Wondrous? Or Lackluster?The match-three puzzle game has been around for quite a while. It kicked its feet off the ground in 2001 with Bejeweled, and has since spawned games such as Candy Crush Saga, sequels to Bejeweled, and this, 7 Wonders II. How does it stack up?
First of all, it’s easy to get the hang of. It has all the basics of a match-three game intact. Simply match the pieces while trying to complete goals in order to win. Even a child could understand this game, and understand it well.
Yet its style is a bit bland. The main game is set across 7 different locations, each representing one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. In each of these locations, each level has particular backdrops (one on the top screen, one on the bottom) that don’t change from level to level. The “gems”, or rather, runes are a bit dull-looking, even for a DS game. The graphics look dated and meh.
The music is also OK. There is a single track that plays per Wonder, or “world”. It repeats over every level you have to complete. And like many such games, the music isn’t particularly disturbing. But listening to it again and again could prove aggravating. It is the sort of music you may have to force yourself to love. Or, you know, just turn it off.
The main game is completed by clearing levels that correspond to the particular Wonder being “built”. As you complete levels, you are given a certain number of bricks, which are obtained by clearing matches in the puzzle. These bricks are then used to build the 7 Wonders of the world.
All levels are similar to the “jelly” levels of Candy Crush: Clear all the jelly (which in this case, covers the entire board) while getting artifacts to the bottom. These artifacts cannot be moved or matched with any other pieces. Also, some spaces may take two moves to clear. Most take only one. Once you’ve completed the objective, the timer moves down to zero, giving you points according to time remaining.
As you build each particular Wonder, you are given powerups and points assigned randomly to certain spaces. As you clear a space, you may or may not receive one. Some powerups, when unlocked, are permanent (you may
select it for use in a level each time). These powerups work according to a meter that fills over time. There are twelve of them, and have effects such as freezing the timer, multiplying points, and changing all of one color to another. Other powerups work only for one level, and may freeze the timer counting down or fill the shuffle meter instantly.
This shuffle meter isn’t unique to 7 Wonders II; however, it is executed well enough. The meter fills over time, and when it is full, you can use it to shuffle the pieces randomly across the board. Pieces may also be shuffled if you run out of moves.
There are also powerups I like to call “clearers”. These powerups are received by matching four or five+ in a row. If you manage to match four in a row, you’ll receive a powerup that can clear any row. It will be disrupted by any break in the row, such as a gap or an artifact. If you manage to match five+ in any way at once, you will be rewarded with a powerup that will clear both a row and column according to the same conditions.
In addition, there are “dice”. These dice appear from time to time in a level (typically when you’re doing well) and when swapped with another piece, will clear that space and a number of random spaces of their tiles and runes
Also, in each level, there is a single space of a specific color. If you match three or more of the same color rune while one of them occupies that space, you’ll receive a map piece. Finish the map to enter a bonus level. In this bonus level, you have a chance to score extra points. They work according to a timer: Solve the puzzle within a certain number of moves before the timer runs out to gain bonus points according to how much time is left. Overall, these are bland and uninspired, but are still fun. If you clear one in the Main Game, you’ll gain a piece of the map to “Terra Incognita”. If you manage to solve all of the puzzles, you’ll gain access to it.
But you probably won’t want to stick around for that. The levels are very much similar to each other, with slight alterations. Unlike Candy Crush or the later Bejeweled games, there is very little variety in the levels. There might be a variety in the powerups, but if the core game is lame, the powerups won’t save it. It is very much as if the producers threw a bunch of stuff at a budget production, hoping they would stick. And stick they do, but loosely.
Another problem is the point system. It is, quite frankly, lame. The point system is as follows:
50 for each match of three
100 for four
200 for five+
500 for using four-clearer
700 for using five-clearer
1,000 for using Dice
Up to 10,000 for leftover time
Up to 10,000 in bonus rounds
There is very little depth to it. The game rewards working quickly much over creating combos, a staple of the match-three genre. Essentially, it has betrayed its core.
A few errors:
The “permanent timer freeze” gained by matching bricks is not permanent. Supposedly, you should receive extra points for each level by matching specific runes, but this doesn’t happen. One puzzle did not seem to have a solution; or, rather its intended solution was flawed.
Overall, I cannot recommend this game to anyone. It is simply mediocre and bland. Consider picking it up for around $3-4: otherwise, stay away.
Graphics
5 Sound
5 Addictive
4 Depth
4 Story
1 Difficulty
3
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