XBLA - Puzzle Quest 2 - June 30 - 1200 points

Great game so far. I played some before work and am already up to a level 8 assassin. I like the art style of this one more than the first.
 
Holy crap, this game is good. I played the first one to death and even played through all of Galactrix on the DS but I was still a little reticent to grab this as I thought I might be PuzzleQuested out.

This seems to be the perfection of the formula. The minigames are actually fun to play and (so far) the combat is pretty balanced.

If you're on the fence about this then let me assure you it's worth the money.
 
[quote name='shieryda']I see that the cheating enemies have not been fixed from the first game, then. Bummer.[/QUOTE]
Ya and the developers even acknowledge it by having an achievement called Cheating AI.


Even with the cheating AI the game is still amazing. I've only played it for a few hours so far and I love it. I dont mind the cheating AI since there is no penalty for losing a battle.
 
[quote name='Sinfulfate']Ya and the developers even acknowledge it by having an achievement called Cheating AI.


Even with the cheating AI the game is still amazing. I've only played it for a few hours so far and I love it. I dont mind the cheating AI since there is no penalty for losing a battle.[/QUOTE]
That's not an acknowledgment of it cheating - that's a joke to make fun of the people that claim all the PK games do. :roll: Anyone that actually thinks any of them do either has selective memory (so as to only remember the odd truly unlucky occurrences and conveniently forgetting the numerous times the computer didn't get long cascades and other various lucky drops) or just sucks and doesn't know how to stack the odds of such things in their favor (instead of against) as they play. :p
 
[quote name='Googer']That's not an acknowledgment of it cheating - that's a joke to make fun of the people that claim all the PK games do. :roll: Anyone that actually thinks any of them do either has selective memory (so as to only remember the odd truly unlucky occurrences and conveniently forgetting the numerous times the computer didn't get long cascades and other various lucky drops) or just sucks and doesn't know how to stack the odds of such things in their favor (instead of against) as they play. :p[/QUOTE]
Well a cheater doesn't always cheat so you wouldn't expect the cpu to do the best thing every turn. But the requirement for the achievement is for the AI to kill you in one turn which is almost impossible unless the AI cheats. They have to get the perfect board that allows them to build up enough mana and hit enough skulls in one turn to kill you. The real problem is the randomness of game and it benefits both the player and cpu. It just feels like the cpu gets the benefits of the randomness more often than the player does.
 
When I get my ass kicked by a swarm of rats, yeah it feels like the AI cheats. I also love when the computer suggests a move to me that is clearly not the best choice and/or sets up the computer for a devastating attack on its next turn.
 
I was a little hesitant with the trail. Mainly it just seemed to be on auto pilot and it always showed me where to match in combat as well. Well after I turned both of those noobie help options off in the options the game was a lot more enjoyable. I'm enjoying the new class of the Assassin and it's reminding me when I played as an Assassin back with Guild Wars.

The game also reminds me of Torchlight, same dungeon, looting and selling/upgrading gear formula.:D I can kinda see why they added those help features because if you don't use your noggin on this one be prepared to get eaten by a Polar Bear! lol (no I got him the second time with the Rats actually giving me a fair challenge).

Kinda wish you could duel wield as an assassin for a purpose. I got two Dirks, one upgraded, the other normal but you can basically just use the higher damage one most of the time. I went back to using an ancient fine broadsword I bought in town along with my upgraded healing potion.
 
Yeah this game is equally amazing as the first. I am so glad this has finally come out, and XBLA fans are getting a real treat for half the price (the DS version is $30, so we win forever) though if I remember correctly playing other people on XBLA was not fun at all (people were mostly maxed and had all the top shit, so u would die pretty fast).
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']Yeah this game is equally amazing as the first. I am so glad this has finally come out, and XBLA fans are getting a real treat for half the price (the DS version is $30, so we win forever) though if I remember correctly playing other people on XBLA was not fun at all (people were mostly maxed and had all the top shit, so u would die pretty fast).[/QUOTE]

Someone on the Puzzle Quest 2 Facebook page complained about DS owners having to pay twice the price on PQ2 as XBLA players. Someone responded to this complaint by saying, "They're guaranteed the revenue on the Xbox. Everyone on DS pirates."
 
