Metareview update: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (Xbox 360, DS, PSP)

The gamer crack known as Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords kept getting better as it evolved from PC screen, to handheld screen, and finally to glorious HD. As this blogger has officially not been able to use the Xbox 360 for the last four hours because of household members discovering the game for the first time, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to go back and update our original metareview on Puzzle Quest. Although the Wii version costing $30 and PS2 version at $20 are expected Nov. 13, the real gem in the Puzzle Quest iterations is certainly the $15 HD version available on XBLA. Civilization may be known for its "just one more turn" line of addicts everywhere, but Puzzle Quest could very well become known for "just one more quest" as more and more people discover this addictive puzzle/RPG hybrid.

Previous Metareview for DS and PSP:

• Gamespot (85/100) - "What's most remarkable about Puzzle Quest is how a simple change of context turns some tired genre conventions that have been done to death into something that's suitable for just about anyone, regardless of your interest in the components."

• Gamesradar (70/100) - "The source material Bejeweled is fantastically compelling, so the puzzling is solid even if purists may dislike the addition of spells and powers. But those powers can definitely tip the scales in a match, so they add a whole new nuance and added strategy. And your constantly rising stats, abilities and property deliver a nice feeling of progression."

Update for XBLA:

• Gamespot (90/100) - "Online play is a great addition, even if it's limited to straightforward ranked and player matches. It's still fun to be able to take the character you've been building up in the single-player campaign against another live player, and the ability to adjust the time limit for each player's turn can make the action much more frantic and challenging. ... Despite coming out on XBLA a good half a year after the original DS and PSP releases, Puzzle Quest still feels incredibly fresh and vital, and the changes made in between make it even easier to recommend."

• IGN (90/100) - "The minor glitches that were apparent in the DS version are nowhere to be found here. It's also a bargain on XBLA, priced at half the amount of the portable versions. If you haven't played Puzzle Quest, yet, this is a definite download. And if you have it's likely you'll fall in love with its seemingly endless set of quests to be accomplished, different classes to try, and new spells to master all over again. Throw in achievements, higher resolution graphics, and online multiplayer -- Puzzle Quest is a marriage that will last."

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