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.