REVIEW: Bejeweled Twist (PC)

Scribbled on November 11th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
Filed in Casual Gaming, PC, Puzzle, Reviews

Bejeweled is one of the staples of casual puzzle gaming, on the same pantheon as Tetris, and a staple of the puzzle game subgenre: the “match-3″ game. The premise is simple: swap gems to make 3, 4 or 5 rows of the same gem. Once you are unable to make a match, game over.

Bejeweled Twist is a true sequel in that it takes the basic gameplay of Bejeweled and mixes in some Hexic and Chuzzle. Instead of swapping gems, you rotate a block of four in a single direction – you try to match 3 or more with only one turn to build your multiplier. However, bombs will appear, and some gems get locked. Pretty soon, you’re up to your neck in chains and bombs, and soon you find yourself trying to prevent disaster while maintaining your multiplier. However, if you reach 10X on the multiplayer, you’ll be rewarded with a “fruit gem” that replaces a bomb. Fortunately, chained gems and bombs are destroyed when the level is finished, but all beneficial gems are retained for the next level.

Matching four or more gems gives you specialized gems – a 4 match produces a glowing gem that explodes, taking out nearby gems, while a 5 match produces an electric gem that shoots lightning vertically and horizontally, and destroys all in its path. Gray “coal” burst open in a colorful scoring burst when successfully broken by lightning or an explosion.

The game also comes with a fun challenge mode, that requires the player to perform certain tasks. For instance, Detonator requires the player to destroy a certain number of gems without the benefit of a lightning. Spectrum has the player trying to make matches of a specific gem several times in a row, while Coal Mine requires the player to destroy coal stones with a single blast.

The game also comes with a casual mode called “Zen” which allows the player to continue infinitely without an end game; on the other side of the spectrum, Blitz mode requires the player to score as much as possible in 5 minutes.

It’s hard to play Bejeweled after playing Bejeweled Twist, though some might pine for the former’s simple play. Fortunately, Twist is easy to grasp quickly, and its strategy is subtle yet potent.