Gem Drop Deluxe
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| Gem Drop Deluxe

Can you remember that Budweiser ad? No, not the 'Wassup' one that was spoofed on more TV shows and films than I care to remember, nor the one with the talking frogs - no, I'm talking about the advert that pitched the concept of 'added-time multi-ball' in football matches. How exactly would players cope with hundreds of balls on the pitch at one time? Even if it resulted in a total disaster, wouldn't it be brilliant to try it, just once, to find out?

It would certainly differentiate football from the leagues of other sports that focus on the possession of just one ball. In the same way, the mobile market is flooded with gem puzzlers - anyone entering this market needs to hope their particular brand of gem goodness comes with something unique and original. On the surface, Gem Drop Deluxe appears just to be making up the numbers, but continued play reveals a title that offers a challenge that varies from game to game - just the kind of individualism the genre is calling out for.

The concept is a very simple one. Solitary square-shaped gems (yes, they do exist) fall from the top of the map, and the aim is to link four of each colour together, clearing them from the screen by moving them left or right as they drop. The four can be linked in any way as long as one side of the gem is touching another, though more money is awarded if the gems form a special shape - such as that of a diamond, square, or a somewhat tricky heart shape.

While that might sound incredibly familiar, the development team has upped the ante somewhat by changing the aims of each map to keep the challenge fresh. Some of the maps require you to clear a certain number of gems of one particular colour, for instance, while others task you with making as many diamond or square shapes as you possibly can. Some of the hardest challenges revolve around survival - either via the clock, or simply managing to stay alive until all the gems have been played.

All is lost if you run out of space and one of the blocks touch the very top of the map - a factor the timed mode makes the most of. The gems seem to fall at a much faster pace when it comes to this timed mode, meaning it's easy to make mistakes and place the blocks in poor locations due to sheer panic. The problem is, if you continuously make mistakes and groups of gems aren't cleared, the gap between the top of the screen and the gems at the bottom beings to diminish, meaning you have to decide even quicker.

Other challenges throw up different problems: progress in every other mode is a question of filling a bar at the bottom of the screen. Gems cleared that match the particular goal fill up said bar, though any other gems cleared in the process do nothing more than free up certain portions of the screen. Perhaps the most difficult of all these challenges is forming heart shapes with the gems. This requires very specific pre-planning and an especially delicate placement of the different gems - it's no easy task, even on a second or third attempt.

However, you're given three opportunities to skip, seemingly triggered if the game notices you ploughing through a map without actually attempting to meet the desired target, or if you repeatedly fail one level. No doubt this option was included to avoid alienating gamers who have a weakness in a certain area of play - and the game is all the better for it.

The one negative aspect of the game you have to contend with is the attempt to stitch a storyline into proceedings - one akin to a Werther's Original commercial, complete with the depiction of a alarmingly creepy grandfather telling a yarn of little significance. Thankfully, such portions are easily skipped and, for most people at least, Gem Drop Deluxe's plot will amount to nothing more than the physical relationship between one coloured gem and another.

And that's what Gem Drop Deluxe is all about - the careful planning of gem placement with a view to controlling the map and clearing the screen. The decision to mix up the goals ensures that play never stalls, but the option to skip levels also results in a game that welcomes all abilities without completely taming its difficulty. This is everything that a puzzle title should be - easy to comprehend, far too easy to get wrapped up in, and incredibly difficult to put down.

You'll go back, and you'll go back again. Maybe Budweiser was onto something good after all, eh?

Gem Drop Deluxe

This is the perfect gem puzzler; addictive, challenging, but also fair. By adding a twist or two as it goes, Gem Drop Deluxe has ensured that it'll be a firm favourite for some time to come
Score
Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.