This particular obsession isn't anything new, of course. The core gameplay -- aligning three or more like-colored crystals into rows or columns -- hasn't changed in years. Yet each new release still manages to rekindle my compulsive desire to destroy shiny shapes. Bejeweled 3 does this by expanding on and adding to the formula in unexpected ways. The simplicity of Bejeweled gives PopCap room for creative flexibility, and the developer is increasingly clever when it comes to reinvigorating the familiar.
The unlockable gameplay types, earned simply by dabbling in the already available modes, each bring a bit of innovation to the table. Butterflies mode, for instance, is a terrific test of perception. Special butterfly gems ascend the board with each turn. Linking your new flapping friends to two appropriately shaded gems sends them to safety, so you're forced to find the fastest means of freeing them before a spider gobbles 'em up at the top. I had to analyze as many aspects of the layout as possible to avoid sending the little critters to their delicious doom. Every time they made their way up I worried. Even without a timer there's an enormous amount of pressure to play perfectly.
The layered strategy there is satisfying in the same way as the game's spin on poker. Each match assigns a card (the gem color) to one of five cards. The highest value of your hand is the number of points you receive. Tacking Bejeweled onto existing games is a bit of a hokey and rudimentary way of adding variety, but this is actually pretty interesting. It's not for the actual poker I like it so much, but taking my time to think a few turns ahead before making a move. That's an alien idea in Bejeweled. It's necessary, though, otherwise you'll end up with nothing but pairs. That's lame. Don't end up with nothing but pairs.
Poker also feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Bejeweled 3 is missing some stuff from earlier versions, like the Twist mode found in Bejeweled Blitz Live. That game's multiplayer component could have gone a long way toward competitive Bejeweled 3. I'd love to try building better hands than my buddies. I miss the competitive tracking used to throw down in hectic, minute-long Blitz matches this time around, too. Lightning is the equivalent mode here, but it's all about your score, as the letdown of a leaderboard is as plain as they come.
The lengthy Quest mode is a showcase theater for these fancy-pants new features. Its 40 objective-based stages have a healthy diversity of gradually tougher challenges. About half the missions don't stray too far from the rest of the game, but the tiered, tough structure is where I really had to step up my game. The Quest mode is a teacher. I became better as I learned through failure. The Quest also includes its own distinct gameplay variants to test your abilities. It also subtly teaches new techniques along the way. One of the smartest spins demands the elimination of a high number of gems in a small number of turns.
Eliminating bomb gems with hastily ticking timers is another excellent twist, and it brings along a heavy air of tension. One of my favorite mission types had me fighting against climbing columns of ice using speedy matching. Because vertical matches shattered walls, whereas horizontal lines only slowed them down, it encouraged a specific, atypical play style.
While it felt great to pick up on new things in a game I thought I'd mastered, Quest is also where Bejeweled 3 is at its most unwieldy. A controller is certainly serviceable, but it lacks the speed and precision offered by a mouse. Flicking from one side of the screen to the other and landing where you want isn't as easy as is ideal. More often than not, I failed out of numerous speed-based stages because I couldn't get where I needed -- not because I couldn't see the solution. In a game so dedicated to relaxation and happiness, it's a bummer it occasionally sunk into brief moments of exactly the opposite.
Keep in mind that Bejeweled 3 won't be terribly different from what you may have played on PC last year. Aside from some interface adjustments, this is a largely identical port of the awesome sequel. Whether you're coming in totally fresh or are tired of the formula, you're in for some delightful surprises.