Puzzle Chronicles Preview (PSP)

Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network:

Enter the world of the Asharin Empire and avenge your kinsmen who have been taken prisoner by a tyrannical king. Puzzle Chronicles is a real-time puzzle role playing game featuring tactical gem-matching gameplay and deep role playing adventure.

Coloured gems constantly slide onto the battle board and you must organise like coloured gems into large blocks to perform attacks and magical spells to defeat your enemy. By chaining together consecutive attacks powerful combos can be unleashed on your foes.

As you progress through the story you will discover new weapons, armour, and spells. Equip these to enhance your character?s stats and add new skills to your arsenal and more strategic options in combat. You will also meet savage battle beasts that can be tamed and trained to fight alongside you in battle.
When you have honed your skills in quest mode, challenge your friends in multiplayer mode, either locally or online.

Nintendo DS and PSP:

Developed by respected puzzle game creators, Infinite Interactive, Puzzle Chronicles mixes colour-matching puzzles with role-playing themes and plotlines, allowing users to enhance their character by succeeding in various puzzle challenges and defeating the many opponent forces that confront them during the course of the adventure.

Puzzle Chronicles is set in the savage wastelands of the Asharin Empire. A despotic King has seized your countrymen and their kidnapping must be avenged. To topple the corrupt monarch, players must build their character into a great warrior capable of overthrowing the empire via a series of brain-twisting puzzle combat challenges.

The main game screen is split into two, distinct areas with a swathe of coloured gems dropping into the player's side of the screen, and that of their challenger. As like-coloured gems are activated, they are removed from play unleashing specific spells and physical attacks on the opponent, or unlocking items for use in the quest. Each adversary, however, has specific skills and magic or combat attributes, which force the player to vary their game accordingly.

A battle is won when the opposing player's energy is completely depleted, and the victor is then rewarded with experience points and key skills. Using these, players can enhance their character with new weaponry and better armour necessary to take on the game's bigger foes, and raising and training pets to fight alongside you. Tips on the whereabouts of treasures and unique items can also be found by defeating key rivals, and will prove useful later in the game.

Puzzle Chronicles also adds a series of sub-levels and side quests for the player to explore, with dungeons to be explored and looted, and a wealth of special magical items to be collected. This adds to the game's replay value immensely.