Okay, let's take it for granted I am not an avid, hardcore gamer.  I am the casual gamer type.  I like to have fun with games, and I like the games I buy to BE fun, but let's face it......so many games just don't have it anymore.  They're either about fighting the umpteenth enemy in the chain, driving, sports, or shooting something.  I like something a little different, and this game certainly is that.

Ladies and gentlemen.....I give you the subtle beauty that is Bejeweled Twist.

If you played Bejeweled or Bejeweled 2, you know the score here - flip two gems around in order to make a match of 3 or more in a row.  Twist takes this mechanic and throws it out the window in favor of a new one - rotation.  You control a circle that encompasses a group of 4 gems that you can rotate clockwise 90 degrees per click.  This does take away the possibility of the dreaded "No More Moves" earthquake dance of doom, but it does encourage you to chain your moves by offering a score multiplier that goes up per successive chain.

This game also features a number of ways of clearing out gems aside from the usual combo maneuvers:

Flame Gems - This is created when you chain 4 gems in a row
Lightning Gems - Created when you chain 5 gems in a row
Supernova Gems - This one is HARD.  If you can put 6 gems together in a row, you create one of these beauties.

Lightning Gem in action - take 'em out......take 'em ALLLLL out!

Each one is successively more destructive, but I'll leave it to you as to seeing the effects for yourself.  You can also, once you max out your score multiplier, create "fruit gems".  These are nice to have.  When you match one to their like-coloured gem counterparts, they pulse and wipe out all of that colour gem, and open up the "Mega Fruit Combo" challenge.  The regular combo challenges just help fill up your meter, but the mega-fruit combo reaps you a HUGE reward, accompanied by a nice presentation, and then gives you another fruit gem at the end to use.

The best way to getting really high scores in this game is to make a combo each and every time you rotate your circle of power - each time adds to your score multiplier, and once it's filled, you go to the next higher multiplier - 2x, 3x, 4x, and so on.  If you miss making a combo on a turn though, your meter goes back to the bottom of that particular multiplier - miss another one, and your multiplier goes down one - so there is incentive to keep chaining your combos in order to fill up your meters.

Some say this new mechanic slows down gameplay - I respectfully disagree.  In "classic mode" there are a number of obstacles that get thrown in your way to slow down your progress all on their own, such as "lock gems" that prevent you from moving that particular gem, "bomb gems" that count down with each move until you chain them, and the "Doom Gem", which also counts down, but you can't match it away - you have to blow it up!

There is also a challenge mode that will give you more objectives to complete than you can shake a hula-hoop at, and a "blitz" mode, which gives you five minutes to make as many points as you can.

Not bad for the budget title price of $19.99, so even if you are on a tight budget, this is one that'll give you hours of challenge and fun for not much moola.

Solid gameplay, stunning visuals, variety, and great music accompaniment make Bejeweled Twist a worthy addition to your casual gaming roster.

Overall rating for this game (out of 5):