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As a devoted puzzle fan, the chance to try Genimo Interactive's new game, Puzzle Hero came just at the right time. I'd been getting increasingly bored of Bejewelled's many clones and variants: the only real unknown was whether I'd beat my high score before getting major RSI, and when you reach that stage, you just know it's time to cut and run. And yet, a part of me had been hoping there could be more to the format, and Genimo have just paid back that hope in spades.

I will confess, that when I first got into the gameplay, the apparent similarities to Bejewelled et al had me groaning - click on two items to swap their position and create a row. Oh great, thought I, ready to close it all down. But as I progressed through the first tutorial moves, I realised there was far more to this game than met the eye: creating lines is not enough.

In fact, this innovative little game requires both tactical and strategic gameplay, as well as the point and click rearrangement of symbols: don't get enough attack combinations, your opponent will hang around forever. Focus everything on attack and neglect the coins? Then you won't be able to improve your weapons and armour in the enchantingly well-stocked shop, nor get your avatar a makeover in the salon. Better yet, there are two levels of difficulty, so once you've mastered the normal play mode, you can head on into hero mode and match yourself at a far higher level.

Having progressed through a series of tough boss monsters, mastered the art of building super attack and super shield capabilities, as well as affording my first magic necklace, which allowed me to rain fire down on the monsters and show them what serious damage was, I confess to being utterly hooked by this game. As much as some games on the market can be so simplistic as to make you wonder who would pay $19.95 for the privilege of continuing, Puzzle Hero is simple to play, but rewardingly complex, and is well worth the money. I fully anticipate that, even with the game completed, I will want to start back from scratch to try new ways of beating myself.

And another little bonus: there's even an arena mode where you can choose just to battle one of the monsters you've previously unlocked during the campaign mode, allowing you a quick hit when you've not time to go for the full works. Very nice.

While gameplay is, for me, by far the most important aspect of any game I play - hey, I'm from the generation that grew up with the ZX Spectrum, so most modern games are an improvement! - I really enjoyed the graphics. They're nicely tongue-in-cheek and very well-rendered, such that the game plays well even on older PCs. The weapons all look suitably effective (love the touch of starting the game with a wooden club!) and the armour and shields get more attractive and distinctive as the game progresses - I can't wait to see what I'll be wearing once I unlock the final level.

Music is generally the area where these games fall down, and if there is one criticism I would make of this game, it is that the music, pleasant as it is, could use a little more variation to mark progression through the campaign. Sound effects in general are appropriately used, without the audio overload present in some games.

All in all, I'd say Puzzle Hero was a creative new take on a genre I thought past its best, a comprehensive reinvention that should satisfy gamers of all levels. Overall I'd give it 4/5: the game only just misses out on 5 points because of the music. Good work.

Learn more about this author, Melanie Denyer.
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