Allowing yourself to get really into Puzzle Quest is akin to what it might be like to endure a long-term gambling addiction without the fleeting promise of the big payout. In other words, like hitching your fate to brutal probability with the best-case scenario being that you simply get to keep playing. This, mind you, is coming from someone who's clocked upwards of 80 hours into the original Puzzle Quest.
Yes, Puzzle Quest is essentially what you get when you take out the invisible dice that operate most RPGs and replace them with a Bejeweled board. But there's just something about its Lite-Brite aesthetics that evoke the trashy compulsiveness of video poker much more than, say, the austerity of Wizardry.
Hardcore Gamer: The Puzzle Quest games have been big hits in the digital era and have breathed new life into puzzle games by applying some RPG gameplay mechanics to the genre. Now, instead of spending $10 for the Galactrix and Challenge of the Warlords entries, you can get them both for only $1 each.
In this second of four parts, we discuss how games based purely on luck are little more than immoral cash cows for the people who produce them - and represent some of the worst design choices out there.
In this episode the guys talk about Quantum Conundrum, DayZ, Rainbow Moon, Heroes of Ruin, SCHAR: Blue Shield Alliance, Sushi Castle, About To Blow Up Part 1, Wushi, Grand Slam Tennis 2, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, some news and plenty more.