[quote name='Decker'] I also love when the computer suggests a move to me that is clearly not the best choice and/or sets up the computer for a devastating attack on its next turn.[/QUOTE]

:lol:Yeah, I learned to quit trusting the computer real quick in the first game. I'd always yell at the tv whenever I'd take the computer's advice, and then my enemy would unleash a devastating combo on the next turn. My problem with this type of game is that I don't have the patience to plan out moves ahead of the one I'm about to take. I just try to clear the board and defeat whichever enemy I'm facing at that time.
 
I just played this game for two hours without hardly noticing.

"Just one more battle. Just one more battle."

I take from comments that I'm not the only person who got their but whooped by the Rat Swarm right outside of town. That battle sure taught me to go back and upgrade my weapons, armor, and pay more attention to utilizing skulls, actions, and spells.

Loving my return to Puzzle Crack.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']I just played this game for two hours without hardly noticing.

"Just one more battle. Just one more battle."

I take from comments that I'm not the only person who got their but whooped by the Rat Swarm right outside of town. That battle sure taught me to go back and upgrade my weapons, armor, and pay more attention to utilizing skulls, actions, and spells.

Loving my return to Puzzle Crack.[/QUOTE]

I'm wondering now if the Xbox version is either harder or cheats more from reading these comments. I've failed battles twice between levels 1-20, and one of those losses was against an enemy with an instant kill attack.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']Loving my return to Puzzle Crack.[/QUOTE]Ditto here. I played the demo last night and bought the game right afterwards. Loved it, and how they changed it from PQ1.

I think I have a new free time sink, methinks. Might even pick up the DS version on the cheaper when I need a portable fix.

The graphic upgrades were pretty good, not that the previous game looked like ass.
 
[quote name='whiptcracker']I'm wondering now if the Xbox version is either harder or cheats more from reading these comments. I've failed battles twice between levels 1-20, and one of those losses was against an enemy with an instant kill attack.[/QUOTE]

I must admit I have the game difficulty turned up to Hard, as I heard it was too easy on standard settings. I'm really enjoying the challenge.

[quote name='shrike4242']Ditto here. I played the demo last night and bought the game right afterwards. Loved it, and how they changed it from PQ1. [/QUOTE]

I like the variation of PQ2, although I certainly would have liked it plenty if it was just Puzzle Quest 1 enhanced. PQ2 seems like a big game, and I'm delighted by all the mini-games and weapons and armor. Such an addictive game!
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']I like the variation of PQ2, although I certainly would have liked it plenty if it was just Puzzle Quest 1 enhanced. PQ2 seems like a big game, and I'm delighted by all the mini-games and weapons and armor. Such an addictive game![/QUOTE]It's some nice changes from PQ1 and I think it'll be a nice diversion for quite a while.

Once I get past the fact I feel dirty for paying full price for a XBLA game, even with points I picked up on the cheaper, I know it's money well spent for the time I get out of it.
 
First thing I've done on all the PQ's was turn them up to hard, otherwise I find they're way too easy. Granted I'm not far into PQ2 yet (my assassin turned level 10 when I finished the cat-man side quest which I called my quitting point at the end of last night), but thus far I haven't had any problems in any of the fights. There were a few where my health was low by the end and it initially looked like I was getting beaten around, but once I get my spells off and running I took over (stealth + the xxx strike spells work nicely together to deal out lots of damage in a hurry :D).

OT: I also never understood the complaints about the gate hacking in PQ:G; sure they were mandatory but even the hardest ones were no problem for me to finish first try. It got a bit tedious but I mostly took care of that problem by just going on a mass gate-hacking spree for a couple hours and only needed to re-hack a couple gates the rest of the way on my play-through. :p
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']Someone on the Puzzle Quest 2 Facebook page complained about DS owners having to pay twice the price on PQ2 as XBLA players. Someone responded to this complaint by saying, "They're guaranteed the revenue on the Xbox. Everyone on DS pirates."[/QUOTE]

There's that, sure, but I think it also has to do with having to make it a physical cartridge and distributing the game that way, which I presume is substantially more expensive. Plus the DS version is portable, so you're paying for that, and you trade/sell it when you're done with it. Myself, I'm probably going to wait for the iPhone version. I imagine it will be no more then $10 and uberly portable. Can't go wrong with that.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']It's some nice changes from PQ1 and I think it'll be a nice diversion for quite a while.

