Bejeweled 3 – Review
PopCap go epileptic hunting once again.
Ah yes, Bejeweled 3, the latest Xbox Live Arcade release in a series of games whose initial premise was the words, “Ooh, SHINY!”
This is a game from the same people who brought you Peggle, Plants Vs Zombies, and Zuma, all of which have garnered their fair share of attention – not least because they seem to revolve around the same “shiny object” concepts.
There’s nothing quite like being rewarded with a cue of punchy sound effects and some pretty flashes of light and colour, is there? If you’re the kind of gamer who spent their youth staring at pinball and fruit machines in the pub while your elders had a quick pint, you’re in for a proper treat with Bejeweled 3.
As for the fans of Bejeweled in all its incarnations on both console and mobile devices alike, we’re in for a treat too.
The big idea is simple enough: match three or more gems of the same colour to get points. The more gems you line up the more points you get, and in addition to points you create special gems which can potentially set off chain reactions and lead into some massive score combos. For your 1200 Microsoft Points, PopCap gives you eight variants of its jewel-matching game to play with.
These variants aren’t necessarily geared towards setting up huge special gem combinations either; most possess a tactical element of when and where you match gems together.
Let’s take the ‘Diamond Mine’ mode as an example: half the gem board is filled with dirt blocks which can only be cleared by matching gems directly next to them. The objective in this mode is not to score points with gems but to amass as much buried treasure as you can in the time limit, and the only way to uncover the treasure is to dig your way to the bottom of the board.
There are other game modes where matching gems in quick succession and setting up combos gives you a huge advantage, like ‘Lightning’ mode.
Taking its cue from Bejeweled Blitz, a game released on Xbox Live Arcade earlier in the year which gave you exactly one minute to score as much as you could, ‘Lightning’ mode is all about speed. The quicker you match your gem combos, the more ‘time gems’ appear on the board and the higher your score multiplier will climb, and if you’re fast enough you’ll achieve ‘Blazing Speed’ where every combo creates a detonation around it.
Bejeweled 3 also comes with a ‘Classic’ mode where you can take your time and plan your moves around a fully decked-out board in order to move from level to level. You increase your score the old-fashioned way here, by matching gems and special gems.
One of the most enjoyable things to have ever come out of the Bejeweled series is the ‘Butterflies’ mode, in which you’re pitted against a spider at the top of the jewel board. Certain jewels appear with butterfly wings and these will move up a space with every move you make, the idea being that if they reach the top the spider will get them. You don’t want that, so while accumulating points through regular gem matching is possible you will need to prioritise the ‘butterfly gems’ in order to clear them from the board. If the spider catches just one butterfly, the game’s over.
There are a few other variants in the main menu which carry their own sets of rules and scoring systems.
‘Ice Storm’ mode requires you to keep matching gems across the entire board in order to keep the cold at bay and prevent the board from freezing over. ‘Zen’ mode is for players who are either new to the Bejeweled experience or just looking to relax and watch the pretty colours; there are no rules beyond the basics, no scoring, and no time limit. ‘Poker’ mode can net you some impressive scores, providing you can match gems into the highest possible hands. ‘Quest’ mode, best described as a challenge mode, gives players a taste of everything through a series of mini game objectives. Get rid of a hundred gems with twenty moves or less, dig up five pieces of gold within two minutes, score ten thousand points before the board can freeze over; there are forty such challenges in total.
Bejeweled 3 doesn’t lack for things to do. If you’re a real Bejeweled maniac you’ll want to get all the in-game ‘badges’ for completing certain tasks throughout the game modes and level all the way up to level forty.
What it does lack, however, are some in-depth tutorials where its more complex rules are explained to players. Newbies are expected to be distracted enough with all the pretty lights and sound effects, and this might work for a time, but eventually they’re going to start asking for more details. How does the ‘hypercube’ work? How do you make the highest hand in ‘Poker’ mode? What happens if we get six gems in a row? What the hell is a ‘supreme’ gem?! Sadly, very little information is forthcoming.
In terms of visual artistry there’s not much to complain about…
Aside from the stinging sensation behind your eyes once you’ve spent a couple of hours staring at the screen like a fish, as lighting and explosions intermittently flash across the jewel board. The backgrounds in Bejeweled 3 make about as much sense as they have done throughout the series (which is to say, none) but they’re pleasant enough to look at.
The music and sound effects serve to further enhance the “puzzle trance” state games like this will inevitably put you under. The gems themselves are given substance by the sounds they make as they clink together, throw out lightning arcs, and explode, while the music flows through it all creating an altogether relaxed experience regardless of whether you’re playing fast or slow game modes.
Bejeweled 3 is for gamers who like to zone out and collect themselves after a hard day at the office or school. It’s equally suitable for the hardcore puzzle fans who take a degree of pride in their ability to rack up gargantuan point totals in all their game modes.
Some might scoff at the 1200 Microsoft Point price tag, but with the amount of game modes and online leader boards you have to muck about with it’s just about worth it – for the fans. The only mode missing is an important one; where’s the multiplayer, PopCap?
Successes:
- Gorgeous visual style.
- Sound and music.
- Addictive game modes.
- Plenty to do.
- Could appeal to anyone.
Failures:
- No multiplayer modes.
- No detailed tutorials.
- Your eyes will sting.
- Bit too pricey for newcomers.
Score: 8/10
- Alex ‘Alaric’ Lemcovich
Recent Comments