I’ve been kind of neglectful in the video game department as of late; the spring weather combined with required home improvements have kept me away from most of my video game consoles and I can’t really say I’m all that torn up about it. I picked up God of War 2 last month and was all fired up to play it — I even decided to try and finish the first God of War game — but eventually they both fell by the wayside. I was also excited that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night got released on X-Box Live Arcade, but after downloading it I’ve barely touched it. Oddly enough, the only game that I’ve been putting any time into is a low budget game for the DS called Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords.

Admittedly, the title and cover artwork are pretty terrible and I never would have given the game a second glance if not for the surprisingly solid reviews (the average is pulled down by a 4/10 from Nintendo Power… what’s up with that? Did they even play it?). At the affordable price of $29.99 I figured it was worth a shot, and although it took me a while to warm up to it, I am now completely hooked. Here’s the basic idea: Puzzle Quest is a fairly standard RPG that uses a Columns-style puzzle game for all of its combat. It’s almost like Dragon Warrior meets Tetris, if you can picture it. The strange hybrid works surprisingly well. As you face off against your opponent you match coloured gems in lines of 3 or more to build up mana, which you can then use to cast spells. It’s a little like Magic: The Gathering, and the more you play, the more you start to formulate strategies required to win battles.

At first I thought, “This is all there is to it?”, but as your character levels up, you gain weapons, items and abilities that apply directly to the puzzle mechanics. The rest of the game is rather dull and simply involves walking across roads on a map and reading screens of text, but by centering the entire game around an addictive puzzle/strategy concept, it’s pretty hard to put this one down.

Just in case I haven’t sold you on it yet, Gamespot reports that Puzzle Quest is now coming to X-Box Live Arcade as well. Although it is an ideal handheld game (and a lot more intuitive with the DS stylus controls, in my opinion), this is a great opportunity for more people to check out a pretty original game that has been largely ignored so far. If only they could have taken a popular RPG license and applied it to the game, I think this could have been a huge hit. As it is, I’m curious whether or not the positive reviews have helped it sell more copies.

The Beastie Boys have a new album coming out in June called The Mix-Up. Although I enjoyed their last two albums, it did feel like they were starting to run dry creatively… which is why I was super excited to hear that the new album is going to be entirely instrumental! That’s right, no rapping at all, at least not initially. The plan is to release a second version of the album later on with guest vocalists. And the plot thickens: the music will not be funk-ified jam sessions like those found on The In Sound from Way Out!, but rather “post-punk instrumental” with influences from bands like “Public Image Ltd., Gang of Four, the Slits, and Killing Joke”. Sounds mighty intriguing if you ask me. Check out the track listing and artwork here.

With all the fuss about Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3 announcements, people seem to have forgotten about the upcoming release of Guitar Hero: 80’s Edition for the Playstation 2. Joystiq reminds us that the game should hit stores this summer, possibly as early as June. I can’t wait to see a track list. There had better be some Skid Row, Poison, and Def Leppard in the mix… not to mention a little Ronnie James Dio for good measure.

Hey, look… 50 Cent is selling his mansion! Apparently it has 52 rooms, 48,000 square feet, and was originally owned by Mike Tyson. Since he bought it, 50 Cent has added a handful of essential features, including a helicopter pad. His realtor had this to say: “He’s put a lot into it, and it’s all very tasteful, except the stripper poles.” Very classy indeed.

Jim over at fjetsam posted about this kick ass Commodore 64 theme for Wordpress. Not terribly practical, but still very impressive. I think just before The 80’s Blog dies a quiet death, I may have to accept his dare and try switching over for a couple of days.

More Links for Today:
» Classic TV Repackaged… In 5 Minute Chunks
» Star Trek TNG: The Complete Series DVD Set?
» Retro Game Boulder Dash Coming to DS and PSP