Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
“I confide to your care my beloved children, the most precious jewels I can leave you. The great monarch beyond the ocean will interest himself to see that they come into their inheritance, if you present before him their just claims. I know your master will do this, if for no other reason, then for kindness I have shown the Spaniards though it has occasioned my ruin. For all my misfortunes, Maliche, I bear you ill will.” - Emperor Montezuma
A few weeks ago, Vita owners were tossed a nifty little bone when the free to play Treasures of Montezuma Blitz was released on the Playstation Network. This little (pardon the pun) gem is completely free. Gratis. No strings attached. Well, almost none. But we'll get to those pesky little threads in a bit. Treasures of Montezuma is a "match three" game in the vein of Bejeweled. I've been playing the original on my EVO 3D Android phone for months now and enjoy it greatly enjoy it. In fact, I consider it the best of the "pure" match three games available. I don't really consider Puzzle Quest as part of that world, since it's driven by story and RPG elements rather than simply being about the puzzle game. ToMB takes the gameplay of ToM and compresses it into bite sized, timed chunks.
For those not familiar with the basic premise, the goal is to match three of the same color gem either horizontally or vertically. This causes those gems to be removed from the board and new gems drop in from the top. Normally, the goal is either a score target or to keep playing as long as possible without running into a situation where there are no available moves. Blitz eschews these goals and replaces them with a timer. The goal is simply to amass as many points as possible within the the allotted time limit.
When you start out, the game is very straight forward. Outside of combos, there are no available bonuses. You must earn bonus items by playing the game. As you play, you earn experience points. As you gain experience, you gain levels. As you gain levels, you gain access to bonus items that you can use to enhance your score when certain conditions are met in-game. Using these bonus items costs crystals, which are collected during game play by matching gems that contain crystals. One can also purchase crystals from the PlayStation Store with real money (and so we arrive at string number one).
A few weeks ago, Vita owners were tossed a nifty little bone when the free to play Treasures of Montezuma Blitz was released on the Playstation Network. This little (pardon the pun) gem is completely free. Gratis. No strings attached. Well, almost none. But we'll get to those pesky little threads in a bit. Treasures of Montezuma is a "match three" game in the vein of Bejeweled. I've been playing the original on my EVO 3D Android phone for months now and enjoy it greatly enjoy it. In fact, I consider it the best of the "pure" match three games available. I don't really consider Puzzle Quest as part of that world, since it's driven by story and RPG elements rather than simply being about the puzzle game. ToMB takes the gameplay of ToM and compresses it into bite sized, timed chunks.
For those not familiar with the basic premise, the goal is to match three of the same color gem either horizontally or vertically. This causes those gems to be removed from the board and new gems drop in from the top. Normally, the goal is either a score target or to keep playing as long as possible without running into a situation where there are no available moves. Blitz eschews these goals and replaces them with a timer. The goal is simply to amass as many points as possible within the the allotted time limit.
When you start out, the game is very straight forward. Outside of combos, there are no available bonuses. You must earn bonus items by playing the game. As you play, you earn experience points. As you gain experience, you gain levels. As you gain levels, you gain access to bonus items that you can use to enhance your score when certain conditions are met in-game. Using these bonus items costs crystals, which are collected during game play by matching gems that contain crystals. One can also purchase crystals from the PlayStation Store with real money (and so we arrive at string number one).
Other twists on the traditional formula are Frenzy Mode, which kicks in
when you perform enough matches back to back quickly and adds bonus
points for matches made while the mode is active, Knockout Mode, which
is activated when six or more gems of the same color are matched in one
move and allows gems to be cleared using the rear touch panel, and Dark
Mode, activated at the end of a round if both Frenzy and Knockout Modes
are active. Dark Mode clouds the playing screen with dark clouds which
the player must clear using the rear touch panel while also making gem
matches. Dark Mode is a real pain in the ass. The upshot is that it puts
a reasonable amount of time back on the clock.
There's one more string. When you first launch the game, you're granted five plays, represented by hearts. Each time you play, a heart is taken away. Once you've used up the five hearts, you can no longer play until they have regenerated. Each heart takes roughly five minutes to regenerate. In my play time, I've found that by the time I'm finished withe the fifth heart, one more has regenerated. So I basically get six plays per session, but your mileage may vary. Hearts can also be purchased from the PlayStation Store for real money.
There's a built in, weekly tournament system in ToMB. You and your top two friends from your PSN friends list show on the game's title screen. Each players score is indicated and the list is in order from highest to lowest, top to bottom. Every week, the tournament scores reset. This is a nice little motivator to play the game often, assuming you have friends that are also playing.
There's one more string. When you first launch the game, you're granted five plays, represented by hearts. Each time you play, a heart is taken away. Once you've used up the five hearts, you can no longer play until they have regenerated. Each heart takes roughly five minutes to regenerate. In my play time, I've found that by the time I'm finished withe the fifth heart, one more has regenerated. So I basically get six plays per session, but your mileage may vary. Hearts can also be purchased from the PlayStation Store for real money.
There's a built in, weekly tournament system in ToMB. You and your top two friends from your PSN friends list show on the game's title screen. Each players score is indicated and the list is in order from highest to lowest, top to bottom. Every week, the tournament scores reset. This is a nice little motivator to play the game often, assuming you have friends that are also playing.
Graphics
There isn't much to say here. The graphics serve the game and that's the most someone should expect from such a puzzler. Everything is brightly colored and has an Aztec motif. But this won't be pushing the limits of what the hardware can produce.
Sound
The same goes for the game's sound. It is serviceable, but nothing to write home about.
There isn't much to say here. The graphics serve the game and that's the most someone should expect from such a puzzler. Everything is brightly colored and has an Aztec motif. But this won't be pushing the limits of what the hardware can produce.
Sound
The same goes for the game's sound. It is serviceable, but nothing to write home about.
Bottom Line
Treasures of Montezuma Blitz is a match three puzzle game cut into bite-sized chunks. As such, it's highly suitable for a handheld gaming system. The built-in weekly tournament makes repeat play compelling. Hearts regenerate quickly enough that you can play many times during the day without having to spend any money purchasing replays. But the kicker is the price. Unless you've found some way to get people to pay you to play games (which would totally rule), you just can't beat free. Fun and free is a pretty good combination.
Pass, Rent or Buy? Buy (well, download... it's free, after all)
Treasures of Montezuma Blitz
Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Free on the PlayStation Store
Treasures of Montezuma Blitz is a match three puzzle game cut into bite-sized chunks. As such, it's highly suitable for a handheld gaming system. The built-in weekly tournament makes repeat play compelling. Hearts regenerate quickly enough that you can play many times during the day without having to spend any money purchasing replays. But the kicker is the price. Unless you've found some way to get people to pay you to play games (which would totally rule), you just can't beat free. Fun and free is a pretty good combination.
Pass, Rent or Buy? Buy (well, download... it's free, after all)
Treasures of Montezuma Blitz
Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Free on the PlayStation Store
No comments:
Post a Comment