[Upcoming] Puzzle Quest [Archive]

Arma

December 26th, 2006, 22:22

An interesting game to come - a puzzle/RPG hybrid based on the Warlords series to come March 2007 to the PSP and DS and later on X-Box Live Arcade and PC. For now it seems pretty good, having an epic single player campaign and multiplayer as well. This preview (http://www.siliconera.com/index.php/2006/12/18/hands-on-puzzle-quest-challenge-of-the-warlords/) and interview (http://www.siliconera.com/index.php/2006/12/21/figuring-out-puzzle-quest-with-help-from-producer-andy-pan/) are a nice read, as well as the official site - http://www.infinite-interactive.com/index.php

Cormac

March 17th, 2007, 19:58

The PC demo is out. (http://www.gamedaily.com/canvases/gd/_a/download-puzzle-quest-demo/20070315101009990002) Game should be released next week for DS and PSP.

magerette

March 17th, 2007, 20:02

Very interesting--sounds like the kind of game I might need a twelve step program to quit playing ;)

Thanks for the info. :)

Arhu

March 17th, 2007, 22:11

Si, muchas gracias!

Just "tried out" the demo.. for a couple hours! Puzzle Quest seems like a real gem! :D

txa1265

March 18th, 2007, 00:59

Needless to say, I'll be all over either the DS or PSP ... haven't decided which yet.

Arma

March 18th, 2007, 09:34

This is great news, I did not expect a PC demo for a few more months!

Jaz

March 18th, 2007, 10:25

Ooooh, I'm a Diamond Mine addict. Must download this demo immediately!
And yes, I used to be a Warlords addict as well...

Arma

March 19th, 2007, 15:34

I loved the demo. Can't wait for the full version to come out.

As I read in a recent preview, it resembles an RPG that uses the "connect 3" type puzzle for its combat mechanics. I've never seen such an amount of different options in a puzzle game before, that's for sure. There is map travel, different quest, my own citadel ... Did I mention the storyline? Even cutscenes. The art is fantastic, though some might not like the closer to anime approach. There is even item crafting, skill capture and sieges! It might get repetitive a bit after time, as all of the minigames use the same basic puzzle but with various objectives, but for a casual game it is certainly more than enough.

Gorath

March 20th, 2007, 18:54

I´ve added a few newsbits about Puzzle Quest. No idea if we´ll really cover it, because it´s a console game.

edit: Seems it´s unofficially clear that a PC version will come out around June.

Arma

March 20th, 2007, 19:13

Actually I2 have stated (on the forums at least) that the PSP and DS versions are first to come, with a PC version following later an possibly X-Box Live version as well.

edit : Here is an actual post from I2's lead designer Steve Fawkner on the subject

... We will (eventually) have a demo before the game is released on PC.
At the moment, the first releases will take place on PSP & DS (I believe there will be a PSP demo...)
After that, there will XBox 360 which by its very downloadable nature will have a free demo available.
Finally we will do the PC demo + full game.

How long will all of this take? Not certain, though the PSP & DS are on track for an early March release. I don't actually know the time between releases for other platforms yet... but I trust D3P to come up with the right time so nobody is incovenienced too much. ...

Cheers

Steve

and the actual link to the forums http://infinite-interactive.com/InfiniteForums/viewtopic.php?t=205

txa1265

March 20th, 2007, 19:40

I´ve added a few newsbits about Puzzle Quest. No idea if we´ll really cover it, because it´s a console game.

Of course, you know you'll see something about it in my article ;)

Gorath

March 20th, 2007, 19:46

Okay, then you´re volunteer to update the DB entry. ;)

Corwin

March 21st, 2007, 02:36

That's the way to do it Gorath, you're learning son; pass the buck to old Mike!! :biggrin:

txa1265

March 24th, 2007, 03:43

I got mine today ... I was leaning to get the DS version, but one of the other guys at GamerDad already ordered it so I grabbed the PSP version. There is a known bug in the PSP version with companion abilities not working. Oh well.

