Amy Nelson, Associate Writer

Puzzle Chronicles | First Impressions

This game rocks. The end.

What's that? You want more? You want to hear about the story, the characters? You want an in-depth analysis of gameplay? Well, I didn't want to bore you, but if you insist. Here you go.

Do you want to look manly while secretly playing your girlfriend's puzzle games? Then this is the game for you! The equivalent of sticking a magazine inside a book to look like you are actually reading something else, this game tries to meld role playing games and puzzle games together. Kudos for creativity!

The game begins by having you name your appropriately buff and loin-cloth clad warrior. Baldor is the manly suggestion, but you can change it to Pooky if you want—no one will know. You progress through a series of training huts in the tutorial&38212;Hunter, Chieftain, etc.—in order to gain skills and learn about the game. There is lots of talk about "warbeasts" and "special items" and "swords" but it's all just a clever ploy to disguise the fact that the actual gameplay is much more puzzler than rpg. Fine by me, as I love puzzlers, and scantily clad warriors aren't too bad either. Goodbye tutorial, hello gameplay—bring on the bad guys...re...gems!

Except, as soon as I finish learning how to "fight," I am captured, forced into slavery, sold at auction, purchased by a sorceress' lackey, and inexplicably set free with a big-ass key. Holy cramming to much into the story at once Batman! So, anyway, I'm off to find the sorceress, cause I got nothing else to do anyway, what with all my friends and family enslaved.

The game continues on like most old-school rpg games where your path seems to be predetermined, and you kill your opponents by stacking colorful squares. You pick up items along the way and, like most rpgs, gain gold and experience with each fight. The story adds a bit of fun to the puzzling part, as it makes it more than just matching blocks. The puzzle aspect of the rpg puts the outcome of each battle into your hands, and the puzzles are engaging and fun, and not too predictable. A great game so far—stay tuned!