|
Bejewelled Twist
I've just finished reviewing Pop Cap's
awesomely addictive Plants vs. Zombies title on the Nintendo DS and
another one of their equally entertaining casual games is also available
on this console. The game in question is Bejewelled Twist that features
the same sturdy gameplay as players enjoyed on the PC plus the various
gaming modes such as Blitz, Challenge, Zen and most people's favourite,
Classic.
If the series sounds a little familiar, that's because
Bejewelled Twist isn't the first game in the series as it was originally
made for browsers in 2001. From there it spawned a variety of
incarnations on various platforms until it finally and thankfully hit
the Nintendo DS. So how does it play on the Nintendo DS? You'll just
have to read on but between you and me... it's quite impressive!
Although some people have
compared the bejewelled series to that of Tetris,
Bejewelled is actually more complex and in-depth. Not to mention more
entertaining but gaming has changed considerably since Tetris. The basic
goal behind Bejewelled Twist is match three or more same coloured gems
in order to make them "pop" away. You can also rotate or
"spin" the gems in order to match the colours and explode these pesky
gems.
Best of all, the control system of
Bejewelled Twist works quite well on the Nintendo DS, especially with
the inclusion of the stylus. The stylus basically works just like the
mouse from the PC as you tap and move gems on your touch screen. I
actually found it far superior.
There are also a variety
of twists (pun intended) such as power-ups, challenges, scores and
timers to add to your gaming frustration that makes the
victories even sweeter. Nothing is more entertaining than successfully
igniting the lightning gem power-up which basically unleashes a chain of
electricity onto a particular coloured gem which is like linking three
similar coloured gems. For additional replay value, completing all the
challenges can be a challenge in itself, especially when you
are required to match a high number of same coloured gems.
If the pace is all too
much for you, this is where Zen comes into the picture that just
requires you to match the gems without the added frustration of
challenges, timers or whatnot. However in order to use the Challenge and
Blitz modes, you basically need to complete at least 10 levels of
Bejewelled Twist in Classic mode which then opens up these additional
gameplay levels. It is a good incentive because the first 10 levels does
act as a tutorial to help you master the controls. There is a
competitive multiplayer option, however both players need a copy of
Bejewelled Twist and unfortunately we could not test this feature.
All in all, the gameplay works awesomely well on the DS as you spin,
match and explode those gems.
Graphically, Bejewelled
Twist looks like the PC version and the developers have successfully
managed to incorporate all facets of this addictive multiplayer title
with all its psychedelic colours and special effects. There's definitely
no complaints from me. The music and the sound effects once again
resonance back to the original game that with the gameplay, make this an
entertaining yet sometimes frustrating experience.
Final Thoughts?
Even though the Nintendo 3DS is slowly taking over the world as the new
portable console of choice, it's great to see developers still
supporting the DS platform. Its games like these that will definitely
keep this console afloat a little longer but more importantly, the
casual game known as Bejewelled Twist has been flawless ported to the
DS. Check it out!
Review courtesy of
Mindscape
http://www.mindscape.com.au/software/bejewelled-twist.do
|