Once I get past the fact I feel dirty for paying full price for a XBLA game, even with points I picked up on the cheaper, I know it's money well spent for the time I get out of it.[/QUOTE]

Yeah my account was down to 100 points after purchasing Doom II, Sonic Games, Castlevania and then Risk Factions from last week. I wasn't looking forward to re-adding points but I felt this game would be the one game that would be worth it. So far I haven't been wrong. Microsoft is sucking up my money. >
 
[quote name='crunchewy']There's that, sure, but I think it also has to do with having to make it a physical cartridge and distributing the game that way, which I presume is substantially more expensive. Plus the DS version is portable, so you're paying for that, and you trade/sell it when you're done with it. Myself, I'm probably going to wait for the iPhone version. I imagine it will be no more then $10 and uberly portable. Can't go wrong with that.[/QUOTE]All valid points on why the DS version is more expensive than the XBLA version.

It's a nice thing to have when you're on the plane / in the car / etc., as it's not so easy to use the 360 in those situations.

[quote name='Spybreak8']Yeah my account was done to 100 points after purchasing Sonic Games, Castlevania and then Risk Factions from last week. I wasn't looking forward to re-adding points but I felt this game would be the one game that would be worth it. So far I haven't been wrong.[/QUOTE]PQ is one of the few games that I can't wait until it goes on sale and have to get it on release, mainly to make sure I can try to get the MP achievements.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']
PQ is one of the few games that I can't wait until it goes on sale and have to get it on release, mainly to make sure I can try to get the MP achievements.[/QUOTE]

There are no MP achievements in PQ 2, to my knowledge.
 
[quote name='animalspinners']There are no MP achievements in PQ 2, to my knowledge.[/QUOTE]I'll have to go back and check, and I'm sure I'm just making the assumption from PQ1 having a couple of those.
 
How long is it usually before new games go on sale?

I was thinking of waiting to grab it, but with it and Risk out now and DeathSpank in a few weeks might just buy some points now.
 
[quote name='Anomareh']How long is it usually before new games go on sale?

I was thinking of waiting to grab it, but with it and Risk out now and DeathSpank in a few weeks might just buy some points now.[/QUOTE]

It typically takes a good many months before a new game goes on sale. I know I couldn't possibly wait that long for PQ2.
 
Yeah, I am definitely loving this game so much. As mentioned above I am glad I have the DS version for more portable reasons. Plus when playing these type of games at home I like to have the TV on and stuff.

But yeah this game has such a more 'big' feel in comparison to the first. I am level 20 and yet I still feel as though I am in the very beginning of the game.
 
Well I broke down and bought this. I have the first one of DS and LOVED it.....but also hated it sometimes as well :). I can't beat the boss of the first game which is frustrating (don't want to grind to beat him really) to say the least but I said fuck it and bought the second one anyways. So far I'm loving this new one, really like the new minigames and adding weapons is a nice touch too.
 
The AI in this game can kiss my ass. It is much worse than the original game. On several fights now, the opponent goes first and gets 5+ 4 in a row matches on the first turn, building up a huge mana stock, action stock, and taking 10-15 points off my life total. The suggested move almost without fail will lead to gems falling onto the screen that line up perfectly for the AI too. Often times even avoiding the suggested match will lead to several 4 in a row matches.

Besides that absolute bullshit AI, the game is much better than the original IMO.
 
For someone just now going into the Puzzle Quest games, which would be the better purchase? PQ1 at 800 pts or PQ2 at 1200?
 
[quote name='cgarb84']Well I broke down and bought this. I have the first one of DS and LOVED it.....but also hated it sometimes as well :). I can't beat the boss of the first game which is frustrating (don't want to grind to beat him really) to say the least but I said fuck it and bought the second one anyways.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I played the first Puzzle Quest on the DS, and I too couldn't beat the boss at the end of the game. I tried so many times, and he still beat me bad. I just finally got rid of the game.

