Bejeweled 2

Overview

Bejeweled 2 is a tile-matching puzzle game developed and released by PopCap Games for online browsers on November 5, 2004, with a PC release both digitally and in retail as Bejeweled 2 Deluxe.

A sequel to the 2000 game Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2 builds on the original with a new visual and audio style, several new game modes, and new gameplay mechanics (the most notable of which being Power Gems and Hyper Cubes, which can remove several gems on the board on large matches).

It received digital ports to several consoles since its original release, including the Xbox 360 (as a Xbox Live Arcade title) in 2005, the PlayStation 3 in 2009, the Wii (as a WiiWare title) in 2010, and the PlayStation Portable in 2010. It also received ports to several mobile devices (including the iPod), later receiving a smartphone release for iOS devices on July 10, 2008 (as a launch title for the App Store), for Windows Phone 7 devices on October 21, 2010 (as a launch title, retitled to Bejeweled Live), and for Android devices on February 19, 2011. The smartphone versions were later discontinued for its successor, Bejeweled Classic. It also received a PlayStation 2 release as part of PopCap Hits! Vol. 1.

Along with two spin-offs (Bejeweled Twist and Bejeweled Blitz), the game later received a sequel, known as Bejeweled 3.

Gameplay

Like the original, Bejeweled 2 tasks players with swapping two adjacent gems in an attempt to form one or more lines of three-or-more gems of the same color/shape. As matched lines are removed from the 8×8 playfield, additional gems fall from the top, potentially causing cascading matches. Failing to cause a match causes the gems to swap back, with the game being over if no matches can be made.

Special Gems

New to the series are special gem types, which can be formed through substantial matches:

• Power Gems are created either by forming a match of 4 gems in one line or by forming two linked matching lines (creating either a cross or a corner). These gems share the same type as those used to form it and, when matched, remove all gems adjacent to it.

• Hyper Cubes are created by forming a match of 5 gems in one line. Swapping them with another gem removes all gems of the same type on the playfield.

Game Modes

Along with the two game modes from the original Bejeweled (now called Classic and Action), the game includes two new modes (Endless and Puzzle). Some versions of the game, namely the iOS and Android versions, do not include a Puzzle mode.

In most ports of the game, the game includes alternate unlockable variations of each mode. Additionally, the iOS version added Blitz mode from Bejeweled Blitz in a later update.

Classic

Based on Simple in the original Bejeweled, Classic tasks players with scoring as much as possible before they can no longer make a valid match. A progress bar at the bottom of the screen fills up as matches are made, which cause the player to progress to the next level (resetting the board while both increasing the amount of points earned per match and increasing the amount required to fill the meter).

The unlockable Twilight variant changes the playfield's gravity with each move, alternating between gems falling from the top and gems rising from the bottom.

The hidden Original variant, playable through a special cheat in the main menu, removes the option to generate Power Gems and Hyper Cubes, making it more like the original Bejeweled.

Action

Based on Timed in the original Bejeweled, Action builds on Classic Mode by turning the progress bar into a countdown timer. Each level starts with the meter halfway full, and the meter now slowly depletes over time (which becomes faster in later levels). The game ends when the meter is empty, and the board now resets when no matches can be made.

The unlockable Hyper variant speeds up the game itself, allowing the player to make their own cascading matches manually by being quick.

The unlockable Finity variant, unlocked through Endless mode, slows down the progress bar significantly, but only builds on both the meter and score through Power Gem explosions and Hyper Cube removals. Additionally, both Rocks and Bombs from Puzzle mode are dropped regularly, the latter of which count towards the meter and score with explosions.

Endless

New to the series, Endless is a more casual approach to the game by combining Classic mode's progress bar with Action mode's playfield reset on the lack of valid matches, essentially making the game unlosable. However, higher levels do not raise the score multiplier.

Puzzle

New to the series, Puzzle gives the player pre-arranged playfields of gems and tasks them with successfully clearing the board with a specific sequence of moves, with no additional gems filling the board up. There are 80 puzzles in total, split into a galaxy's 16 planets. Completing four of the five puzzles on a planet allows the player to "warp" to the next planet.

This mode uses two exclusive tiles: Rocks and Bombs. Rocks cannot be matched, and must be destroyed using Power Gems, Hyper Cubes, or Bombs. Bombs explode similar to Power Gems, but detonate after a certain amount of moves are made.

The unlockable Cognito variant has players completing all 80 puzzles back-to-back while being scored. Using a Hint negates all points earned on the puzzle, and players level up for each five puzzles solved without using hints (which add a score multiplier).