Game Details

Title: Bejewelled Blitz Live
Cost: 800 MS Points
Developer: PopCap Games
Game Type: Gem Matching Puzzle
Multi-player: 2 Player Head to Head, 2-16 player party mode
Length: N/A

My Impressions

Bejewelled Blitz Live is an easy and difficult game to sell, it is easy since lots of people will already know what it is and be addicted to it through the free facebook game. This is also why it is a tough game to sell as you can play it for free on facebook.

In light of this, PopCap have wisely included a Blitz version of Bejewelled Twist which as the name suggests has you matching gems by twisting a box of 4 gems clockwise or anticlockwise to try to get the gems to match. While I prefer the original version of Bejewelled, Twist is a welcome addition to the Xbox Live version.

The other addition to the Xbox Live game is multiplayer and I found this to be a disappointment in both game modes. The party mode was the biggest disappointment in that all it is, is a glorified chatroom for when you play Blitz as there is little interaction aside from gaining a few extra points if you are doing the best in your current party. For it to be a true party mode I would have wanted everyone to be trying to match gems on the same board.

I also had a bit of an issue with the head to head mode, in that while it works as you might expect with you facing an opponent using the same starter board, I found that having the two boards next to each other made the board I was using a bit too small for my liking, though it would be okay if I was using a larger LCD TV (set up 23inch Widescreen TV/Moniter).

In terms of the controls, I was initially disappointed in the classic controls as they have been changed from the Bejewelled 2, A to select and direction to a XYBA set up with the highlighted Gem moving in the relevant Button direction (i.e. Y=Up). While I eventually got used to it, I would have liked the option to keep the Bejewelled 2 controls.

One thing I was pleased with however, is that the achievement difficulty is much saner than in Bejewelled 2. This time around if you are good at the game all achievements should be obtainable with time and effort (though luck will help). This is a welcome change when compared to the almost impossible to get ones for Bejewelled 2 that I have given up ever getting.

My Recommendation

Consider

While an enjoyable game Bejewelled Twist Live ultimately suffers from having a free version available on facebook, and does not offer enough over the original to be a must buy purchase. My advice is to wait awhile and see if it becomes a deal of the week.