takes the role of a pirate, adventuring on the high seas and pillaging money from roaming enemy ships . The mechanics of Puzzle Pirates are driven by puzzles...
- BejeweledBejeweledBejeweled is a puzzle game by PopCap Games, first developed for browsers in 2001. Three follow-ups to this game have been released. More than 75 million copies of Bejeweled have been sold, and the game has been downloaded more than 500 million times....