Ah yes, back to the basics. Bejeweled might not be the first match three game ever created (well- it may be, I didn't check), but it's certainly the quintessential version of one. As always, your goal in this game is to arrange differently colored and differently shaped gems (colorblind accessible - nice!), and once they're matched, they fall down. The difference between normal Bejeweled and Bejeweled Twist is the method you move gems to make these matches. In Bejeweled Twist, instead of the typical 'swap two different gems' gameplay scheme, you can rotate an entire set of four gems around their center, hence the 'twist'. It requires you to think a bit more about the way that you're moving the gems around, as lots of different matches can cascade from one move, potentially up to four directly, and whatever happens afterwards. It's a great way to change up the formula in my opinion - and leads to gameplay that requires you to consider all the different consequences of your moves. Another fun change to the base gameplay is that you can actually make moves that don't match any gems in this game, which you can't do in any other game - but it comes at a cost. For each move you make that doesn't create a match, you lose a tier to your multiplier. You're incentivized by this to hunt for moves that can make a match, but you aren't at risk of a game over when you run out of moves anymore - a great switch up and change to the series! This leads to slightly slower gameplay and more score oriented play rather than survival.
Bejeweled Twist, PopCap Games
GAMEPLAY VARIETY
The game is played across four modes - but the value isn't evenly split between the four. The first mode is 'classic' - an endurance test. You no longer have the risk of getting a 'no moves possible' ending, but you still have to prevent the bombs that intermittently spawn from blowing up. The bomb timers get shorter and the bombs get more frequent the further you get into the game, it's a classic formula for a reason. This mode is fun, but I don't think this is what most people come to Bejeweled for. That would be...
Zen Mode! This mode lets you play without bombs or pressure, and because you can't run out of moves anymore, this mode essentially becomes endless. It's very relaxing and fun to see how high you can get your score and multiplier up and focus on the precision of your moves to not break your multiplier.
You also can play Blitz mode, which gives you a fixed amount of time to get as many points as possible. It's fun but just not my cup of tea, and I feel twist is an even slower paced game than normal Bejeweled, making this mode less appealing than it is in later incarnations.
Finally we have the puzzle mode, which is essentially the campaign of this game. There's a handful of modes that each have a type of challenge with a handful of tiers of that challenge. All together, you're working with near 100 'puzzles', although they can be quite repetitive. Some can be very fun, but a lot of them boil down to 'make a bunch of power gems - but wait to blow them all up at once'. This isn't a bad setup, but it means that accidentally setting a power gem off resets all of your progress - and gosh it sucks. Notably, this is also a style of challenge that wouldn't be possible in a normal Bejeweled game, so it plays to its strength if nothing else, it's just a high risk/high reward setup.
FRUTIGER AERO VIBES
Tying this game all together, we have the visuals, which are crystal sharp for a game from 2008. The visual style is sleek but a little dated, however I like the general space motif (in puzzle mode, each challenge is represented by a planet that's eclipsed whenever you complete it). I liken it a lot to that sort of Windows Vista and Windows 7 'frutiger aero' design motif, which has a bit of nostalgia to it for me personally as it's what computers looked like when I was growing up (what is frutiger aero?).
Bejeweled Twist, PopCap Games
The sound design in these games are also very crunchy and satisfying, I'm sure it took a lot of work to make and I really respect the craftsmanship on display there. It might even be the part of the game that has the most polish overall. The soundtrack isn't one of those that's gonna blow you away, but it's actually a really good listen, and I'll throw some of my favorites down here (courtesy of TMG's Game Music Library on Youtube).
THE TWIST UP
To wrap things up, Bejeweled Twist is a perfectly fine game that accomplishes pretty much everything it sets out to do, and puts a fun spin on the formula that was established with the previous Bejeweled games. If you're a fan of the genre, it's a pretty good time, but if not this game isn't going to change your mind on the genre.
I hear there's also a Nintendo DS version of this game that I've never tried out, so that might be in the cards at some point in the future! Let me know if you have any experience with that one!
If you're a fan of these old PopCap and PC puzzle games like me, let me know some of your favorites to try out down below! Thanks for reading, and never forget to play without limits!
-Mikeweled
Bejeweled Twist - New Twist, Classic Formula