Puzzle-tastic

Puzzle Quest is an evil beast that calls out to be slain. I picked this up on a friend's recommendation last Thursday, having tracked down what seemed to be the last copy on Oxford Street (what's more a bargain at £25). It's a fiendish concoction of swords 'n' sorcery and Bejewelled - itself one of the few puzzle games I have any time for. I can only imagine that the development team behind crack cocaine were involved in this project, so moreish is the experience. It's so easy to have that 'one more go' that makes hours simply dissolve.

It's certainly a cut above God of War which I borrowed off the same friend. I just have little time for button-mashing fests like this one, and well it still feels good to rip off a medusa's head, or plunge a sword into the eye of a cyclops, there is a distinctly adolescent feel to the whole experience (there's even a sex minigame - tacky beyond words) which reminded me of 300. Sure, it looks good but is just too shallow overall to recommend itself.

In other news a grinding play through of a test match on Brian Lara Cricket has cooled my ardour towards this game. Given that the whole point of such games in real life is strategy writ large, a test of stamina as much of skill, it is small wonder that the transition to Xbox loses something fundamental. As a video game, cricket is about tonking the ball all around the ground - a six or ten over match is perfect for this. Any longer (and the simulated test match is MUCH longer) and interest swfitly wanes. In the end I played out an embarrasing 8 wicket loss to New Zealand simply so I could record an achievement unlocked in my first innings.