A Puzzling New Jewel

New additions to Xbox Live® Arcade are always welcome, and Jewel Quest looks to slide right alongside games like Bejeweled 2 to offer gameplay similar enough to be inviting but different enough to offer a unique challenge.

The gold squares march on and on.

What to Expect
The basic premise breaks down like this.  The board is filled with icons/jewels, and like Bejeweled 2, your job is to line up three jewels in a row in order to score points. Unlike Bejeweled 2, however, when you line up three jewels in a row, those jewels turn gold, signifying that those spaces are "finished".

The goal is to turn the whole board gold, so the strategy is less about earning points and more about finding proper combos to line up the unfinished squares around them. You'll also find that each level only allows a limited amount of time to complete the board, offering extra incentive and fast-paced gameplay.

Leaderboards
Like all Xbox Live Arcade games, Jewel Quest sports leaderboard support. Not only will you be able to check your own overall high score, but you can also filter the results, to look at your scores by level, or check out your friend's scores.

Slick background for a difficult board.

Achievements
Jewel Quest offers twelve unique achievements, adding up to a total of 200 Gamerscore. You'll find your standard achievements for beating each main level and for beating the game, as well as more unique goals asking you to achieve different ranks by beating a level in a set time, and others that ask you to hit a target score.

Jewel Quest offers a compelling take on a familiar genre, and like any great puzzle game, starts off easy enough to make you feel comfortable, while providing enough depth for game masters to keep coming back for more.

Article by Ryan Treit