Puzzle Quest 2 - Preview @ Joystiq

Omega sends in this handful of Puzzle Quest 2 tidbits, starting with a hands-on preview at Joystiq:

Yes, the class list is very different. Instead of the archetypal D&D classes in the first game, the list of four is more combat-oriented this time: Barbarian, Assassin, Sorcerer, and Templar. That's because the overworld is also gone. Rather than wandering an empire, you're dungeon-delving into one deep cave below the town of Verloren and instead of navigating from town to town, you're going from point to point in a series of rooms. Fawkner described the gameplay to us as more like Diablo than a full D&D campaign.

That also means that all of the overworld stuff that was so important in the first title is now gone: No mounts (with their extra abilities), no castle sieges, no "owning" castles, and no overworld travel. Why lose such a significant part of the game? "We felt the map navigation was a little impersonal," says Fawkner. "We wanted you to go down into the dungeon and see the monsters."

Also, a Pre-E3 video interview with studio head Steve Faulkner at GameSpot and screens at GameSpot.
More information.

We felt the map navigation was a little impersonal

What a good excuse to remove the features! Let's see if they add something instead or they go the Mass Effect way.

Hmmm….this now becomes a LONG wait and see game, rather than a likely buy!!

It seems to me they went backwards if you ask me. Usually games expand on the concepts of the previous iterations, but looks like they're actually just removing stuff in this one. No mounts, no map, etc.