Ever get the feeling that life is on a cycle, constantly repeating itself?
Puzzle Quest aficionados might well experience deja vu during large portions of Namco Bandai's crack at the series. There's no denying that, for long periods, Puzzle Quest 2 is remarkably similar to the franchise's last outing on mobile.
The question is, does it bring anything new to the table to couple this overriding feeling of familiarity?
Line em upMost of the changes in Puzzle Quest 2 actually set the series back, rather than push it forward.
At its core, the idea of fusing light RPG elements with a match-three puzzler remains in place. Strip away the game's trimmings, and Puzzle Quest 2 is a series of turn-based match-three encounters, where the main task is to match up lines of skulls to inflict damage on your opponent.
Depending on the brand of character you pick (Assassins, Barbarians, Templars, and Sorcerers on offer), you can also cast spells over your rival – an increasingly important element as the matches evolve into mini-wars of attrition.
It's business as usual in that regard, then, with only a slight smartening up of the menu systems offering any sense of distinction from its predecessor.
Same old storyStep outside the puzzles themselves, however, and there's been a notable shift. Stages of exploration that previously acted as a welcome nod towards all things Tolkien are now great long passages of hot air.
The script, even for the genre, is almost intolerable in places, substituting any sense of character with cliches and uninspired dialogue at every turn.
Telling of fortresses, daemons and a land overrun with goblins, the story that surrounds the puzzles does little more than act as a means to trigger them. Levels are a case of wandering from one NPC to the next, with any attempt to entwine them into a grand or compelling story sadly passed over.
Indeed, it's questionable how much value there is playing through the main quest mode in the first place.
For those with no stomach for the game's hackneyed script, scores of mini puzzles can be accessed from the game's menus as one off encounters. Likewise, the standard match-three contests that are Puzzle Quest's signature can also be tackled from the word 'go'.
Those who do embark on a full scale crusade will encounter a model that's showing signs of age.