Nintendo DS, DSi, 3DS News Bits

7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven
Available for Nintendo DS
Game Developer and Publisher: MumboJumbo
Release date: December 3, 2011

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Review summary:
7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven sends players across the globe with traditional match-3 brick breaking fun, but wait – there’s a refreshing new twist! Guiding a Keystone through portals with a new revolving board gameplay mechanic adds a new layer of challenge. By making matches across varying boards and keeping in mind that you can twist the board to make combos, players will need be creative in this latest match-3 wonder. The boards and rune pieces feel a bit small on the DS screen, power-ups are few, and gameplay modes are fairly limited. Still, if you enjoy match-3 games and want a new layer of challenge, give 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven a spin to feed your match-making hunger.

7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven review:

MumboJumbo’s signature match-3 puzzle game returns for a new chapter for the Nintendo DS in 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven. The basic rule of play is to match three or more like-colored rune pieces to clear a tile beneath them. The player must completely break away the tiles to clear the level. But in 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven, players will have a new task to complete as the challenge evolves to a new level.

7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven sends players and their background builders to complete nine distinct wonders of the world. The top DS screen shows the activity of builders, score and remaining time to complete the level. On the normal setting, the time and amount of matches possible are pretty forgiving, so the player won’t feel the pressure in that sense. On the bottom is where the rune-swipe matching action happens, and the new arrow controls are placed to turn the revolving board.

Each level has a differently shaped grid layout board, which must be cleared completely by matching like-colored runes. The rune pieces are easy to match by their distinct color, but they feel pretty small on the DS screen. Clearing runes in more than three matches or combos will release horizontal clearing Ice Ball power-ups (4 matches), Fire Ball power-ups (5 matches) or a Dice Bonus (when 4 power-ups are used). The variety of power-ups are limited in this game, but you will find them essential to clear out some hard to reach tiles. Once all tiles are cleared, players will experience the new puzzle element to 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven.

Now here comes the fun, original part of 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven. Upon clearing all tiles via match-making, a 7 Wonders Keystone will appear, along with a dotted path. The goal is to get the Keystone into a designated Key Hole. Players will need to clear the runes beneath the Keystone, as well as turn the board using the L/R buttons or arrows on the right side of the screen. I definitely preferred the L/R buttons rather than using the on-screen arrows. Guiding the Keystone to the Key Hole adds a clever new puzzle element to the game. Paths become more complex, which are further impeded by portals and locked Key Holes that must be cleared by matching a designated rune color. Getting to the Keystone & Key Hole challenge part becomes the highlight of 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven. There is another compass matching element that comes into play after getting three runes, which advances the player to the next region on the map. It’s a really simple element which doesn’t add too much to the game.

Puzzle gamers will find 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven worth diving into for its new Keystone challenges. There are only Story and Free Play (replaying completed levels) game modes, so replay value is somewhat limited. Three player slots allow you to share save spots with other friends or family, which is great because you can pretty much bet once others see you playing the game, they will want to get in on the action too. 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven is a universally welcoming game, for experienced or casual players. For anyone who thinks the match-3 game cannot be amped-up, 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven breaks new ground with a fun and unique twist.

###

Thanks to MumboJumbo Games for making this review possible!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }