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Bejeweled is an easy game for someone like me, who grew up with Puyo Puyo and Tetris Attack/Panel De Pon, to write off as just some timewaster like you’d see on those touchscreen games at bars or clubs, or that come with your phone. In the same breath, all games are timesinks, but Tetris Attack at least had great character and gratification that came from the amount of attention that was given to the gameplay balance and sound design. Western games like Bejeweled and Peggle on the other hand have about the same aesthetic brillance as Lisa Frank stationery.
But I will always love “time attack” style gameplay. Bejeweled Blitz is making me realize just how much. For those of you that only play actual games, this is a version of Bejeweled that you play on Facebook. It tracks the scores of all your Facebook friends that play. If your score (times 2) and the scores of all your friends add up to over 1 million, you get entered into a drawing to win a Popcap branded laptop that week. It’s made for quick pick up and play sessions; there’s only one gameplay mode and it’s only one minute long.
I tried Bejeweled 2 on PC after playing Blitz for a while, but it’s not the same. The fun in the game comes from the time restraint, where every move matters. Because the time is so limited, Blitz adds “blazing speed” mode and multiplier jewels. You are rewarded for each move you make in rapid succession of the last until you reach the top of that scale which activates blazing speed: it only lasts for a few seconds or so, but each match in this mode causes explosions shattering gems around it, netting you crazy points. Even if you manage to access this bonus though, it won’t make a lot of difference unless you’ve got a few multipliers under your belt. Multipliers appear if you make a lot of jewels explode in a single move, which can sometimes happen just making multiple matches of 3′s, but usually you’ll want to make matches of 4′s or 5′s which make jewels that cause cascading explosions.
To summarize, this is like the manic version of Bejeweled. They didn’t just attach a time limit, they toyed with the scoring system in such a way that you feel like you’re being pushed to the finish line. Making a big enough cascade can push your score over the edge and give you a higher score than seemed possible before. It’s really pretty good, and not even in the “empty calorie” way like Peggle. It could be argued that the game is kind of random, where some boards just hand you better matches than others, but when each match is only a minute it’s not that big of a complaint. The game could, however, use some sort of quick restart for when you know it’s just not your match.
Seeing companies like Capcom and Hudson showing interest in mobile gaming, I wonder if they’ll start to look at gaming on social networking sites as well. Some Star Soldier caravan mode perhaps? At the very least I’m hoping for more fast action games, although we’ll probably just see a bunch of Farmville clones. UGH FARMVILLE
Speaking of Tetris Attack earlier made me want to pick Planet Puzzle League for the DS back up again. I think I’d have a few things to say about that one. But I’ve been wanting to write about another time attack game for a long time now: Pac-Man Championship Edition. Or maybe I’ll just forget I even had a gaming journal for another two months. We’ll see!
Hey. I’m Adam, known on the internet as szycag. I’m going to write on the internet about video games that I play, like these other dudes are doing. I’ll jump right into that then.
I love Virtua Tennis 3 so much; got it for $7 on Ebay, brand new in the plastic even. Virtua Tennis 2018 came out a couple months ago, which I guess makes this game obsolete and thus cheap. Not really though. Unlike most sports games on the market, I’m pretty sure many of the fans don’t even follow the sport and won’t care about the new roster. For people with short attention spans such as me, it’s just Pong with way more strategy thrown in. It’s also one of the few Sega properties left that hasn’t been totally dragged to hell yet. 2018 does add a few features that sounded interesting, but everything you need to be absolutely addicted is right here. It’s also in the first two really, it’s just that here it’s in 1080p. Hi-res cardboard cutout crowd goes wild!
So for this, my first post, I was going to announce my first victory against the AI on hard in Exhibition mode, but that hasn’t happened yet, despite all my hard work. I’ve gotten so close numerous times. I always pick that Dent guy as my rival because I don’t like his chin. Sometimes I’ll catch him slipping and get him off to one side and smack one in he can’t possibly reach, but I swear he’s just doing this to lure me into some false sense of security. I sense so many things from the AI in this game- things that I’m just imagining of course- but like the computer is getting mad at me or trying to spite me, lead me on even. The great thing about a game as simple as this is how complex the AI can truly get. I see it starting to pull the same shit that I’m trying to pull, like lob shots that go just an inch over the net then running right up against it and mashing A. Stuff like that. That’s MY dick move, and he stole it. Double dicked.
I think what plays into all that is the body language. When I trip over my own shoes with a sloppy return, then see the other guy rearing up to smack it back just a couple feet out of my reach, I have to step back a bit and wait a few seconds before I serve again. Stare him down a bit. He’s looking a bit cocky. Picture that, then the next set he’s going all benevolent and botching what was otherwise a pretty boring rally. The never-ending rallies aren’t what gets me though, it’s tying up at Deuce again and again, sometimes up to six and seven times. By that point I’m just too nervous to be clever. If it’s match point and I’m that nervous, I’m hoping if I hit A at just the right moment when I serve it’s going to hit him right in his mongoloid chin. Even in fighting games I don’t get that desperate. It’s just the nature of the game I guess. Oh, here are the two unlockable TRUE LAST BOSS characters:
King and Duke
Look at these douchebags. Case in point. Cocky bastards. I turned the tournament settings to Very Easy, 1 match, so I could keep getting to King without any undue stress, but it was hopeless. Can’t get a single point against him. I’m not even gonna try matching up with Duke. Look at those handlebars. I’m trying to figure out which mini-game in the world tour mode levels up my pompous prick attribute.
There should be a mini-game where you hit baby seal clubbers with tennis balls.
Some stuff I might talk about next time:
Shadow Complex
Shooting Game Tournament 2018 bitching
Gears of War 2 unless I end up reselling it (I’ve had it for a month and it’s still in the plastic. Can’t stop playing VT3)
Sega Saturn stuff
HOW WAS THAT DAN
Dan Haigh
Ghegs
[DRZ] OTL-TIW
sikraiken
Alice
victoly
plasm0
Aquas
Raydere
szycag
BDA
bloocloud
Kollision