Cormac

March 24th, 2007, 05:04

There is a known bug in the PSP version with companion abilities not working. Oh well.

How they missed that is beyond me. Anyway I got the DS version.

txa1265

March 24th, 2007, 11:18

How they missed that is beyond me. Anyway I got the DS version.

From the official forums (http://www.infinite-interactive.com/InfiniteForums/viewtopic.php?p=1886&sid=1758ff69818f858806ca7db4a23835c7#1886):
With 1-2 days to go until Gold Master, a change was made to the code that caused this problem (it had been working bug free for 8-9 months up until then). The nature of the bug was such that it didn't do anything jarring - no crash, no real change of difficulty or balance - just the disappearance of a small feature that we'd all gotten accustomed to clicking past anyway.

In the general rush to get Gold Master, amidst fixing the bugs that were causing problems and making last minute balance changes, this one simply went unnoticed, because we'd all become used to ignoring it. The Sony testers no doubt missed it because they didn't know it was meant to work that way.

Role-Player

March 24th, 2007, 17:38

Anyway I got the DS version.

Got any impressions of the game you'd like to share? :)

I was keeping an eye on this game. The puzzle genre seems almost like a natural thing for the DS hardware and I can never get enough of my DS. Just finished downloading the PC demo, may play it sometime later to get an idea of how gameplay actually is.

Cormac

March 24th, 2007, 18:11

Got any impressions of the game you'd like to share? :)

I played just enough to level up my PC once (the warrior, a class I hadnt tried in the demo; unfortunately there's only two save slots available so we wont be able to try out the four classes at once). I immediately noticed that there's lots more quests in the full game than in the demo. It's a perfect fit for the DS, really, the game is played solely with the stylus and it works perfectly. There's some sound issues --static -- but they are resolved if you lower the setting to quiet or very quiet, so it's no big deal. The graphics, while not as spectacular as the PC demo's and I suspect the PSP version's also -- there's no special effects when you clear a row of four gems, for example -- are fine and everything is easily distinguishable on the tiny battle grid (I've read about people not being able to make out a +5 skull to a normal one but that's not been my case). Other than that, gameplay is exactly the same as the demo's and that's what sold me on buying the game as soon as I saw it in store.

txa1265

March 24th, 2007, 18:31

I would second Cormac's impressions. Since I've not hit the bug yet it is all upside for me! The PSP version looks and sounds gorgeous, and there is no issue with limited save slots (though I'm just using Wizard for the moment). The effects are there in full and look great.

The load times are quite 'PSP-ish' ... and that ain't good.

Role-Player

March 24th, 2007, 19:09

Thanks for the impression, Cormac and txa. Appreciate it :)

Now it's a trade-off... Work more to afford games but less time to play them.

mytgroo

March 26th, 2007, 19:32

I finished this thing took me awhile. I got up to Level 7. Then I bought a few extra items to improve my character. I also bought the forge, so I could make rune items. Buying the forge unlocks some extra creatures to fight as well as a few runes. These are Level 15-17 creatures so they are hard to win. But, once you figure out how the patterns and spells work in the puzzles it is possible to do this at level 7, but it takes 4-5 tries per creature. There is a lot of strategy involved in the game, in how you use runes and how you block your opponent, more than is apparent in the beginning, at first it seems to be a matching game, then you learn the objective is also to match up your opponents colors so you can take them so they can't get any power and you can cast against them easily. I still haven't figured out the rune puzzle to get a skeleton mount. I may try and build up gold until I can buy the stables so I can get a horse. There are other things as well. The capture puzzle if you buy a dungeon is different from the fighting puzzles. The capture puzzle is much harder. With capture you can use captured creature to give you spells, or turn them into a mount. So there is much more than is obvious. Also finishing the quests can have different results. You can get an item or you can get a companion depending on how you finish the dark hunter quest. This is a very good very challenging puzzle game. There is a lot that isn't obvious. I am sure there will be more in the regular game. The taverns also can unlock things and give you hints.

txa1265

March 26th, 2007, 19:52

I am sure there will be more in the regular game.

