On Reflection

More jewels. Please god, no. Why in the hell can’t we be swapping around adjacent hammocks, or owls, or snot? Why always bloody jewels? Anyway, this was pretty much the worst example of this type of game the last time we had a look at it and under the crushing weight of 99 other releases, this might as well not exist. (You’re clearly mad, Jewel Quest rocks – ed.)

The Score

We don’t know exactly where we stand on Jewel Quest. On the one hand, it’s a blatant rip-off of Bejeweled 2. On the other hand, it’s a blatant rip-off of Bejeweled 2. If you’re going to rip off a fellow arcade game, then it does make a nice change to rip off Bejeweled 2, than make another Geometry Mutant Crystal Wars: 2084 mess. The problem is that Jewel Quest isn’t quite as good as the game it’s copying and all you do is end up comparing it to Bejeweled 2, making it slightly… well, what’s the word?… pointless.

Jewel Quest does have a different gimmick though, in that you have to turn all the squares on the grid gold, which is done by lining up three or more jewels of the same colour. Same idea, brand new twist. The grids don’t always fall into the traditional squares either, featuring little nooks and crannies with hard-to-reach jewels. Unfortunately, this is where Jewel Quest suffers somewhat because actually lining up the jewels in the right order to reach the small hiding holes feels really, really random.

Sadly, this is where the game becomes needlessly tough because lining up the jewels in the right order to reach the small hiding holes probably isn’t random, but it certainly feels like it. Without the cute nuances to learn that will ensure a player’s success, Jewel Quest feels like an uphill climb against the odds.

5 out of 10