Puzzle Quest 2 Previews
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Evil Avatar kicks things off:
Puzzle Quest 2 has seen some significant gameplay changes. To sum it up, it is now "micro" rather than "macro". The game has a more focused story that focuses on one area rather than a large world map. The player chooses a specific character rather than a generic class and sets off on this grand quest. You begin in a tutorial area that gives a tutorial for PQ newcomers or a quick refresh and crash course on the new mechanics for the returning players. Part of changing that game according to D3 was that they "listened to the playerbase and made the game they wanted." Gone are the overworld map. Gone are city sieges. Gone are upkeeps on owned territory. All the grinding and "exploration" elements have been removed. Initially I was a bit taken aback, but after being able to advance a bit through the story the new system feels really intuitive and quick. Removing these aspects of the game feels justified.
Then we have another at Aggrogate:
Exploration gets a pretty big change, and I'm still not sure if it's for better or for worse. The sprawling world map of the first Puzzle Quest is gone, replaced by a Diablo-like town that serves as your hub. You guide your character around the town to directly interact with NPCs, triggering events and moving the game forward. I couldn't get a good feel of how this dynamic changes the game's scope in just half an hour, though. It might be a more immersive experience, or it might just make Puzzle Quest 2 feel small.
Followed by RunDLC:
As far as how Puzzle Quest 2 looks and sounds, well, it's not entirely different from the first game, save for the new world hub and the characters in each class. Like we said, some models (females) are better than others (male), but as a whole, Infinite Interactive shows a great deal of improvement here. The music is great too, carrying the same medieval themes as the first Quest.
