Diamond Twister 2

As good as Bejeweled was, you could never escape the feeling that there was something missing.

No matter how much fun you might have had swapping gems around, when it came to motivation PopCap's classic was somehow lacking.

What we all really, really needed was some kind of bizarre plot that tied what was otherwise a simple yet addictive match-three puzzler to a superficial story about living a life of glitz and glamour in Beverley Hills, right?

Yet, in a genuine attempt to improve on PopCap's model, that's exactly what Gameloft has done.

Diamond Twister 2, like its predecessor, is an unashamed Bejeweled clone, albeit with a few knobs and bobs added on in an attempt to keep things fresh.

As such, anyone who has encountered PopCap's series – or, indeed, almost any other match-three for that matter – will immediately be able to take to its boards.

The idea is to switch gems around in order to make lines of three or more. Any switch you make must lead to a match up, with those caught up in lines cleared from the grid and replaced by new gems falling from the top.

As is the norm, there are also power-ups in play – some triggered by matches of four or more, others liberally tossed into play by the game itself. When activated, everything from whole lines being cleared to the clock being stopped for a vital few seconds is on offer.

Unlike Bejeweled, there are also a few extra moves you can employ, such as sliding gems left or right by four squares, or rotating them around a fixed point.

Combined with the snippets of plot that sandwich the levels (snippets that seem to focus on getting into parties, unlocked by earning VIP points in play), there's an attempt here to set Diamond Twist 2 apart from its obvious inspiration.

But, in truth, Diamond Twist 2 – LA scoops or not – remains a solid, but arguably too faithful, Bejeweled clone, in a world where Bejeweled clones are already anything but as rare as the gems that inhabit them.