I have never been big into cell phone games, but my kids love them. I had an AT&T ‘Go Phone’ when I first started this new job since I couldn’t have a camera, and needed a cell since the family was 400 miles away. When I got my new phone, I gave the AT&T to my younger son, and my boys quickly discovered that it came with a bunch of games! Verizon loads their phones with exactly zero, so my older son was jealous.

I was stuck waiting at the doctor’s office for a while a few weeks ago, and failed to bring anything but my cell phone – so I decided to see if I could find an interesting game. I was thinking about Might & Magic 2, since I was already playing it on the PC, but then I came across something that took my breath away:

Puzzle Quest: Warlords.

I bought it without thinking twice and it is simply the perfect little cell phone game. I have probably played for only a few hours in total, but it has really changed the way I look at my cell phone – and made my kids proud along the way.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I have somewhat of a love affair with Puzzle Quest. Aside from reviewing it for a variety of sites and sprinkling it liberally through my ‘Game of the Year’ and ‘Best RPG’s of 2007’ lists, I have also dumped a ton of money into the game. Initially I bought only the PSP version – because that was what I could find. I didn’t even seek the DS version for several weeks – much to the chagrin of my kids! Then I got a second copy of the DS version. A few months later the PC version was released, so naturally I got that. Later I got the Wii version, and finally the Mac version released in the last couple of months.

Yes, that is six copies so far. The cell phone makes seven.

The game plays more or less the same as all of the other versions – you traverse a map from location to location and engage in a series of ‘match 3’ battles against increasingly difficult foes. You learn spells and gain levels. Unlike in the other versions, here you gain orbs that give powers to your weapon rather than fully equipping yourself.

The RPG features are more ‘lite’ than in the console and handheld versions, but the basics of the game remain intact – and the story remains compelling and fun. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for some quick gaming fun on your mobile phone.

Tags: Misc