Things I Know and Don't Know About Puzzle Chronicles

FACT: Videogame press events often have alcoholic beverages on hand. Therefore, if you're looking to learn about a game you haven't seen before, your best bet is to get to that game early in the evening before everyone gets their drink on. That was my key mistake when checking out the upcoming Puzzle Chronicles at last week's Konami spring press event. By the time I had finished seeing all the other games on my list, nobody was around to answer my questions about this upcoming puzzle game for PSP, DS, PSN, XBL, and PC. From the outset, it looks like an enhanced version of Puzzle Quest but there's clearly more to the game than that.

So, with that said, here's what I know about Puzzle Chronicles.

1. At one point, it was known as Deathbringer. I'm not sure if the name change is a good one or not.
2. It plays sort of like Puzzle Quest, only horizontally. You match colored gems as they scroll across the screen and when you make a match you cause damage against your foe. There's also the concept of controlling more of the playing board--as you match gems, you'll take over more of the game board, leaving your opponent less space to match gems on his side.
3. The character and environment graphics have a hand-drawn look to them. As one of my colleagues told me, the art style is reminiscent of Bible-story cartoons. I can't decide if he meant that as a compliment or not.
4. Even though this was a puzzle game, the controls were a bit unresponsive and confusing. To rotate a gem-sequence you had to press left on the d-pad. Also, it seemed like it took way too long for pieces to finish scrolling from one side to the next.

Here's what I don't know about Puzzle Chronicles.

1. How to win. This doesn't mean I didn't win during my time with the game; I actually did manage to beat one of the quick battle monsters I fought. I'm just not sure how I did it. I definitely matched up some like-colored gems. At one point, I think I even managed to accidentally create a necklace of some sort. Perhaps it was the "win necklace." Other than that, I wasn't entirely sure if I was supposed to be lining up gems horizontally, vertically, or both.

According to Konami, Puzzle Chronicles will also include local and online battling, dungeon exploring, five minigames to unlock new items, and a persistent hero that can be used across all modes in the game. Sounds good. Now all I have to do is figure out how to play it.