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The iPodObserver has posted a new review of Bejeweled for Apple's iPhone. Created by PopCap Games, Bejeweled's classic match three action challenges players to match as many gems as possible. The iPodObserver called Bejeweled "Fun, easy to learn, addictive, free."

From the review:

Gameplay is exactly the same as with Diamenty--your goal is to arrange three or more matching gems in a line either horizontally or vertically. To arrange the gems, you tap one, then tap any adjacent gem to swap their places and form a line of three or more matching gems. When you make a line of three or more gems, those gems disappear and all the gems above them slide downward to fill the holes. You receive points for each gem that disappears and the green thermometer fills up accordingly, New gems fall onto the board from the top to replace the ones that have disappeared. The more lines of three or more gems you make, the higher your score. When the green thermometer fills all the way up you get a bonus. The game ends when no more lines of three or more matching gems can be created.

Bejeweled plays even better than Diamenty on my iPhone but I have the same minor gripes I had about Diamenty. First, the gems are a bit small and my fingers are not, so I find myself missing the gem I was aiming for more often than I'd like. Second, unlike some versions of Bejeweled (see the next paragraph), this version doesn't offer a timer. That's a mixed blessing. It takes the pressure off and lets you switch to another task on your phone without ending your game. But the pressure and the timer are part of what makes other versions so addicting. So I wish there were an option for timed play. Finally, playing Bejeweled seems to run down my iPhone battery somewhat faster than many other activities. That's probably not Bejeweled's fault but I thought it was worth mentioning.

iPod Observer: Bejeweled Review

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