| Bejeweled Blitz LIVE Released: February 2011 (XBox 360) Downloadable Content: Nope. Online Play: Yes. Multiplayer/Co-op: Yup…local multiplayer and a party mode
Me being a puzzle game fanatic — o.k., so I’m really addicted to the Tetris-ish stuff — I was kind of hesitant at first to purchase and download the latest gem-swapping game in the “Bejeweled” series. But seeing that this new offering has been quite the popular game on Facebook for a good while now, I couldn’t resist the temptation! For those of you who have been living under a rock for years, Bejeweled Blitz LIVE is the newest “gem” (pardon the obvious bad pun here!) from PopCap, where players have to match 3 gems or more to rack up points. Sounds simple enough, right? But there’s a catch this time around….you have to be quick with the brain too, because you only have a minute to get as many points as possible. And with being able to form more powerful, screen-clearing gems if you match 4 or more gems in a row, earning ridiculous scores in a minute’s time certainly isn’t out of the question. Within the game, there are two modes: “Classic” and “Twist”. In “Classic” mode, you swap 2 gems at a time to make possible matches; in “Twist”, you rotate gems in groups of 4 to make more customized matches. Regardless of which mode you play in, you earn experience points to level up with — word to the wise though, if you think you’re going to reach ridiculous levels after continuous gameplay, guess again….level 50 is the ‘level cap’. But even after hitting 50, you’ll still earn the XP. What shines in this game though is the multiplayer. You can either choose to go against another opponent (“Battle Mode”) or multiple opponents (“Party Mode”) and it’s definitely very fun! But don’t just think that scoring more points than the opposition will win you the match. In “Battle Mode”, you have to be better than your opponent in 2 out of 3 categories: Points, Amps(number of gem matches you made), and Style. While it’s always awesome to have a much higher score, I can’t tell you how much more gratifying it is to still win a game by having more matches and style points, even though your opponent has royally beaten you to a pulp score-wise! I really can’t think of anything actually wrong with this game. My only problem that I had in the beginning was there was a bug with the XP system to where you couldn’t earn any XP if your friends list was full, but that issue was quickly patched up. The action is fast & furious, is a nice treat to the eyes and ears with all the vibrant colors and explosions, the achievements aren’t impossible to get (unlike how Bejeweled 2 was…*ahem!*), and above all else…is EXTREMELY addictive! Brothers Bob verdict: Stamp Of Approval |
