Bejeweled 3

PopCap has done what modern science can't, made an insanely cheap time machine, capable of transporting you hours into the future with every match of a gem.

It has taken some time to change the number, but it deserves the three, thanks to its eight game modes, which take the best of the last entries, polishing the experience and offering more.

A fine balance of polished gaming and addictive new modes. The world's most compulsive puzzle game just got even better. [Feb 2011, p.77]

If you are seriously looking for a change of pace, there may be enough here to satiate your desire. But if the classic "match 3" gameplay has served you well over the last few years, some spiffy visuals may not be enough warrant yet another version of this timeless classic.

Bejeweled is as addictive as ever, and the new Quest game mode keeps the experience fresh and varied. Popcap have reinvented their classic and made it into their most enticing package yet.

Bejeweled 3 is one-more-go gaming at its most polished.

Housewives, students, grandparents everywhere, be warned: Bejeweled 3 is coming to snatch away your afternoons.

Bejeweled 3 takes everything great about 2, adds many more modes and goodies, and cranks up the graphics dramatically. Like Plants vs Zombies, this is a game even "serious" gamers should give some attention. The thing that caught my attention immediately was the visual quality - the game runs at *native* 1920x1200 on my PC, and looks breathtaking. No more crummy upscaling like Bejeweled 2 or PvZ. This game actually *uses* your video card, and there are cool warping, scaling, and heat haze effects, as well as beautiful animated backgrounds. There is an addictive quest mode, 4 or 5 more gameplay modes (Poker and Butterflies are great), and lots of "badges" (ie achievements) you can earn in-game. The game is perfection... I can only hope we get a Plants vs Zombies 2 soon that raises the bar on graphics and gameplay the way Bejeweled 3 has.

The time I spent playing this game: 20 hrs 47 mins There is much hype that this game increases mental sharpness. I find that this doesn't make much common sense and note that the scientific studies were funded by PopCap, which do not make them unbiased discoveries. That said, for a 2010 game, the graphics are great. The game is fun and rewarding to play. It is a classic and widely known to be an excellent game for a puzzle game.

Very well designed and fun to play. Despite all the variations and thrills, and achievement badges, it remains a casual game in which you have little more to do than make 3 colours in a row thousands of times. The timed versions of the game put you under so much pressure you have no time to think or plan ahead. The versions with no time limit allow some scope to plan ahead and get a better score. I played for a few hours and had a lot of fun but it soon became repetitive.

Fun but very time consuming. I like all popcap games but this one can be a little difficult. You're only goal is to reach as many levels as you can without running out of matches? Kind of boring and the game gets boring after playing 20 hours straight, nothing seems to change. The three in a row match seems super popular, every time I think I'm about to run out of matches but come to find out that 1 match is still possible, every time. The qube that explodes one specific type of jewel when selected and the four in a row match seem to be getting less rare each level I go up. Getting easier as I progress?? I'm at 260,000 points on level 25 in ZEN. I feel I should have more than this. Bejeweled is a game with a bunch of different games built inside of it however I don't see much of a big difference with them all, the same objective and concept applies for all of them, nothing different. Music get's annoying after only a few hours, only 2 or 3 different ones in cycle. Good point and click game but extremely slow for me... So: 3/10

Before you bomb my house, lemme just explain my low 1/10 rating. First of all, match 3 is probably THE most overused concepts in video games, so bejeweled pretty much ****, but then popcap went on to make multiple sequels! I see why people like this game, it's a fun concept (for about 5 minutes) and I guess the gameplay works, but it just doesn't work for me. Sorry popcap, but I hate this, and I don't see how your level of quality gaming can go down so fast. (Plants vs. Zombies May 5 2009 - Bejeweled 3 Dec 7 2010)