Jewel Quest

Jewel Quest was such a huge hit of a video game! This was something that I feel had a truly universal appeal where even those who were not normally into video games could play this on their phone, computer, or even the kid's game console and have a lot of fun in the process. It is a game that would span two sequels and if I am being honest with you, I do feel that the sequels add stuff to the game that makes them better, but this first title is still well worth your time checking out.

The Mayan Adventure

While I would not describe Jewel Quest as a story driven masterpiece or anything like that. I will say that for a puzzle game, I do appreciate that they tried to put some kind of story in place here to keep things rather interesting between levels. What we have going on here is the story of a treasure hunter and it has a rather cool Mayan setting that I got a kick out of. Between certain levels, you will get a little bit of story that helps keep things fresh.

The OG Match Three

These days, match three puzzle games are a dime a dozen! The amount of licensed properties that have a match three game based on them is crazy, but I would consider Jewel Quest here as one of the OG match three style puzzle games. If you have played any puzzle game of this style, you know what the deal is here. You have to move the pieces along to match three, they disappear and you get points and more will appear as you try to clear the board.

Becoming A Seasoned Adventurer

As you progress in Jewel Quest, things get more and more difficult. At first, you just match your three jewels, clear the board and move on. It starts off by easing you into things, but with a load of levels, as you progress the difficulty increases at what I think is a solid pace. From larger boards to clear, oddly shaped boards and other tricky things to get in your way. There is a real decent sense of progression here and while in comparison to other match three games, what we have here may seem a bit basic, I still think that there is fun to be had here.

A Rather Standard Style

As far as the presentation of Jewel Quest goes I have to say that I feel it is a product of its time. I have mainly played the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo DS version of the game and they both look decent enough. No matter what version of the game you end up playing, it will have the same kind of Mayan theming to it and that is something I like. There is not really anything fancy or flashy as far as the visuals and sound go, this is one area where the series certainly improved upon as it developed over the years.

Pros:

• I liked the Mayan setting of the game
• It is nice and bright
• The gameplay is challenging and I like the way it progresses
• There are many different versions of this game you can try out and compare

Cons:

• It is a bit of a bare bones match three puzzle game
• It lacks the flash that the later games had