Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome 2 Review: A Solid Puzzle Game

Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome 2 Review: A Solid Puzzle Game

Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome 2
Nintendo 3DS
Rising Star Games
Puzzle

Cradle of Rome 2 is a match-3 puzzle game available on the Nintendo 3DS. It is your job to collect all the materials needed to rebuild Rome and become Caesar.

Cradle of Rome 2 is a match-3 puzzle game where materials are laid out on a board for you to switch around and match 3 or more in a row. Materials consist of gold, food and building material such as wood and stone – everything you need to build Rome and feed your workers. You collect those materials by matching them. As you play the game most blocks on the game board will be filled with a color. You need to match three in a row in order to get rid of that colored block. Once you get rid of all the colored blocks you will win, but you are timed so you will need to do it as quickly as possible.

As you progress through each stage you will gain new respect among the town folk and you will also gain new abilities. Your first special ability that you begin with is a hammer. So if there is a an area on the game board that you just can’t seem to match three and it’s vital that you do so to win the match, you can use the hammer on that spot to get it. You may also experience “locked” blocks that you can only unlock by matching three in a row. In this situation you can also use the hammer to unlock and progress the game board. As you progress you will pick up new abilities such as the use of a bomb. You can use the bomb on a much larger area of blocks instead of just one block. The further you get the more abilities you will learn and the more ways you can win a board. Another favorite of mine is the fire effect that will strike in a diagonal line taking out every block in its path. These abilities can only be used every so often as they will need time to recharge before you can use them again. The further you get into the game the tougher it can become as well. You will also need to watch out for skulls and do everything in your power not to match three of those in a row; otherwise they will fill in those three spots with a color that you will need to undo.

The gameplay is very fun, simple and addictive. It is a solid puzzle title with 100 levels for you to complete. There are three game modes for you to partake in as well. They include the main adventure mode, a tourney mode and a blitz mode once you unlock it. One of my favorite things about Tourney mode is that it is a timed mode; you will earn a medal if you beat the level at the set time for Gold, Silver and Bronze. There are multiple stages to unlock as well and as I said before, there are multiple abilities to unlock as you progress through the main game. There are even 12 achievements for you to earn.

The visuals are solid, 3D is nice and the soundtrack is fine, though it can get slightly old. The entire game is played with the touch screen – the top screen is there for visual reference only. The only thing I could really find wrong with this game is the price. There are a lot of great puzzle games available in the eShop for far less than $30 bucks. In fact, they are all less than $10. Don’t get me wrong, this is in no way a knock on the game as it plays out perfectly fine and is a lot of fun. I just don’t know if it is worth the full $30 dollars when you can get other great puzzle titles with good depth for a lot less. Still, if you enjoy a good puzzle game, I would recommend you pick this one up at some point. It’s an enjoyable title to add to the collection of great 3DS puzzle games.

Score: 7/10

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