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While hardly the revolution PopCap makes it out to be, Bejeweled Twist is a fun take on the simple, addictive “match 3” genre that made the company a household name. The key to Twist is that it maintains what made Bejeweled a classic, while changing the mechanics ever so slightly to keep it fresh.

The change is that you flip four jewels at once in a clockwise motion. It’s a tough change to adjust to, as in learning how the pieces need to be aligned for everything to fall into place. Since you have to move four of them, aligning them into row of three (or four, or five) is significantly more complex. The closest match to Twist is Microsoft’s Hexic. Take away the grid pattern of the latter and you have the base for Twist.

Visually impressive level transitions make for a nice break in the look before diving back in. Each level is cleared after a specific amount of points are scored. Pieces can be rotated infinitely, but the score multiplier only increases if you can clear pieces with one flip. Reaching the top of the score multiplier (10x) earns you a fruit which can then be broken to clear all of the same color on screen.

It’s hardly easy, as Bejeweled is still a game of random chance. As with the original, you can’t see the pieces that will be falling. It’s all about luck in how they randomly fall. Seeing at least a single line above the playfield would add a significant strategic advantage.

Difficulty is surprisingly high until you unlock the Zen mode. Here you can’t fail. In the standard game, colored bombs need to be removed from play by matching them up within a certain amount of time. These begin dropping at a furious rate early on, and can actually create a highly stressful environment.

Other modes include the time attack, and once unlocked, a challenge/puzzle mode. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here. Each mode offers quick saves when need be.

Bejeweled Twist is a quick and painless casual title, offering solid and expected fun. PopCap has a winner despite it being barely revolutionary in any way. It’s a standard, straightforward Bejeweled experience with some changes that make it worth picking up.

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