Art of the iPhone

PopCap’s Bejeweled 2 ($2.99, iTunes link) is a fun iPhone game that is always atop the most downloaded apps list. It’s not hard to see why, as this game is ridiculously fun to play and a great way to kill time. The game launched for the iPhone last year at $9.99, but it’s now a more reasonable $2.99.

The premise of Bejeweled 2 is simple — line up three identical jewels in a row by swapping a jewel with those immediately next to it. However, you can only move a jewel if that move creates a match, so you can’t swap jewels around at random. Once you create a row or column of three identical jewels, they disappear and new jewels appear at the top of the grid. The more matches you make, the more points you earn.

You get more points if you line up four jewels in a row, which causes the surrounding jewels to explode. Five jewels in a row earns you a ‘hyper cube’ that deletes all the jewels of one type from your grid. The game includes an auto-hint, which points out your next move if you take too long (this can be turned off in the settings menu). You can also tap the ‘hint’ button if you get stuck.

There are several game styles available — Classic, Action and Endless. Classic lets you play until you run out of moves, while Action has you working against the clock to make your moves in an alloted period of time. Endless keeps adding jewels so you never run out of moves. Just recently, the developers also released a Blitz mode, which lets you try to beat the scores of your Facebook friends.

Even though the premise of the game is exceedingly simple, Bejeweled 2 is lots of fun. I like the creepy voice that says “Excellent” when you’re doing a good job, and the game is always quick and fast to respond. The graphics are great, although it would be nice if the higher levels introduced new jewels or special bonuses to break up the monotony.

Conclusion

Bejeweled 2 is just the kind of game you want for killing time in an airport or doctor’s waiting room. I just have one real complaint — I can only tolerate the game in short doses, as my eyes get really tired starting at these little jewels for extended periods of time. Those with better eyesight may not have a problem. We rate it a 7 out of 10, recommended.

Bejeweled 2 is a $2.99 download from the iTunes App Store.