Bejeweled 2 (PS3) – Review

About

Bejeweled started off as a free web-based game developed by PopCap Games in November 2001, I would be surprised if you have not played or at least heard of it before. The game has been ported to several different platforms, from the Xbox 360 to the iPod.

The sequel, Bejeweled 2 was released on the PSN last week by Sony Online Entertainment (well for the US anyway) at the price of $9.99. The demo and full game both are only 23MB; you get a 6KB file when you buy the game to unlock all the different modes of the game, which except for two modes are locked in the demo.

Bejeweled 2 - Classic Mode

Basics

The basic idea of the game is to swap adjacent gems with each other to form a chain of the same colour. Once you have a chain of three, the gems disappear from the board and more gems are dropped to take their place.

If you can manage to chain together four of a kind, you create something called a ‘Power Gem’, and when you put them in a chain with at least two more gems of the same colour you cause a explosion, which gives you more points.

If you chain together five of the same colour gems, you create a ‘Hyper Cube’, which will destroy all gems the same colour as the gem you swap it with. There are two other types of special gems, but I will get to them later.

The game also has a ‘Hint’ button, which when pressed will highlight a gem that can be moved with an arrow, providing that you can make a move that is. The game punishes you for using this though, as it takes a chunk of points away from you, which you will have to earn again to progress in the game.

Video

I have captured some high definition (720p) footage of the game and created a small montage of clips, I would recommend watching it to get an idea of the gameplay and look of the game.

Modes

The game has four different main modes, which are available straight away with the full game.

Classic

This is the original Bejeweled mode, as you match gems up and get rid of them on the board, you get points. These points then fill up a ‘level’ bar at the bottom of the screen, when it eventually fills up you clear the level and you move onto the next one. Eventually, it will be impossible to create a chain of three gems, and you will have no moves left, which will end the game on this mode.

Action

This mode was also in the original Bejeweled, but has been renamed from ‘Timed’ to ‘Action’. The basic rules are essentially the same as ‘Classic’ mode, but there are a few changes to make this mode a bit more challenging. As the old name suggests, speed is important to progress through the levels on this mode, you will have to be a speed demon to complete some of the later levels. The progress bar on this mode starts half full (or half empty if you’re a pessimist), and gradually depletes, you must keep scoring points to counter this and fill the bar up, it you let it drain out completely the game ends.

Endless

This is one of the new inclusions in Bejeweled 2, and as the name suggests, it doesn’t finish until you have. There is no time or score limits in this mode, and you can’t run out of moves as the game will start creating combo’s for you when they start running out. This is the ideal mode if you’re getting to grips with the game, or want to play the game at your own pace.

Puzzle

Another new inclusion and one I certainly am glad of since it adds a bit more variety to the game. In ‘Puzzle’ mode you must clear the board by using a certain combination of moves. This mode also has two different gems that are unique to it as a main mode. The first of these is the ‘Bomb’, when the timer on a bomb expires; it explodes and takes a few gems with it. The second gem is the ‘Rock’, they do not count as part of any chains and can only be cleared with an explosion, such as a power gem or bomb.

Bejeweled 2 - Puzzle Mode

Secret Modes

These modes can be unlocked by getting to the later levels in the main modes;

‘Twilight’ is essentially ‘Classic’ mode with a small change of direction, very literally. The gems on this mode alternate between falling from the top of the board and rising from the bottom.

‘Hyper’ is essentially ‘Action’ mode, but four times faster, if you enjoy a challenge I suggest trying this mode out once you unlock it.

‘Finity’ is also similar to ‘Action’ mode, as there is a timer. There are also both rocks and bombs in this mode, and to make things even more challenging you only get points from gems that are involved in an explosion, and not just in a chain.

‘Cognito’ is a tougher version of ‘Puzzle’ mode, there are points in this mode, and using the hint system means you get no points at all for that level.

Conclusion

I was sceptical whether PopCap and SOE could port Bejeweled 2 onto the PlayStation 3 console.

Not because of technical issues, that was not a worry at all; I mean the game runs fine on the iPod, but because of the gameplay.

Having played some of the other ports, I did not get the same feeling of speed and precision when playing it on other platforms; you just can’t beat the mouse for that. I was however pleasantly surprised, because I think they have managed to pull it off.

Some of the others aspects of the game, such as the sound and visuals are certainly not groundbreaking by any standards, but the core gameplay is certainly there, and addictive as it was all those years ago.

8/10

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