Bejeweled Twist

By Reardon Jones

PopCap, the same people that bought us Plants vs Zombies and other great puzzle games, have added Bejeweled Twist to the Nintendo DS.

Having played the Bejeweled series countless times on PC, we were looking forward to the more portable version coming out on DS.

And let me tell you, Bejeweled Twist has lived up to many of our expectations.

For those unfamiliar with the Bejeweled Gameplay, the basic gist of the game is to match up at least three gems in a row within a quadrant. Fairly straightforward.

Twist on the DS has opened up different modes including Classic Mode, Challenge Mode, Blitz Mode and Zen Mode.

The challenge mode provides hours of entertainment with many different objectives to choose from.

For example, placing gems in a row within a specific time limit or obtaining the most gems of one colour at a time in the colour coordination challenge.

Modes are unlocked as you progress through the game. This becomes a little tedious over time however it's well worth it to open up other options in game play.

My dislike of the stylus became clear playing this game. It may stem from a dislike for stylus technology in general or it may be because I was used to playing Bejeweled on PC.

Having played PopCap's Plants VS Zombies on DS I thought that my dislike would have subsided. Guess not.

Twist requires you to loop around a quadrant of gems and then a sequence of taps to rotate in the desired direction. Oh man, I might just be a Muppet when it comes to stylus-based games, cause it took me ages to complete this, it's much easier using a PC.

The animations are pretty awesome. Lightning and explosions occur when certain combinations are achieved. Much like previous versions in the Bejeweled series, the bigger the explosion the better the score and in some modes the longer the level.

The addition of Zen Mode is a blessing. Not having the pressure of a timer or target is a great thing as we found we could just play and play until the battery ran flat.

In saying this, Bejeweled Twist is better handled on other gaming platforms. The stylus makes it a little frustrating at times.

Bejeweled is an accessible and easy to use game for most ages. Available across a wide array of platforms makes the Bejeweled series one of the most successful puzzle games to date.
 

The Nintendo DS release has opened the series further to the gamer on the go, bringing puzzle games back into the hands of those missing a good challenge.

Not quite a Gem of a game, Bejeweled Twist is still great fun.

Game: Bejewelled Twist
System: PC and Nintendo DS
Developer/Co-Developer: PopCap Games
Publisher: PopCap Games

Rating: 75%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)