Fact: Bears are tough to beat.

The ingenious Puzzle Quest, which hit the Mac in 2008, the iPhone in 2009, and the iPad in 2010, was essentially a role-playing game, only all the "combat" is turn-based match-three face-offs against AI-controlled opponents. Bejeweled battles, basically. The formula was addictive, satisfying total RPG newbies and more hardcore players alike. Puzzle Quest 2, a universal app for iPhone and iPad, is more of the same, but it's cranked up the "epic" dial.

You'll quest through lusher environments, get side quests from NPCs, learn new spells, and enjoy pretty digital effects. New minigames for things like opening locked doors, escaping from traps, and looting treasure chests aim to break up the match-three monotony…but they're also match-three. But leveling up your character, choosing weapons and spells, and upgrading your items is fun and interesting, and the match-three battles are tense as ever.

Especially when they're against another person. Yes, outside of the single-player quest, you can play a real human opponent, either locally with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or against a Game Center matchup. You can use your own hero, or pick a random one from any class, and the game makes sure the match is pretty even. There's no way to taunt a player in-game (except to beat them soundly and know they felt the sting), but it's a fun diversion from the main game. Tournament mode lets you take a four-hero team against the computer's, facing off in match-three battles until one sole survivor remains, and there's also Game Center achievements for the completists and leaderboards for the competitive.

The bottom line. Even though the main quest seems to stretch on and on, the easy save system keeps us coming back, and the multiplayer options are a nice touch too. Quest on, puzzle lovers.

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Puzzle Quest 2 Screenshots

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  Everything is prettier, starting from the home screen.

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  You can cast spells to increase your defense, do damage to your opponent, get more mana, gain extra turns, and so much more. But you can only equip five spells at a time.

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  Your backpack is where you keep items found, purchased, or won in battles, equip your armor, and check up on your stats.

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  The story advances through text at the bottom of the pre-battle screens, and cut-scenes (which we'll show later).

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  Here's an example of a cut-scene, which happen as you complete major objectives. They're not animated, but the paintings are gorgeous.

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  Match-three minigames complete objectives like defeating traps, opening doors, and looting chests. In this one, you have to clear gems to light up 40 of the tiles on the board.

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  In this minigame, we're matching up trap components to escape a trap. The minigames have a limited number of turns.

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  The gold question mark shows the next step in your main quest. If you take on side quests, those are noted in the game world with a silver question mark. The glowing blue circle in the floor is a portal that lets you travel to faraway areas without too much backtracking.

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  Multiplayer mode matches you up with opponents via Game Center. Or you can play a friend locally via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

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  Game Center has matched us up against a random player, and we're ready to battle. Our heroes are bumped down to the same level. The only bummer is that we didn't get to pick our own spells.

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  In a multiplayer match, the timer at the top shows how long you have to make your move.

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