Diamond Fever – You know, there are some games or applications I download that I’m instantly excited about, and they end up being awesome. Then, there are the ones that sound great at first, but are actually disappointing once I start using them. Finally, there are apps like Diamond Fever, which I download and open, say “What? This is dumb,” and then proceed to furiously play for 30 minutes.

Diamond Fever by Howling Moon Games is a fast-paced twist on the popular match-three genre (probably the most famous game of this style is Bejeweled). To win, players rely on a combination of luck and quick reflexes. Simply touch groups of three or more of the same color gem to make them disappear. Gems are shot into all four corners from the center of the board, so that they stack up increasingly closely to the center.

Those Diamond Fever gems get shot out quickly, though, so you really have to be vigilant. My initial impression was that the game was excessively easy (and the first few levels are very easy), but when you’re under the gun and the gems are coming quickly, it’s easy for them to stack up dangerously close to the explosives in the center of the screen.

The music for Diamond Fever is sort of funny; it reminds me of elevator music, but it’s not bad and it suits the feel of the game. The graphics are fairly simple, but nicely rendered and pleasantly colorful. Aesthetically, Diamond Fever is a definite winner.

The only major downside to Diamond Fever is that there are only 10 levels, which seems pretty skimpy, especially considering how many games these days offer dozens, if not hundreds, of levels. On the plus side, however, the desire to beat my previous high score for any given level is probably enough to keep me playing for a while, so the replay value for Diamond Fever may be higher than expected.

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category: Editor's Picks, Games, Puzzle