Bejeweled® 2

Summary

In case you didn’t know: Bejeweled® 2 is a classic. It’s one of the oldest and most well-loved casual games there is. If that isn’t enough to get us excited about testing the Android app version of the game, I don’t know what is.

Curious to know what our verdict on the matter is? Read on!
 

I should probably explain what casual games are, just in case one of you isn’t familiar with the terminology: casual game, as the name suggests, are the type of games you can play any time and anywhere when you’re simply looking to kill or bridge time. They don’t tend to have an intricate background narrative or complex setting—they’re simple, fun games to help pass the time.

Bejeweled® 2 is a puzzle game and the game is to place three or more jewels of the same colour next to each other, either vertically or horizontally, resulting in an explosion. Oh yes, exploding diamonds, that’s what this game is all about!

There are seven differently coloured jewels, which is a good number to play around with, making the game rather dynamic.

You will receive extra points as well as special jewels (Power Gems and Hypercubes) for four or five-gem rows.

• Power Germs (four identical gems): Will remain the same colour and explode in a 3x3 radius as soon as you’ve created a row of at least three jewels
• Hypercubes (five identical jewels): Can be combined with every colour and then goes on to destroy all jewels of the same colour

There are three different game modes to enjoy:

Classic mode

• Unlimited amount of time
• Advance to the next level as soon as you reach a certain score
• When you can no longer make a move it’s game over
• More advanced levels become trickier seeing as it becomes more difficult to combine gems

Action mode

• The time level sinks whenever too long of a time elapses during which you haven’t combined any gems. You are awarded extra time for every successfull gem combo.
• Whenever the time bar is complete you advance a level
• You lose when the time bar is empty
• In more advanced levels the time runs out faster and faster

Infinity Mode

• Unlimited time
• Advance to the next level as soon as you reach a certain score
• You can never lose in this mode

Bottom line:
Bejeweled® 2 is a fun, easy game for whenever you’re in between appointments, waiting for the bus, etc. It performs beautifully and runs like a dream. The sound effects are also fun, as are the different game modes.

Controls for Bejeweled® 2 couldn’t be any easier or more intuitive to use than they are. Swapping jewels can be done by moving them around using a finger and that’s about all there is to it. Tilt the device at a 90° angle and the display will shift and you can continue playing.
The game’s easy, it’s easy and fun to play and should there be any confusion you can always follow the brief tutorial.
 

The app runs very smoothly and fluidly. The only glitch we encountered was when users are asked to enter a name. Aside from this we’re very satisfied with Bejeweled® 2’s performance.

The application costs 2,39€ which is a hefty price for a casual game, especially considering that the game could offer more content. That being said, not all apps that fall into this category are as well functioning as Bejeweled® 2.