Jewel Quest
Posted March 29, 2006
While blatant similarities exist when compared Bejeweled 2, the recent entry of Jewel Quest into the Xbox Live Arcade foray is a quaint addition to the puzzle genre. Jewel Quest incorporates an Indiana Jones style theme into familiar jewel-flipping gameplay for a lengthy arcade experience. While the presentation is an interesting diversion, the storyline really isn't captivating. Fortunately, it's obviously forgivable since this is just an arcade puzzle title. 
Gameplay:
Each round is designed around racing against the clock to cover the board with buried treasure in the form of gold plating. The gold is uncovered by flipping jewels around to create combinations of 3 or more in a row or column. If you complete the board before the time runs out, a point bonus will be awarded. As the points rack up, an extra life is awarded every 50,000 points. Adversely, if a board isn't completed before the time runs out, a life will be taken. If you cannot complete a particular board over two rounds, the game will give you an option of trading a life to skip the level.
After completion of the first level of difficulty, the challenge ramps up slightly with locked board pieces. The pieces can be unlocked by creating the same row/column combinations. This can be tough if the piece required to unlock a particular square won't fall into place. The control scheme is utterly simplistic. The left thumbstick controls the placement of the flipping marker and the green A button highlights the marker. It's a common control scheme used in a vast majority of the Xbox Live Arcade titles.
The 200 achievement points over 12 challenges are primarily designed around completion of the 180 levels. As you progress through the numerous rounds, the achievements will slowly unlock. The only real challenge is a high point achievement, but it's much easier to get later in the game as your skill progresses. For the most part, these 200 points are earned via time spent opposed to any skill requirements. The entire set will easily take upwards of 10 hours to collect.
Graphics:
The visual quality of the title is above average, but not up to the caliber of Hexic HD. The static background images match the archeology theme and blend with the game board. The jewels are easily discernable from each other with color and design. Also, the motion animation for switching or falling jewels is absolutely fluid. Unfortunately, the entire set of graphics seem slightly out of focus and blurry in high definition, which hampers an otherwise solid graphics engine.
Audio:
The background music is actually quite entertaining and suspenseful. A predominant theme of tribal beats and jungle sounds delightfully enhance the soundtrack. In addition, the amount of musical variation between each game board is surprisingly high for an arcade title. Beyond the background jungle jingles, the sound effects match the rest
of the themed experience. My only complaint is that the timer warning beep is far too quiet which forces me to divert attention from the board to the glowing warning lights in the eye of the timer dragon.
Conclusion:
While the game is moderately entertaining and occasionally challenging, the repetition in the late stages of the game can be annoyingly monotonous. Also, the game is overpriced in comparison to its other puzzle competitors. Although it's an enjoyable arcade game, I recommended waiting for a price point deduction, from 800 to 400 points, before downloading this title. Otherwise, just stick with Bejeweled 2 for all of your compulsive, jewel-flipping needs.
Gameplay:
Each round is designed around racing against the clock to cover the board with buried treasure in the form of gold plating. The gold is uncovered by flipping jewels around to create combinations of 3 or more in a row or column. If you complete the board before the time runs out, a point bonus will be awarded. As the points rack up, an extra life is awarded every 50,000 points. Adversely, if a board isn't completed before the time runs out, a life will be taken. If you cannot complete a particular board over two rounds, the game will give you an option of trading a life to skip the level.
After completion of the first level of difficulty, the challenge ramps up slightly with locked board pieces. The pieces can be unlocked by creating the same row/column combinations. This can be tough if the piece required to unlock a particular square won't fall into place. The control scheme is utterly simplistic. The left thumbstick controls the placement of the flipping marker and the green A button highlights the marker. It's a common control scheme used in a vast majority of the Xbox Live Arcade titles.
The 200 achievement points over 12 challenges are primarily designed around completion of the 180 levels. As you progress through the numerous rounds, the achievements will slowly unlock. The only real challenge is a high point achievement, but it's much easier to get later in the game as your skill progresses. For the most part, these 200 points are earned via time spent opposed to any skill requirements. The entire set will easily take upwards of 10 hours to collect.
Graphics:
The visual quality of the title is above average, but not up to the caliber of Hexic HD. The static background images match the archeology theme and blend with the game board. The jewels are easily discernable from each other with color and design. Also, the motion animation for switching or falling jewels is absolutely fluid. Unfortunately, the entire set of graphics seem slightly out of focus and blurry in high definition, which hampers an otherwise solid graphics engine.
Audio:
The background music is actually quite entertaining and suspenseful. A predominant theme of tribal beats and jungle sounds delightfully enhance the soundtrack. In addition, the amount of musical variation between each game board is surprisingly high for an arcade title. Beyond the background jungle jingles, the sound effects match the rest
of the themed experience. My only complaint is that the timer warning beep is far too quiet which forces me to divert attention from the board to the glowing warning lights in the eye of the timer dragon.
Conclusion:
While the game is moderately entertaining and occasionally challenging, the repetition in the late stages of the game can be annoyingly monotonous. Also, the game is overpriced in comparison to its other puzzle competitors. Although it's an enjoyable arcade game, I recommended waiting for a price point deduction, from 800 to 400 points, before downloading this title. Otherwise, just stick with Bejeweled 2 for all of your compulsive, jewel-flipping needs.