[quote name='Ryukahn']The AI in this game can kiss my ass. It is much worse than the original game. On several fights now, the opponent goes first and gets 5+ 4 in a row matches on the first turn, building up a huge mana stock, action stock, and taking 10-15 points off my life total. The suggested move almost without fail will lead to gems falling onto the screen that line up perfectly for the AI too. Often times even avoiding the suggested match will lead to several 4 in a row matches.

Besides that absolute bullshit AI, the game is much better than the original IMO.[/QUOTE]

I turned off the suggested move thing. It didn't always give me what I thought the best move was. Because the game is turn-based, you can take all the time you want to find a move. Sometimes I'm trying to avoid making matches where a lot of skulls are, or I'm trying to make matches to fill a certain mana color or to obtain action gems. At that point, I'd rather figure the matches out myself.
 
[quote name='Yamato']For someone just now going into the Puzzle Quest games, which would be the better purchase? PQ1 at 800 pts or PQ2 at 1200?[/QUOTE]

I would suggest the first one. The first Puzzle Quest was such a pleasure to play.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']I turned off the suggested move thing. It didn't always give me what I thought the best move was. Because the game is turn-based, you can take all the time you want to find a move. Sometimes I'm trying to avoid making matches where a lot of skulls are, or I'm trying to make matches to fill a certain mana color or to obtain action gems. At that point, I'd rather figure the matches out myself.[/QUOTE]

While it is always on, I only use it at night when I'm too tired to always find a good match. If I am playing it in the afternoon/evening I don't use it unless I am multi-tasking, as I have found it will also suggest matching gems to mana you already have full, and the opponent has no need for the mana so it is basically a wasted turn. The hint also does not look for how you can match 4 gems by matching other gems first, which is something I like to do.
 
Just played the game for a couple hours, and I'm really enjoying it. I like swapping around weapons and spells to enhance my character. I have this Master Arachna Dagger thing, and it's so great. I upgraded it a couple times so that it does +4 damage to the opponent for 5 turns. Sweet.
 
I also turned off the suggested turn thing. I found that it distracted me and a lot of times led me into a turn that was followed by the CPU beating my ass with huge combos. And since there's no time limit it's nice to take your time and think about each turn.
 
So what character class is everyone using? I am using the Barbarian/Warrior type for the first time, and so far I am not sure if I like it. In the previous game I used either a druid or mage, so it is definitely a change in strategy. I was thinking of maybe starting a second character as a mage/assassin and try it out. After thinking about it, one of the reasons I was so mad about the cheap AI could have been due to lack of healing, as both the Mage/Druid from the first game had easy healing to quickly recover from any cheap moves.
 
The local mutliplayer game is interesting. In the Tournament mode, my husband and I played against one another. You choose 4 monsters from a line-up of increasingly stronger monsters, then you pit them against each other. You're using all of that monsters natural weapons and spells. Tournament mode takes a fair amount of time, as some of the better monsters have HP in the 200+ range. The game counters this with lots of +5 Skulls to knock down HP faster.

It was fun. It helps if both players know a lot about how to play the game, though, as it's a bit too complicated for a starting player. It was a good way for me to play with my husband and show him the ropes of the game.

It looks like the local Versus mode pits our characters against each other. We didn't play that as my character is further along than his. It imports your character exactly as it is, so unless the two players are pretty equal, it wouldn't be much of a fight, likely.
 
[quote name='Ryukahn']So what character class is everyone using? I am using the Barbarian/Warrior type for the first time, and so far I am not sure if I like it. In the previous game I used either a druid or mage, so it is definitely a change in strategy. I was thinking of maybe starting a second character as a mage/assassin and try it out. After thinking about it, one of the reasons I was so mad about the cheap AI could have been due to lack of healing, as both the Mage/Druid from the first game had easy healing to quickly recover from any cheap moves.[/QUOTE]

I'm playing as an Assassin. I pretty much went with which female character I liked the looks of best. That Sorceror girl looked like a converted farmhand to me. So far, I'm liking the Assassin. I love my Master Arachna Poison weapon I've upgraded.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']I'm playing as an Assassin. I pretty much went with which female character I liked the looks of best. That Sorceror girl looked like a converted farmhand to me. So far, I'm liking the Assassin. I love my Master Arachna Poison weapon I've upgraded.[/QUOTE]

Heh, one of the few gripes I have with the game is the lack of portrait choices for each character class. 50% less choices to be exact!

