Where is the Emerald Tear?
That's exactly what our intrepid explorers are asking themselves as they search the world for the infamous green gem. However, they aren't the only ones after the stone. There is an ominous and nefarious mysterious man watching from behind the scenes, ready to leap in and snatch the jewel after letting Rupert and Emma do all of the hard work. You need to get to that treasure before he does!
Exploring 101
There are a few different aspects to Jewel Quest Mysteries: Curse of the Emerald Tear. You'll experience various hidden objects levels, as well as some great match-3 puzzles, some traditional and some not so much. All of these game modes will keep you glued to your monitor as a great story unfolds in front of your very eyes!
The hidden object levels are breathtaking to look at and a joy to play. Each stage will have you sorting through your cluttered base camp, a beautiful archealogical dig site, or some other situation that a world-renowned explorer would find himself in. In these levels, simply find all of the items listed on the left side of the screen before the time runs out. You can also find gems and gold coins to earn bonuses, such as hints to help you find expertly hidden items. Simply left-click on an item to claim it, but be warned: if you make three consecutive wrong clicks, you'll be docked thirty seconds. Once that timer hits zero, you'll lose the level.
The match-3 levels are just as much of a blast to play. Each round will face you with a grid and your job is to turn all of the grid squares gold by matching jewels on top of them. As you make matches, more jewels fall in from the top. This allows you to score fantastic combos by thinking ahead and acting strategically. Just like the hidden objects levels, you can match three gold coins to earn hints. If you get stuck, you can use these hints to point out three jewels that can be matched.
When you find gems in the hidden object levels, you'll store them for use later in the match-3 levels, where they'll have a variety of effects on the game board. In one level that I played, there were no jewels on the board at all. Instead, I had two gems that I had to place in the proper locations in order to turn the entire grid gold. These slight modifications to the rules keep this from being just another match-3 puzzler.
Jewel Quest Mysteries: Curse of the Emerald Tear successfully blends hidden object and match-3 gameplay into a stunning and must-have package. That dynamite combination coupled with a fast-paced, gripping, Hollywood-worthy story makes this a product that absolutely needs to be in your games collection. The Jewel Quest series has been amazing from the start and it shows no signs of slowing down. Buckle up and join Rupert and Emma for another must-have adventure.
