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When I'd first heard word that a new Bejeweled was on the way, my heart was placed somewhere between optimism and skepticism. Like most of the modern world I'd sold my soul to the match-3 gods long ago. And while my poison of choice had always been the Infinite Interctive helmed Puzzle Quest, I couldn't help but recognize the monumental place Bejeweled held in the genre. So could this, the first true sequel to Bejeweled in more than four years, do something truly different that we haven't seen before? Could PopCap really re-invent the wheel? After doing some soul searching and countless hours of hands-on research, I'm prepared to share with you my findings.
First things first: while the core of the gameplay is still about matching three or more colored gems, Bejeweled Twist is not Bejeweled. I can't stress this enough. The developers at PopCap Games set out to create a real sequel -- something that maintained the same thematic elements that one would have recognized from previous Bejeweled games but wrapped them in something completely new. So what's so different about Twist?
Rather than swapping the spots of two gems to make groupings of three or more, Twist sees you taking a square grouping of four gems and rotating them to meet the same ends. Think Hexic, but without the hexagon. It's a simple change, sure -- but it completely re-invents the way the game is played.
A number of other quality changes have occurred as well, though none are as earth-shattering as the twisting. Previous iterations of Bejeweled limited the pieces you could move to only those that could be matched. Now you can twist any four you like. The penalty? Your score multiplayer goes down for every turn you take without making a match.
Scoring has really taken a central point in Bejeweled Twist. Each stage is completed when a certain score is attained. Using special gems that you create by matching 4 or 5 can boost your score even faster. Once you reach a 10x multipler you can earn a fruit gem which can help your score to explode. The importance of scoring is re-inforced after each stage, where you're presented with a summary of your performance and just what you did to earn your score that round.
Getting through the stages isn't always as easy as it sounds. Several roadblocks can get in your way pretty quickly. Bomb gems -- again, not unlike Hexic -- need to be cleared away in a certain number of turns. Dull lifeless rocks can clutter your field obstructing any matched you might try to make. Some gems can even get locked up to prevent their movement! Between the obstacles that block your way to success and the various options for working towards a quality score, PopCap has again found that perfect balance between challenge and reward.
Rounding out the package are the four game modes that you get to choose from. Classic is the main game mode, stripped of any modifying behaviours. You'll be faced with an increasingly difficult series of stages featuring all of the risks and rewards mentioned above. Zen is similar to classic, but with no real means of losing. They've taken away all the risk, and in turn they reward you with a lesser score. As all modes contribute to an overall ranking, playing in Zen will get your rank up far slower than the modes that really challenge you.
Speaking of challenge, we can't forget to mention Challenge mode. Those who've been through post-Peggle rehab are intimately familiar with PopCap-style challenges. Match so many of this colored gem in a row. Remove this many gems in one move. Etc.. Once you feel like you've mastered Twist, Challenge will give you a reason to bring your A-game.
The final mode, which is great for those of us looking to keep our time-killing on a short clock, is Blitz. Blitz has you trying to rack up as high a score as ayou can in five minutes. It's simple, it's elegant, and it's exactly what you're looking for when you've got 5 or 10 minutes to kill before you have to go for lunch.
Bejeweled Twist accomplishes exactly what it set out to do -- it creates a brand new formula that reinvents a timeless classic. And while it's true that the similarities to Hexic can't really be ignored, it's far from a Hexic clone. The two games may share some gameplay mechanics, but only Twist offers the PopCap charm that made Bejeweled so great in the first place.
Bejeweled Twist and it's free trial are available on the PopCap Store. A free trial is also available. Want to take Bejeweled on the road? Check out our review of the mobile version of the original.
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