Oh yeah ... just - yes.

Arma

March 27th, 2007, 04:47

Actually you get the companion with either option on the Dark Hunter quest.
And the rune quests were very easy for me at level 7 in the demo, I even managed to capture one of the citadels in it, but the other one is quite tougher.
The capture puzzles just take a few tries to figure out, but the few ones in the demo were not that tough. The learn spells from captives puzzles, on the other hand, are somewhat more difficult, and required several tries for me to complete, since I usually managed to botch them up half way :)
The only mount available in the demo is the rat, and the enemies I could capture were bat, goblin, skeleton and the rat. Probably, if I did a few quick fights before trying the campaign I could catch a few more, but I am really not that sure if it is possible to capture quest monsters.

mytgroo

April 1st, 2007, 07:18

This is both similar and different. It is a match three type game where your objective is to defeat Morgana Lafay and save Merlin. It uses runes which you can rotate in patterns, makes you solve puzzles to get spells, and is very challenging. http://www.runesofavalon.com

Alrik Fassbauer

April 3rd, 2007, 14:50

I tried to install the demo, but somehow it didn't run. There even was no .exe installed ? :thinking:

Arma

April 3rd, 2007, 16:09

I tried Runes of Avalon and while the game is certainly entertaining, and has good adventure elements into the puzzle formula, it lacks the RPG aspect of PQ.

mytgroo

April 3rd, 2007, 18:37

I can't seem to find any that are this combination in particular. Match 3 with RPG. There are other match 3 with adventure elements. Another good one-- at least through the demo is the Pirate Tales. Here is the link
http://www.twintalestore.com/game.php?ID=10001

There don't seem to be anything directly similar to Puzzle Quest.

Alrik Fassbauer

April 12th, 2007, 21:04

Has anyone of you an idea why the install program seemingly doesn't install the "Puzzle Quest Demo.exe" on my Win98SE PC ?

Edit : I found a hint : http://www.infinite-interactive.com/InfiniteForums/viewtopic.php?t=423

dteowner

May 15th, 2007, 08:23

OK, so I finally grabbed the demo. It's 1:30 on a work night, and I'm still playing. Any news on when the full PC version might hit the street? I see nothing specific on their website. In fact, I mostly see a handful of very nice, very helpful folks buried in a sea of jerkoffs.

But anyway, do any of you "in the know" folks have some insider info?

dteowner

May 16th, 2007, 17:45

txa1265

May 16th, 2007, 18:11

Played the demo while listening to last night's Wings game on internet radio and kept right on going until almost 1am. This game is out to kill me. I wants it, so I does.

Any info, folks? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Nothing solid - in fact, they recently went so far as to say 'despite the PC demo, we have never officially announced a PC version will be released!'

dteowner

May 16th, 2007, 19:13

Well that sucks rocks.

Thanks for the news, Mike.

Alrik Fassbauer

May 17th, 2007, 21:54

I still can't install it.

Jaz

May 17th, 2007, 22:32

The PQ demo seems to install fine on some machines and not at all on others, some even with the same OS. The same goes for running the game; I can't get it to run under 32 bit Vista (I didn't expect it to run, anyway), but it runs fine on my new install of XP... while it ran one day but not the next under my old install of XP.

dteowner

May 18th, 2007, 00:08

My WinXP install went smooth as silk. What sort of errors are you seeing, Alrik?

Role-Player

May 18th, 2007, 04:37

I just can't let go of the demo. I've reached the level cap about a week ago and I'm still playing it to try and uncover as much as I can from it. I've already built Forges and conquered a city. This is game is damn fun. Puzzle + RPG elements = drugs for my brain.

Surlent

May 18th, 2007, 07:45

Yeah it's fun and addicting game, but when you realize they are intentionally holding the full PC version for too damn long it kills the feeling playing just a demo.

