This would have been great game if not for the fact that you have to keep solving the same puzzle.

User Rating: 7 | Puzzle Quest 2 PC
Even though I'm a big fan of both puzzle and RPG genres I must admit I was little hesitant about getting Puzzle Quest 2- I wasn't sure if it was possible to merge those two elements in one game. To game's credit it has managed it well, giving you RPG where instead of slashing your opponents with steel you outwit them by solving puzzles- or puzzle to be more precise.
The combat concept is something like this: you start with screen full of crystals, skulls or gauntlets. Your goal is to match items of the same type in rows or columns of three or more; matching three skulls does immediate damage to opponent's health points, matching gauntlets enable you to use your weapon and crystals give you mana points that you can use to cast a spells.
If the entire concept seems simple, you soon discover there's a lot more tactical depth to it. You have to consider state of the board after you make your move because you don't want to create too many opportunities for your opponent. Each monster has its own spells and in some cases they are quite powerful. Sometimes rather than going for offense you might decide to block your enemy from getting mana points it need for its spells, for example.
The rest of the game is exactly the same as countless other RPG games: you have armor/weapons you can upgrade, quests to complete, dungeon to crawl through and of course loot to collect.
Overall, this puzzle based combat with traditional RPG game is fun and even very addictive combination, at least in the beginning. One problem that I had with it, problem that emerged after hours of playing, is that you keep solving the same type of puzzle over and over again. You want to open chest with loot? Play variation of that match-three-of-a-kind game. Bashing the door? Again, same thing.
By the time I got to second level of dungeon I hoped they'd come up with something new. But no, it was the same thing again and that's where I stopped. Still, paying 20$ for this game was well worth it.