Maybe I should look over all of the spells that each class can perform and pick the one that best suites my playstyle, instead of just going with the barbarian like I did since I didn't use it's type in the first game.
 
[quote name='nnthomas']I'm playing Assassin on Hard difficulty. Assassin is pretty cheese, with all of its "convert X color to purple"[/QUOTE]

The purple mana is needed for that defense shield move. Really helps.
 
[quote name='Ryukahn']So what character class is everyone using? I am using the Barbarian/Warrior type for the first time, and so far I am not sure if I like it. In the previous game I used either a druid or mage, so it is definitely a change in strategy. I was thinking of maybe starting a second character as a mage/assassin and try it out. After thinking about it, one of the reasons I was so mad about the cheap AI could have been due to lack of healing, as both the Mage/Druid from the first game had easy healing to quickly recover from any cheap moves.[/QUOTE]

I am playing the DS version but that really doesn't matter.

I am playing as the Sorcerer and I love it. I am currently level 31 and my spell combos are great. Finger of Death to add a +5 skull is excellent for doing damage and getting extra turns, Wild Mana is simple in that is adds a multiplier, but again gets you mana quickly as well as extra turns. Flameblade is an excellent move, putting all of your red mana to additional weapon damage. Then Shockwave and Fireball are pretty amazing too haha. Then I have my Spell Staff in my main hand and a super upgraded Red Mana potion to quickly add up for my Flameblade.

Granted I love puzzle games, played the poop out of the first and am only playing on normal, but the entire game I have not had trouble with a single enemy really. Definitely my favorite class so far especially when comparing with friends and the spell lists for each class.
 
I went with the assassin and I find that class to be way overpowered. When I activate stealth(with 13 or less purple mana so my turn doesn't end), disarm, and then blackjack all my strike attacks do 8x as much damage and because of blackjack my opponent is stunned so he misses his next three turns. Once I activate this combo the match is pretty much over.
 
I rerolled the sorcerer and I am having a lot more fun with no issues so far. The dynamic of having a staff + potion is pretty interesting, though so far I have only come across a Yellow and Health potion (I have seen tons of the potion where you get extra mana for 10+ turns when you match).
 
[quote name='nnthomas']I love how everything gets blocked. +16 damage? Never ever[/QUOTE]

Yeah, in order to get through the maximum damage, you have to lower the opponent's defense. I imagine all character classes have some sort of spell to do so, as I've seen both Assassin's and Barbarian's have one.
 
My battles go like this:

- Grab gauntlets for Poison attack
- Grab reds
- Before each turn, see which color I can convert to purple to create a 4 or 5 chain
- Look again to see if I can convert another color
- Repeat
- Cast Stealth to have purple shield (this is refilled when repeating steps 3 - 5 again)
- If no option, use Sword of +35 damage

When I hit 50, I am gonna replace one of my spells (probably stealth) with Shadow Strike (destroy all purple for damage)
 
Personally I've just been using stealth + all 4 strikes I have as my spell-set with an Epic Wyvern Arachna Poison (or whatever it's called - I know the Epic part since that's from fully upgrading it) - it does something like 14 damage per turn for 9 turns. :D

For stats, I've put all my points to this point around 3/5ths into agility (yellow) and 2/5ths into morale (purple). Everything is at least 5th level though thanks to my amulet that gives + to all stats (currently + 4 but it's got a couple upgrades left in it).

I should probably use a red potion as my secondary item since I'm always hunting out more red mana. :p In any case, this setup has worked extremely well to this point with my assassin now somewhere around 32nd level and nearing the end of the catacombs. Heck, thanks to the strong poison I didn't even have an issue with the Arch-Lich side-quest where you can forget using spells at all (thanks to it having something like 97% spell resistance). ;)
 
Stealth, Hide in the Shadows or whatever it's called and Weaken are the main ones I use. Seriously Weaken is my favorite spell considering all you need to do to grab the skulls sometimes is to knock out one gem. Yeah if you haven't figured it out, I love the Assassin lol.
 
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