You know, I should get paid extra for every time I have to write the words “Original twist on traditional match-3 gameplay.” But since they pay me in free games anyway, I can only imagine they would just give me more match-3 games. Goodness knows there is no shortage of them. But in this case, I mean it. This is a truly original twist on the genre, and deserves some accolades for beating a particularly dead horse particularly well. Yes, I know that analogy made no sense at all, but I stand behind it anyway just because I like the imagery.
When you first start playing, it’s pretty much exactly like Big Kahuna. And by “pretty much” I mean “Straight rip-off” – from the movement of the tokens and the size and shape of the playing board right down to the locked tiles. If you didn’t finish the first level, you’d leave thinking there was nothing new to see here. However, as soon as the first level is over, you get to see the real magic behind the game, which is nothing less than the building of a whole Roman city – Coliseum, Forum, and all.
The idea is that as you progress through the levels, the millions of matches you are making actually create resources to build your city with, such as food, gold, and supplies. You use these to build buildings, which give you access to new token types that give you access to new buildings. It’s like Civilization for Dummies – with a simple series of “stages” you pass through to bring your city from a tiny peasant village to an actual Roman metropolis.
The end effect is really addictive. You really get a feeling of “I’ll go play that next level to get some more supplies so I can build my windmill” – something that is greatly lacking in other match three games. It’s not just that you want to play another level, but you want to play another level for a specific purpose. And since you can essentially take as long as you want to complete a level, you can really enjoy building your little city.
The graphics are clean and simple, and have a nice hand-drawn touch to them, which is refreshing in the current surge of unnecessary 3D games that have been flooding the casual space. The colors are all bright and cheerful, giving the game a warm and inviting quality. The sound is good, but not so great that I’d burn it to CD and listen to it in my car. But it is nice to have music good enough that I’m not prompted to mute it and put some Zeppelin on the Winamp. Well, not for a while, anyway.
There is a lot more to the game, but honestly, stop reading about it and just go download it and check it out for yourself. It’s a solid game, and gives us some hope that even in a world of match-3 clones, there is still real innovation hiding out there. Now go play.
Review by
Nick Kojima
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