A Treasure to Behold

At first glance, I thought that Treasures of Montezuma 2 was just another match-3 puzzle game. I didn't have the pleasure of playing the first, so my expectations weren't too high. There are plenty of games like this on the market, and more are coming out everyday, so why should this one be any different?

I've learned time and time again not to judge a book by its cover, but it never sticks! This product is different from its competitors. Not only does it offer all of the fun of other matching games, but beneath that is a much deeper experience. This is one that's going to keep me busy for a long time coming.

More Than Meets the Eye

The basics of the gameplay are pretty standard. The screen is filled with colored stones, in this instance referred to as "tokens", and matching three or more of the same color will make them magically disappear. A few of them will have crystals inside of them, which you can free by breaking the token. Your goal is to unleash however many crystals the level asks for. That's already a deviation from the normal goal of these types of games, which is usually to match over all of the tiles.

But the unique aspects don't stop there. There are power-ups and other helpful bonuses in the game that you purchase using gold that you earn by playing. The system works incredibly well and takes this far beyond a simple match-3 puzzler. Certain power-ups must be purchased before you can advance any further, and this ensures that everything gets more complex as you go. The way the game evolves over time keeps you coming back for more, and I can't imagine even those with short attention spans growing bored with this one.

Power-Ups Galore

The wide variety of power-ups in Treasures of Montezuma 2 accumulate over the course of the game and constantly give you new ways of getting the job done. Every few levels or so you'll earn enough gold to purchase a new weapon in your war against the tokens, and even if you grow bored with the basic formula, you'll keep playing just to see what you can unlock next. Some of the power-ups are pretty standard for match-3 products, like stones that blow up an area around them or take out all instances of a certain color currently on the screen. Some are more unique, like the totems. The first you'll get is the red totem, and when you make two red matches in a row, he'll fire two random fireballs at the board, taking out about four tokens each.

That's just a tiny sampling of what the game has to offer and what makes it so unique. You'll encounter many more bonuses as you play, all with varying effects.

A Worthy Successor

Like I said, I never got the chance to play the first game, so I can't say if Treasures of Montezuma 2 is a worthy follow-up to the original. But I can say that it's a great product in its own right and sets t`he bar pretty high for future entries in the genre.