An Explosion of Color

If you've played Puzzle Quest then you are aware of Infinite Interactive's ability to create a puzzle game wrapped up in a neat little RPG and then to make it so addictive that you can't stop playing. Well, they are at it again and this time Konami has picked up the rights to publish the next craze: Puzzle Chronicles. Rather than taking the sci-fi route that Galactrix took, Puzzle Chronicles returns to the fantasy realm.

To attempt to describe in detail the full extent of the puzzle gameplay would take more time and space than I want to spend right now, but I will try to give a brief breakdown. Battles pit you against opponents as both sides compete in a highly modify Dr. Mario style game. The side that succeeds the quickest and most efficiently will push the opponent off the edge of the board and win. It's a unique gameplay style that will have puzzle fans glued to their screens once again as they play this title on the DS or PSP this November. It will be released on XBLA, PSN, and Steam as well, though a release date has yet to be determined for those.

The RPG Elements

Puzzle Chronicles does more than just focus on combat, though. Throughout the game's five chapters, players will be greeted with lots of story elements as well as over forty cutscenes, voiced in all but the DS release. Players will take their character through different adventures such as taming a war beast, exploring dungeons, and hunting rare creatures known as familiars. You will gain levels, unlock new skills, and create new items to improve your skills in combat.

Puzzle Chronicles is not a game you should dismiss as another Puzzle Quest clone or ripoff, as the gameplay is fresh and will take some time master. It will feature multiplayer combat and will be available in 1080p for the console releases. While the RPG elements might be fairly basic, Puzzle Chronicles is fun to play and can easily draw you in before you know it and will keep you playing for longer than you expected.