Puzzle Hero: Crossing Genres

Posted on July 2, 2008 - Filed Under Industry News, Match Three |

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Genimo Interactive announced the release of Puzzle Hero for the PC. Puzzle Hero is a bit different from other casual games because it crosses two different genres. Players get to play a match three game and a Role Playing Game (RPG) all at once.

The match three aspect of the game is the battle element. Players match three of a kind by swapping tiles next to each other. The matches deal damage to the opponent. Each battle the player completes makes them more and more powerful.

Players have the chance to customize their character’s appearances with over 150 different items. After the character has been customized, it is off to save your brother that has been kidnapped. Players will battle through 8 different environments and 50 different enemies.

Puzzle Hero sounds very similar to Puzzle Quest. Puzzle Quest was a lot of fun to play, so if Puzzle Hero is as similar as it sounds, it should be a good game too. The story lines are different, but the game play sounds similar.

If Puzzle Hero sounds like a game you would like, head over to Genimo and try out the demo or buy it for $19.95.

Press Release Follows:

ndependent game developer Genimo Interactive LLC has announced the release of Puzzle Hero (Windows 98/2000/XP/ME/Vista), its latest offering for the casual market. The game blends traditional “Match-3″ puzzle gameplay with certain aspects of the RPG genre to create a unique experience for the player.

“RPGs, as a genre, have traditionally been the realm of hardcore gamers,” says David Tchankotadze, Genimo owner and lead programmer, “but we think lighter, hybrid RPGs have a big future in the casual market.”

The concept of a Match-3 game will be familiar to many players of casual games; a square grid is filled with various symbols, with the objective being to form three in a row by swapping the positions of neighboring tiles. Puzzle Hero adds an extra level of depth to the genre, however, by using this matching system as the basis for RPG-style combat.

The game’s plot arc involves the kidnapping of the player character’s brother, Tristan,by the evil sorcerer Zalock and his Army of Darkness. In order to rescue Tristan, the player must guide his character through a series of quests, gradually growing in power in classic RPG style, until the climactic confrontation with Zalock himself. In order to defeat the foes encountered along the way, the player must employ the Match-3 mechanic to line up symbols corresponding to various attack and defense techniques.

Puzzle Hero features bright, cartoony graphics and family-friendly gameplay. The player character is fully customizable, with user-defined appearance and over 150 items, including armor, weapons, clothing and accessories.

Before reaching Zalock, the player will traverse eight environments and do battle with more than 50 different foes. Even once the quest is completed, the game offers replayability in the form of Arena Mode, in which the player can once more do battle with any enemy defeated during the course of the story.

Puzzle Hero is priced at $19.95 and may be downloaded through the company website - http://www.genimo.com/games/puzzle_hero. A free demo is also available.

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