Review written by Mike "Sponge" Rubits

It's not often we see some new ideas in the gaming community. Usually a lot of the releases are something we've all seen and played before, and in some cases, have free, superior, equivalents. Pocket Hexagem seems like the typical Bejeweled clone at first, however once you load it up, you'll quickly notice it's an original idea that is pulled off quite well.

Graphics

Pocket Hexagem's graphics are very well done. From the title screen, to everywhere else in the game, a consistent theme is kept; a cool blue metal look. Bright, high-contrasting colours are used for the jewels in the game; not once have I mistaken a red for an orange, or otherwise confused telling one jewel from the next. You'd think this is a simple task, however I remember countless games in the past that have been ruined by blurry or otherwise poor coloured game pieces. The other elements of the UI stay out of the way, and almost fade into the background when you're concentrating on the game itself.

There are a few small details that hammer in the fact that this isn't your typical eVB shovelware. Jewels glisten randomly, and fade into their new colours when you start a new game. A nice explosion shrouds the jewels, as they reveal themselves to be a dark grey stone colour after. There's occasionally a bit of lag on my 3955 when you're blowing up a huge chain, and setting a new high score (the effect appears on the name list at the bottom right too) however it will very rarely adversely affect your game. In my case, the blast button would occasionally take a second more to go, which could cause an early doom.

Sound

Pocket Hexagem's sound and music is fitting for the game. Sounds consist of mainly explosions, clicks, nothing special. The music, however, is very well composed; definitely up on the higher end of the spectrum. It's 3 or so tracks still have me listening to them after oh so many games. To this point, I still haven't turned it off, which means they did something right. While I wish I could say more, there just really isn't that much there, understandable considering the game takes place on one screen.

Gameplay

I had pretty high standards coming into this game, maybe because I spent so much time playing with the oh so fun Pocket Waterworks. On most accounts, my expectations were far surpassed. For those who haven't tried the demo, you have to burst groups of bubbles. Big deal, you ask? Add a hex shaped board, a time limit breathing down your neck, and a few other gameplay quirks, and Pocket Hexagem has become one of my more notable addictions as of late.

As mentioned, some changes have been made to the formula to make things harder. The game takes place on a hex-based grid, with the pieces being the same shape. After matching at least 4 pieces, you can hit a hardware button, or tap on the "Blast" button on the screen, and blast the chain. The pieces become blasted into place, and you can't move them anymore. You have to be very careful not to strand any pieces. Supposedly it's possible to clear all the pieces on the board, however I've never been able to come close yet.

Matching up chains is accomplished by sliding other pieces, similar to those sliding number games of past. You have to be even more careful that you don't get the gap stuck, causing the game to end quickly. You need to think on a few different levels in order to be really successful, sometimes you have to navigate the gap in order to get a good position, not breaking up your current chain, while other times you'll have to change your perspective to move a jewel sometimes half a board away.

And then there's the time limit. Time limits in games have always incited heated discussions on whether it adds to the game, or detracts from it. In Pocket Hexagem's case, it does a little bit of both. The time limit is long enough to allow quite a bit of planning ahead and scouting out positions, other times you're quickly looking to put together a quick combo so that you can keep going. This leads to some interesting strategies, since scoring is partially based on time. For instance, I find myself spending a lot of time setting up one big chain, and then scoring on a small 4 piece chain, then right away blasting the big chain in order to get the most points possible. Despite all of that, it'd be nice to have an option to play without time, incase causing an early nervous breakdown isn't your thing.

After the game ends, you don't have to click through menus in order to start the game again, it puts you in right there, really embracing the whole "just one more game" syndrome that has been the cause for sleep deprivation around the world. Despite all of this, I still haven't managed to overtake first place. Blast you, placeholder highscore entry!

It would've have been nice if there were a bit more variety in the options, and game variations. Although there's nothing wrong with the game, it's potential is ruined a bit. The stats at the end of the game are fun to analyze, I wish there were a global statistic tracker though.

Pros:

• Unique twist on gameplay

• Cool looking graphics don't interfere

• Fast-paced and thought involved

Cons:

• Not enough game modes or variety

• Controls occasionally get in the way

Conclusion:

Pocket Hexagem should be on your try list. Don't let the short review put you off; it's a very good, puzzle game that deserves your attention. Some more variety would've been a pleasant addition, so people who never really get into those addictive puzzle games might want to stay away from this one. On the plus side, it'll really rack your mind while playing; many occasions I've ended up missing a move due to my own stupidity, or worse, trapping myself with no moves left. It's games only last a minute or two, but you can easily pour half an hour trying to beat that seemingly impossible high-score you set 5 games back. Little games seem to have that effect nowadays; I'd recommend Pocket Hexagem to anyone getting tired of Jawbreaker in WM2003, or for anyone else looking for an easy game to pick up. As for me, I think I'll go back to a simpler game like Tetris. Stupid brain.

Score-by-score breakdown

Gameplay:  80%
Graphics:  80%
Sound:  70%

Overall:  80%

Please note that the overall score is more than simply an average of the individual ratings.  Many thanks to CelloSoft for providing our review copy.

You may wish to search for more reviews of games from CelloSoft. Alternatively, you can view all the reviews written by Mike "Sponge" Rubits.