Bejeweled Blitz Live: Review

If you are a match-3 style games fan, then Bejeweled Blitz Live has some variants of the classic Bejeweled formula to offer, in addition to its online modes and a gameplay that is an absolute fun though several of the ideas present at Bejeweled 3 (that introduced agreeable diversity into the game) are unfortunately gone.

The attraction of Bejeweled is best understood through thinking of it as of a slot machine. With one press on a button a lot of shiny things start making noise. At Bejeweled these shiny things occasionally explode and tumble across the screen, creating a sensation like that of hitting a slot jackpot. Like in slots, achieving the higher scores is a matter of some considerable degree of luck, yet Bejeweled offers some bonuses for matching over three gems as well as for speed.

Speed is particularly rewarded in Blitz's Classic mode, where the player is given one minute to gather the maximum possible amount of points by matching three for basic clears or four (and more) - for gathering special gem types to hit big points and activate out-of-reach multipliers. Twist mode introduces some pleasant diversity to the game, and it is especially fun to move to after getting tired of Classic mode.

In Twist mode a large cursor manipulates and spins four gems counter- or clockwise. The fact that there are no restrictions as of not being able to move a gem unless a match is certain, gives more freedom to the player to manipulate the board. The one-minute timer, though, is functional in this mode as well, so the player should act quickly to enjoy also the combo bonus that drives up the existing score.

These basic differences make the two modes feel absolutely different, even though having the same familiar match-3 gameplay at their basics. In general, the game is very easy to play, as it demands very little, while providing always a new goal to try and reach. Both online and offline duel match modes are included for the competitive type of players, as well as online party matches with the opportunity for up to 16 players to join up and enjoy Classic and Twist together.

An indicator at the bottom of the screen displays the number of players participating in the match. Both of these two modes are presented against bright colors graphical and down tempo electronic music backgrounds.