Role-Player

May 18th, 2007, 15:40

Yeah it's fun and addicting game, but when you realize they are intentionally holding the full PC version for too damn long it kills the feeling playing just a demo.

I know, that's why I need to get my hands on the DS version ASAP.

dteowner

May 18th, 2007, 16:42

Yeah it's fun and addicting game, but when you realize they are intentionally holding the full PC version for too damn long it kills the feeling playing just a demo.So the theory is that the PC version is done/nearly done but they're sitting on it to promote console version sales?

txa1265

May 18th, 2007, 16:55

So the theory is that the PC version is done/nearly done but they're sitting on it to promote console version sales?

As far as I recall (could be wrong), they built the PC demo to sell the game, but developed it on the handheld platforms primarily. Then they went back to work on the PC & XBLA versions.

Gorath

May 18th, 2007, 19:18

AFAIR there was aforum post in the official forum which had to be understood as "a PC version will come in the summer".
Maybe they´ve changed their strategy though. The game seems to be a surprising success on consoles. Console games have a higher average price point and more stable prices than PC games. So it´s possible they no longer have to quickly collect small money on as many platforms as possible and can instead concentrate on building the brand and prolonging the live cycle. A PC version in the bargain bin for 10 bucks after a few weeks could pose problems for such a strategy.

Arma

May 19th, 2007, 01:55

What I think is, that the PC version is long done, since I2 is mostly a PC developer and it was later ported for PSP/DS by other companies. My belief/misinformation comes from both this wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puzzle_quest and the fact that the game was announced for the start (then known as Warlords Champions) ages ago as PC and handheld platforms, as I believe that both the PSP and DS were still unavalable. Also in favour of this, is the fact that there are multiplayer and so on buttons in the PSP and DS version but there are not available (or I may be mistaken on this case). Still, word on I2's forums is that there has been quite a lot of testing of multiplayer going on (or has been) but the so far released versions don't support it.

Probably with the publishing contract and so on, not to mention that PQ is quite the success on the PSP and DS, the PC version went on hold for the time being.

dteowner

May 21st, 2007, 02:12

txa1265

May 21st, 2007, 03:40

Well, I think I've sucked everything out of the demo there is. I collected all the runes, picked up a companion and a mount, built every city upgrade, and captured the 2 neutral towns.

Bring on the full PC version!

You should have just kicked out the $150 for a DS and the game after all of this ... or $200 for the PSP and that version, then you would also have a MP3 & movie player as well.

dteowner

May 21st, 2007, 05:06

Alrik Fassbauer

May 21st, 2007, 16:33

My WinXP install went smooth as silk. What sort of errors are you seeing, Alrik?

The .exe file is simply missing. apart from that, everything seems to be installed correctly. There is even a link towards the .exe file.

I have never seen such a thing. :confused:

dteowner

May 21st, 2007, 18:35

Sounds like you need to do a fresh download. The link in this thread got me to a file that installed with a mere doubleclick. Definitely strange, though.

Role-Player

May 21st, 2007, 21:22

OTOH, the mobility would make it much easier to find a quiet room to hide in.

You know you want to play Puzzle Quest when hiding from Genome soldiers.

txa1265

May 21st, 2007, 21:32

Actually, I took a peek at the DS and PSP this weekend. I'm in for a new gaming platform of some sort in the near future. Don't know whether I'll get a new PC (most likely) or jump into consoles or even get crazy and go handheld. I just don't know if I'm willing to do a major portion of my gaming on a 3" screen. OTOH, the mobility would make it much easier to find a quiet room to hide in.

Recommending a handheld based on a single game is a bit dicey (thread carry-over ... couldn't resist :) ) - I got a original GameBoy from my parents for work travel right when it was released, but it wasn't until the GBA that I started playing more than 'rarely' and not until after the GBA SP that I considered myself a 'handheld gamer' to any extent - and I've probably played more handheld games in the past month than in all 15 years between when I got the GB and DS.