Monday, July 19, 2004
Gamebox Gems 2.0: A Box Load of Gems for Under Ten Shekels
Posted by Steve Sharp in "SOFTWARE" @ 09:30 AM
Stone Stacker
This game is very similar to Tetris except that only single gems fall instead of oddly shaped blocks, and the player must get 3 in a row to eliminate them. The frequency of the falling stones increases as the levels progress. This one is a bit ho-hum for those of us who got burned out on Tetris ten years ago, but still it’s better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick.
Figure 6: Stone Stacker.
Sapphire Spires
Sapphire Spires is similar to Stone Stacker except that the gems fall in strings of three, and the player controls the sequence of the gems in each string and strategically places them to form groups of three and eliminate them. This game takes some getting used to, but it’s enjoyable once you get the hang of it.
Figure 7: Sapphire Spires.
Stone Stacker+
Stone Stacker+ combines the Tetris-like placement of falling stones and rows pushing up from the bottom as they do in Rising Diamonds. This game is a sort of hybrid between the two games. As the levels progress, the stone fall more frequently, and the stones push up from the bottom more often, and like Rising Diamonds, the player tries to keep any column of stones from reaching the ceiling.
Figure 8: Stone Stacker+.
Conclusions
Gamebox Gems by PDAmill offers eight games that are similar, but each provides unique challenges. Compared to many games that are currently available for the Pocket PC, Gamebox Gems offers a great value for only $9.95. The games are well produced, the graphics are clean and smooth, and this installment of the Gamebox series lives up to the standards set by other PDAmill favorites such as Gamebox Classics and Gamebox Asia. This game includes over 20 minutes of original music, the game play is smooth, and this package is good for many hours of entertainment. A trial download is available, the package comes with a 30 day money-back guarantee and lifetime free upgrades. Why not give it try?
