It's not hard to imagine the first meeting that eventually spawned the idea for Puzzle Quest.

Phil: "Guys, I have an idea. Let's mix Bejeweled with an RPG!"

Everyone in unison: "Phil, you're fired."

While its idea is absurd, the actual execution is undeniably addictive. Turning a PopCap classic into a turn based combat game, this becomes the best multi-player puzzle game since the truly great Puzzle Fighter from Capcom.

The extensive quest that serves as Puzzle Quest's background is insanely additive. You'll traverse a map filled with quests, random battles, people to talk to, cities to conquer, friends to make, spells to find, and a home to build. Actually, there's still more. The depth here ranks it amongst the top tier Xbox Live Arcade games in terms of value for the money.

Battles are played out using the familiar "match three colored pieces to remove them" formula. Matching colored pieces fills your mana. This turns into one of countless available spells depending on which character class you've chosen. Some magic attacks, some destroy specific pieces, others heal, and some can stall your enemy from making a move.

The other process of sapping away enemy health is by matching three (or more) skulls that appear on the board. Missing an opportunity to attack in this manner will undoubtedly come back to haunt you. A strategic combination of magic and skulls is the key to a clean victory.

Other pieces available in a fight continue to deepen the depth of this stunning puzzler. Purple stars increase your experience, and you'll need it to defeat bosses later in the game. Gold earns cash to spend on shops, your citadel (leading to an entirely new set of customization), or leveling up without spending experience.

Core game play does bring some damaging flaws, the same issues Bejeweled had when it took the casual gaming world by storm. Since you're unable to see pieces that will fall when you clear a section of the screen, randomness becomes a killer. It's not uncommon to stare in awe of a purely lucky A.I. (or even human) opponent as they remove three pieces, only to set off a seven string combo rifling off 50-plus damage points without the ability to do anything about it.

Granted, no one will argue when this happens on their offensive end. It's a nice bonus. However, there's a second uncontrollable occurrence. When the screen doesn't have any moves left, something that again is completely out of the player's hands, all mana is drained. The penalty is severe, and this same process marks the end of the spell creation system, an already frustrating endeavor.

Still, you'll spend hours battling an array of monsters, elves, orcs, ogres, and humans (both online and off). Puzzle Quest hits every note it needs to in order to grab a massive audience of both casual and hardcore gaming fans and keep them glued to the screen. Stand-alone versions on the DS and PSP ran $30. This Live Arcade ports has full online, updated graphics, and it can be played on something larger than three inches for a meager $15 price. This is a steal.

Puzzle Quest is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB for Suggestive Themes. This game can also be found on: Nintendo DS, PC, PS2, Wii, Mac, and PSP