Montezuma's Revenge
Let's be clear about one thing, The Treasures of Montezuma has nothing to do with Montezuma's revenge, which is a form of diarrhea that is caught from bacteria in food and water. No, these are two completely separate things. The Treasures of Montezuma is much more fun that diarrhea.
Meet Dr. Emily Jones, an archeologist on the verge of a major breakthrough. She makes a major discovery in the mountains of Mexico that kicks off her whole expedition. She finds notes that talk of Montezuma's Calendar, an ancient artifact that can grant someone a long life. The notes don't say specifically where it is, but talk of some gems that can be arranged in such a way that they will point the way towards it. This is where you come in.
The gameplay follows the standard "three or more" format, where you must match artifacts in a row in order to eliminate them. Each round requires that you uncover so many gems, which can be found in various artifacts from time to time. Once you beat each round, Dr. Jones (not the Dr. Jones) will utilize the gems in some fashion, furthering the story.
Deeper Than It seems
One of the most addicting elements of the game is the fact that you can upgrade things after each round. These vary greatly from the amount of gems that can appear on screen to things like TNT. It adds a whole new layer to the game and gives you so many possibilities that you may want to play through multiple times.
Bonus items often come to your aid and you will quickly come to rely on them as you get further and further into the game. Everytime you clear a row of four or more blocks, a powerup will appear somewhere in the stage. The powerup will be attached to a statue, and if you destroy that statue, it will let loose the powerup to wreak havoc upon the level. These can be like dynamite that simply explodes, or color-specific bombs that will destroy multiple blocks of one color, or even lightning balls that will take out all of the blocks above it in that row. There are many more to be found, and they are all upgradeable in power.
Another thing that makes this game so wonderful is the inclusion of bonus levels. They appear about every five stages and really help break up the action and keep everything fresh and exciting. One of the bonus levels involved clicking stars as they fly across the screen, rewarding you if you catch them all.
An Adventure Worth Taking
Many games attempt to take the "ancient civilization" route but few actually manage to pull it off; luckily, this game is of those few. The story is very interesting and Dr. Emily Jones makes a good protagonist. The game is fun enough to keep you playing and the story is good enough to keep you paying attention. Isn't that all you really want from a game?
