Title: Bejeweled 2 (Mac/PC CD)

Format: PC

Release date: 14/12/2007

Official site: PopCap Games

If you’ve ever found your mind wandering from the trivial tasks of school, college or work, chances are Pop Cap’s most popular casual game has at some point or another rescued you from the darkest depths of boredom. And it’s not so difficult to see why: basic controls, bright colours and and quirky sound effects make Bejeweled 2 an essential escape from the monotony of daily life.

The gameplay is based around jewels of varying colour and shape (perfect for those who are colour blind), the basic principle being to line up at least three of the same jewel horizontally or vertically. In addition, lining up four jewels will create a powerful jewel which will blow up surrounding jewels, and the ultimate five jewel line which, when swapped with an adjacent jewel, will eradicate all jewels of that colour on screen. Sound complicated? It’s really not, especially with handy hint screens available to guide new players. Controls are mouse-based, easy to grasp and extremely user-friendly.

As you progress through each level, the difficulty becomes understandably more challenging and you will need to line up an increasing totals of jewels each time to level up. It is inevitable that time will eventually take its toll and what seemed like such a never-ending addiction has finally dissipated. Not to worry, there are other modes of play to refresh any stale enthusiasm. Challenge mode is almost identical to the classic style of play, with the added pressure of a decreasing progress meter. If you want to stay in the game, a quick eye is required to spot as many jewel patterns as possible before the bar hits zero. For those who enjoy practical problem solving, puzzle mode will test your logic and for those with far too much time to spare, never-ending mode seems a fitting match.

Bejeweled 2 has already received rave reviews from almost every games critic since its initial release in 2004. Naturally every game has its flaws, and in this case it would have to be the cheesy soundtrack. However any unpleasant background twitter is easily muted via the options menu and, should you choose to play with sound on, it’s not the end of the world. It goes without saying that if you haven’t yet tried it out, then you should. Just don’t go blaming this writer for your addiction.

4/5

Written by Stacy Kidd. Who is a pie.