iPhone app review: Dungeon Raid

Dungeon Raid is a match-3 puzzle game similar to Puzzle Quest. Draw a path; up, down, left, right, and diagonally, to clear items off the board. Clearing more than three at a time adds bonuses, depending on the type of pieces cleared. However, it adds a roguelike RPG experience to the mix. It does so by giving each item on the board more that just a color; the items are:

Swords and Skulls--Match the swords to boost your attack power to destroy the skulls, which represent monsters. Killing skulls nets you experience points, which boost your abilities. Every turn you don't kill a skull, it attacks you, so don't leave them around for too long! Abilities can upgrade the swords to magic swords (equal to five regular swords) or arrows (can match one tile away). However, as the game goes on, the skulls get tougher, and some skulls have special abilities too, so don't get too cocky!

Potions--Matching potions for the most part restores health, which is important, since the game is over when you lose all your HP. Matching them while at full HP is useless, but if you have a ton of potions cluttering the field and your HP is full, skills can convert them to explosive potions (match to collect and destroy nearby items) or mana potions (match to recharge skills more quickly) instead.

Shields--You have armor to protect you from monster attacks. However, as you take damage, your armor degrades. Matching shields restores your armor, which protects you from attacks. They also add upgrade points to boost your equipment with a variety of abilities.

Coins--Collect enough of these to buy stronger items.

Of course, these are just the basics, and all you need to know to play the first few times. The more recent additions feature classes that feature new abilities (one turns coins into skulls), but come with a tougher Mortal Enemy (one sets your armor down to zero when it first appears). There are multiple difficulty levels and dozens of strategies based on your combination of active skills and your class. At $2.99, it is pricier that many of the apps in the App Store, but highly recommended.