Jewel Quest: Expeditions - 7.5/10
Jewel Quest: Expeditions Review
By Gaetano Prestia
Who would have thought that an adventure story could be implemented into the gameplay of a puzzle title? It's happened with Jewel Quest: Expeditions a game that borrows plenty from other well-known puzzle games such as Bejeweled and Zookeeper, and throws in a few new twists to the gameplay and some new gameplay modes. This puzzle game isn't the most original, but if you can look beyond the pointless story that has been thrown into the game for reasons unknown, you'll see a puzzle game that is fun and addictive.
Jewel Quest has the most similarities to Bejeweled with a few minor tweaks. The point is to match up three or more of the game coloured gem by moving them around the puzzle map and matching them up. That's where it's the same as Bejeweled, but it differs in the fact that, to complete the puzzle, you have to complete a combo on every line of the puzzle. Once you do that, you'll progress to the next one.
Jewel Quest is a puzzle game that, at its core, has been done before, but that shouldn't deter you. It plays very well on the DS, offering a decent level of replayability and value for what it's worth. It has a few extra features that differs it from other similar puzzle games. You also have 8-player multiplayer through the one cartridge which should be an absolute blast to play.
The only major problem worth noting is the story, which is pointless considering it's a puzzle game. It's also incredibly dumb. As you complete a puzzle you learn a little bit more of the characters' adventures through Africa. How exciting (sarcasm).
The Final Verdict
Offering an experience already relatively done in previous puzzle titles, Jewel Quest: Expeditions offers some new gameplay features and a nice presentation to make this a worthy addition to the deep range of puzzle titles available on the DS.
Gameplay
7.0/10
Addictive and fun. If you can look beyond the terrible story, you'll see little fault in this puzzler.
Graphics
6.5/10
Nice colours and sounds with some decent drawn sequences to match in with the story.
Sound
7.5/10
A surprisingly nice tribal soundtrack.
Value
8.5/10
There are 180 puzzles to keep you occupied for a long, long time.
Overall
7.5/10
Submitted by Gaetano
19/01/2009
67
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Jewel Quest: Expeditions
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