 |
| OVERALL RATING |
3.5 |
| Presentation |
 |
3.5 |
| Control |
 |
4.0 |
| Gameplay |
 |
3.0 |
| Fun factor |
|
3.0 |
| User Rating |
 |
2.0 |
 |
Posted: July 21, 2008
Bejeweled 2 has had a long shelf life on PCs and there’s little doubt that it will continue because it’s a classic gem-swapping game that feels right at home on the iPhone.
The mechanics of the game entail selecting two adjacent gems, on a grid full of them, and swapping their positions. By lining up three or more of the same color in a row, they disappear and those above fall into the remaining empty spaces. The resulting space at the top of the grid is then also filled with new gems. This makes the core of the game a continuous search to find matches of three or more.
Two special gems can be created to assist in the completion of a level and these are Power Gems and Hyper Cubes. A Power Gem is created by lining up four matching gems and when used in a subsequent combination, it explodes, blowing up all the gems around it. A Hyper Cube results when five gems are used and acts as a wild card, eliminating all gems of a similar color when used to create a match.
This iPhone version only offers two modes of play, Classic and Action. In Classic mode, you work to create matches and score points, reaching the next level by creating enough matches to fill a gauge. This can seemingly go on forever but because the distribution of the gems is always random, matches can become harder to find and when there are no more valid moves to make, the game ends. In Action mode, matches will always be available but the danger here is that the gauge you build to move on, is constantly decreasing. If it empties, the game is over. So, your inherent duty here is to make matches quickly that will continuously fill the gauge and get you to the next level. Any hesitation on your part and your goose is cooked.
The iPhone touch interface works quite efficiently and responds very well considering the type of game it is. It’s simple point and switch with the gems with both vertical and landscape visual modes available. While the gems themselves are brightly colored and shimmer appropriately, they don’t necessarily stand out as much as the gorgeous planetary backdrops or transition scenes between levels. Music and sound effects are also nicely done, but it’s unfortunate that you cannot play your own tracks to accompany the action. This is a perfect casual game for something like that to be implemented on.
Bejeweled 2 is certainly a good casual game because it’s simple, lengthy and entertaining. It is short on modes and features and this definitely could have made for something much more enticing, so that’s a bit disappointing, however, it’s still Bejeweled and casual players will be happy with it.
