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Jewel Quest Expeditions
The Nintendo DS is
perfectly suited for puzzle games and developers iWin have created the perfect puzzle game for this
console with over 180 different puzzles to solve and also the ability to
play with up to 8-players via the innate wireless system.
The catch of Jewel Quest
Expeditions besides the almost unending amount of jewel based puzzles is
that the title actually contains a storyline which is quite rare with
this style of games. Become a treasure hunter as you embark on a variety
of different "environments" as you attempt to solve ancient puzzles in
order to collect items in this almost Boulder Dash and Bejeweled
inspired game. There is even a touch of romance in the tale.
Although Jewel Quest has
been available on the PC, a 60 minute trial is available at
www.iwin.com and now DS
users can also experience this sometimes frustrating yet quite addictive
puzzle game that will have you playing for hours upon hours.
In its essence, Jewel
Quest Expeditions is your traditional colour combination puzzle game
where you must match three similar items (e.g. gems or treasures)
together in order to unlock the puzzle. (Not as easy as it sounds) By
moving these jewels around the puzzle, you eventually mix and match.
The
twist of Jewel Quest is that each puzzle has a different strategy that
needs to be solved so it does makes things a little tricky and if you
solve the puzzle in record time, you are awarded bonus points.
The control system of
the game works quite well with the Nintendo DS stylus and actually
translated perfectly to this console. Although the bottom screen of the
DS is your main method of controlling the game, the top screen is used
to display some statistics and some archeological inspired pictures to
keep you in the treasure hunting mood.
Graphically, the title
is neither here or there in relation to Nintendo DS graphics and is
probably on par with a majority of puzzle games. The background pictures
on the top screen are nice with a great colour palette and match that
with some interesting special effects and music and Jewel Quest
Expeditions nicely slots in the "puzzle" category of gaming.
In conclusion Jewel
Quest Expeditions is a good puzzle game that will keep you entertained
for quite some time, just be warned that some of the levels do get
frustratingly annoying, however this is what all good puzzle games are
about. Although we did not have a chance, the game also supports a
8-player wireless competition mode which is great for playing against
other DS gamers. |
