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Jewel Quest 2
The original Jewel Quest was a simple yet addictive take on the "Match Three" puzzle genre. This sequel doesn't stray very far from its roots but it does add some new features to the formula. This means that players that could not get enough of the original will have a blast while everyone else will wonder what all the fuss is about.
Jewel Quest 2 swaps the Mayan locations of the original for Africa and tries to tell a better story while it's at it. It begins with the adventures of a professor researching the origins of the "Jewel Board" that the game is played on. When he loses the love of his life to another man due to his obsession he is heartbroken and joins the engine staff of a cargo ship bound for Africa. Once the professor's adventure is over, the game repeats, slightly harder and following the adventures of his lost love. There are three more stories to uncover giving the game the replay value that the original sorely lacked. The new "Tournament" mode where you get to challenge players from around the world is also an entertaining new addition that extends the games lifespan. Visually not much has changed since the last game apart from the Mayan theme being replaced with an African one. The visuals are colorful however and the backgrounds (all five of them) look nice. The resolution is still stuck at 800x600 but the 2D visuals still look fine even on a large monitor. I would have liked to see a few more backgrounds especially for subsequent playthroughs but this was not to be. The different journal entries for completed levels are a step in the right direction however. The music now has a nice "African" feel to it and offers slightly more variation than the first game. It can still become repetitive however. Overall, Jewel Quest 2 is a much easier title than the original thanks to the inclusion of special moves. Match three gold coins and you earn a special move that can instantly turn any tile gold. This is great for those hard to reach tiles and cuts down on a lot of frustration that the original had. If you fail a board enough times the game will also ask you if you would like to sacrifice a life in order to skip the board that is giving you trouble. These two factors meant that I was able to complete my first run much quicker than the original but also that I was much more inclined to keep playing afterwards. Of course, the different storylines also played a role in this. If you were expecting drastic changes you might be disappointed but all things considered I had fun with Jewel Quest 2. The Tournament mode was a nice surprise and the expanded story great for keeping players interested in what is going to happen next.
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System Requirements
TAGS: Jewel Quest 2, African, buried relics, special moves, match three
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