It's a monumental day in the world of PC gaming -- both Bejeweled 3 and the World of Warcraft Cataclysm arrive in stores, causing a frenzy among gamers of all stripes.
At Games.com, our enthusiasm is directed toward PopCap's gem-matching game, which is getting its first serious refresh in six years. Bejeweled 3 keeps the game's classic match-3 gaming experience intact, but has completely overhauled the graphics and sound and has thrown in a few twists to keep things fresh.Some of those twists include Quest modes, a timed Lightening mode (inspired by PopCap's Facebook game Bejeweled Blitz) and a new Zen mode which you can play forever and activate "options for meditation and stress relief, including breath modulation, ambient sounds, binaural beats and mantras for focusing your thoughts."
Four examples of some of the new Bejeweled modes you'll encounter in the game:
- Poker: Make matches to create winning Poker hands and -- as the game progresses -- avoid making 'outlawed' hands, when a flip of a coin will determine whether it's game on or game over
- Diamond Mine: Explode gems to tunnel beneath the earth, and discover gold, artifacts and Hypercubes along the way
- Butterflies: Match butterfly gems to free them before they reach the top of the board. If they elude your gem-matching skills, the spider waiting for them at the top wins.
- Ice Storm: Keep a wall of rising ice at bay by matching gems as fast as possible in a limited amount of time.
Bejeweled 3 has also overhauled its badge and achievements system, and you'll also be able to check out your game stats after you finish a round.
Aside from the fact that Bejeweled 3 has sold millions of copies and has rocked the casual gaming "Best of" charts for the past decade, probably one of our favorite stats about the game is that a copy is sold every 4.3 seconds. If you're ready to have your 4.3 seconds, you can purchase Bejeweled 3 for $20 in online (right here on Games.com) and in stores.
But wait, there's more:
