Puzzle Games seem to be all the rage in the App Store these days. Many of them fondly remind players of 80’s arcade games that had players stuck in bowling alleys, laundromats and car washes for hours. Classic games like Tetris carved their mark into history and now a new legion of puzzle games of have entered the arena. Many of them on their second versions.

Bejeweled is back. It’s a new and improved version of the classic puzzle game. It’s called Bejeweled 2. The goal of the game is simple. You must match gems in groups of three or more in order to earn points. The more gems you get rid of the more points you earn. This sounds easy. It’s anything but. Bejeweled is a race against time and a game of absolute skill.

So what makes the Bejeweled 2 iPhone app better than the first? Bejeweled 2 offers two new jewels that enhance the player experience. There are twinkling Power Gems and rainbow hued Hyper Cubes. Power Gems assist players when they have three like colored gems in a row. They blow up all the nearby gems. Hyper Cubes are helpful because swapping one means you get rid of all the ones you swapped it. They make them disappear.

The best things about this game aren’t it’s highly addicting qualities or its super challenging levels. It’s the simple stuff that makes it so great.

For instance, many gamers whine about the inability to play in landscape mode. Guess what? You can in Bejeweled 2. Users can even play music from their iPhones while playing the game — effectively creating their own personal Bejeweled 2 soundtrack.

Visually it’s a gem. The graphics are superb. But, it does have its faults. After playing it for a half-hour, I noticed that it really drained the battery! I quickly plugged my iPhone into the wall to obviate this for the rest of my game play, but if you’re out and about this is something to keep in mind.

We’re a sucker for shiny things, so it’s no surprise that we love Bejeweled 2. We just wish there was a multi-player mode so we could crush our opponents share the fun with friends. In the meantime we’ll be satisfied with Endless Mode, a new feature that means the good times can keep on rolling — as long as we have a nearby power source.

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category: Games, Puzzle