Like the original, four classes will provide a basis for your stats and skills and include the Sorcerer, Templar, Barbarian, and Assassin. New to the series, each class will be able to equip damage dealing weapons and protective shields outside of battle that will allow for additional options while engaging enemy monsters.

D3 has done away with the world map from the original game and replaced it with a network of rooms and interconnecting locations that give the game a style that feels like an old school dungeon crawl. Each room is filled with monsters to fight, people to interact with and treasure to find.

The points of interest are laid out as set locations in each room. You move you avatar from point to point and make decisions on how to interact with the contents of the room, creating another puzzle element by tasking you with finding the best route through.

Should you fight the monsters in the way for experience? Or try to duck by them? Some rooms have boss-like monsters that require you to battle for forward progression. One polar bear blocked my path and provided a solid challenge.

That brings me to the monsters and the battle system. From what I've seen, the enemies are most certainly not recycled from the first game and are slightly more creative in design. During the demonstration I encountered non-magical animals from nature and witches from a clan of goblins.

I noticed immediately that the battles were more involved and more difficult. The system was a bit daunting at first because there was so much happening on screen at once. The battle screen is chock full of options. Almost every icon on the action screen is touchable and most are linked to a quick sub menu with detailed descriptions of attacks, spells, stats and tips on how to play the game. The colors are lush and do well to draw you into the puzzle action.

In battle you are tasked with matching the colored gems and icons to gather mana, which governs skills and skulls that do direct damage. The puzzle board returns to its square shape and is filled with the colored gems you remember but this time D3 has done away with the experience and coin ions. Don't worry though; you will still receive both, this time after the battle. These icons have been replaced with a new manna type, the purple gem and a fist icon that provides action points for your weapon.

Playing as the Barbarian I also had at my disposal myriad skills that ranged from attacks like Pummel (light damage) and more indirect options like Enrage (floods the puzzle map with red gems). Each provided different ways to approach the battle. Like the first game, each skill requires you to fill certain mana requirements before it becomes available.

Once I got a handle of how my skills worked and how to directly attack with my paired weapon I was able to flow into a natural rhythm with the puzzle action. The demo guide told me that the goal was to create a system that allows for a more variety and provides a challenge even at the high levels. He also stated that they wanted to remove the sense that the AI was "cheating" which was a complaint about the original.

In the end the battles were altogether engaging and the touch screen functionality provided an experience that was much more tactile then the first game. D3 also stated that the opening tutorial level, which I did not get a chance to play, would take you through the games mechanics in town outside the central dungeon. I asked about the importance of story in this installment and was told that the focus was on the battle puzzles and skills but that there will be an intriguing tale that ties together the whole affair.

I did not get a firm answer about a release date but D3Publisher assured me that they are doing their very best to put out a quality game in a timely manner that fans of the series will love. As of now Puzzle Quest 2 is also slated for release for the Xbox Live Arcade.

Click on the links below for some screenshots!
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