14 DAY TRIAL // In the realm of casual games, PopCap's Bejeweled franchise is somewhat of an 800-pound gorilla, managing to attract millions upon millions of players with its multiple iterations, including Bejeweled 1 and 2, as well as Blitz or Twist, not to mention the Facebook versions of such titles.
Now, PopCap released the next full pledged installment in the jewel matching saga, Bejeweled 3.
Did the company manage to capture once more lightning in a bottle or does the new game spoil its classic mechanics? Let's have a quick look.
First off, the biggest surprise when you start up Bejeweled 3 is that there are more modes than you can even shake a jewel-incrusted stick at, and even more if you start unlocking them through the game's quest mode.
This special mode tasks you with certain objectives in the game's many modes, ranging from standard completion targets, timed events and going as far as even playing Poker or digging up artifacts, all through the standard jewel-matching gameplay mechanic.
There are lots of things to do in Bejeweled, which is something quite horrific considering how easily it draws you.
You'll be saying just one more turn in no time, before realizing you've wasted quite a few hours playing this so-called "casual" game.
Actually, considering the scaling difficulty of Bejeweled 3's quest mode, the game should actually be labeled as hardcore, seeing as how you'll be developing lightning-fast reflexes in order to complete all of the stages and objectives.
In modes like Poker or Avalanche, you'll also require a fair bit of strategy, as you can't just rush in and start matching jewels without thinking of the consequences.
All this intense gameplay doesn't mean PopCap forgot the roots of the game, as a Classic mode is still present, with players progressing through increasingly difficult stages and trying not to run out of moves.
Overall, it seems that PopCap managed once more to create a stunning game with seemingly easy, yet increasingly difficult mechanics.