Review: Bejeweled 3

Posted by Curtis H on May 10th, 2012 | 0 Comments | Tags: Bejeweled 3

I’m sure most people might write off Bejeweled 3 as just another Bejeweled game. Despite the popularity of the series you can only take things so far right? To be honest it wasn’t until just a few weeks ago that I did the same thing. I didn’t really expect the game to be much more than your typical match-three gameplay that I’ve been playing for years now. While that is exactly what Bejeweled 3 is, it’s also nice to see plenty of unique game modes that are not only fun but also manage to change up the way you play the game just enough. Sure you’re still matching at least 3 of the same colored gems but each new game mode has you employing different strategies for a higher score.

Aside from the Classic mode of play Bejeweled 3 offers seven other game modes. Lightning mode is the simplest of the additions where you simply race against the clock. You can match certain blocks to gain additions to your remaining time but in the end it’s all about matching blocks as fast as you possibly can. It’s in the other six modes where things start to feel a bit more fresh. The Quest mode for example offers up 40 different quests (puzzles) that you need to complete in order to unlock artifacts which lend to a nice feeling of progression. One quest had me matching blue and red blocks in an attempt to keep a scale on each side as even as possible. Another had me matching a set number of blocks in as few moves as possible. There’s around eight quest types that vary as you progress through the mode.

Zen mode is perhaps the weirdest mode in the game in that the additions fall within ambient sound such as a waterfall in the background as well as the sound of breathing in the background. Zen mode is endless and, if you turn on these extras, is supposed to allow the player to enter a ‘zen’ state of mind. For me it was just really weird. Poker has you matching colored blocks to create different poker hands to achieve the highest score. This requires the most planning ahead as eventually you’ll have to avoid getting some of the lower scoring hands in order to keep your game going.

Ice Storm plays similar to Lightning mode in that it relies of speed to be successful however now you’re playing against rising pillars of ice that slowly take over the board. Matching gems can momentarily halt the pillars but if you create a vertical match you can completely destroy an ice pillar. The next mode is Diamond Mine which has you digging your way further into the earth in search of gold and buried treasure. In a race against the set time limit you want to create matches towards the bottom of the stage in order to break blocks of dirt and dig farther and farther down. With each area of dirt you dig through the game gives a thirty second bonus and the mode continues until you run out of time.

The final mode, Butterfly, replaces the need to act quickly with the need to constantly be thinking ahead. In this mode different colored butterflies will climb the board one slot at a time until finally reaching the top. At the top if a giant spider which will eat the butterfly and cause a game over. Your goal of course is the match each butterfly with its correct color of blocks and try to save as many of them as you possibly can. Eventually you’ll have six to seven butterflies on the board at one time and you’ll have to rely on chaining gems together in order to keep your game going. It’s a challenging mode and probably one of my favorites.

Aside from the game modes Bejeweled 3 has to offer there are plenty of tiered badges that you can unlock (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) and a set of Elite Badges awarded for doing special things within the game. These alone should take some time to fully complete but you’re also gaining Ranks as you play through the game. The max rank is forty and after hours and hours of playtime over this past week I’ve only hit seven. Needless to say there’s plenty of stuff here to keep you busy.

That is of course if you’re wanting to spend more time with another Bejeweled game. Bejeweled 3 offers a lot for players and each mode is quite fun. You’ll easily lose a lot of time with it if you’ve ever been a fan of these types of games before. However the price for the game ($14.99) does seem kind of steep. That said Bejeweled 3 is lots of fun and is sure to be a time sink for fans of match-three puzzle games. If you’ve liked them before then you’re bound to have a great time with this one.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here. This review is for the PlayStation 3 version of the game.