7 Wonders PSP Review

So when you're shopping around for some kind of Bejeweled clone for the PSP, you have a couple of options. Option A is the completely revamped formula of the game, Puzzle Quest, from D3 Publisher. It combines RPG elements with the typical play of Bejeweled for a bewildering effect, especially with two players. Then, on the other side of the spectrum, you have 7 Wonders, a game that tries to replicate the theme of Bejeweled around...landmarks. So, um, let's see. Full throttle battle with a sharper-than-usual sewer rat or an attempt to build the foundation for the Mausoleum of Maussollos? Gee, which option would you pick?

Unfortunately, 7 Wonders works too simply for its own good. Bejeweled is always a fun game and this one offers a bit on the side, but it's shaped around a theme that no one will give a crap about, unless they happen to be tourists and wonder what it's like to make a Statue of Zeus out of mere puzzle pieces. The presentation stays pretty much the same, with the foreground action never changing and the backgrounds shifting from time to time to match the landmark's theme. Music is meh, lying there with very little motivation to the player.

Forget 7 Wonders. Really, just forget it. Not the actual wonders, mind you. They're probably a sight to take in as long as you're not paying for the travel. But the game itself does little to change up the Bejeweled theme, like Puzzle Quest has done before it. It follows the tourist route instead of the adventurer one, and last time I checked it just wasn't the same being stuck as a visitor on the outside when the inside holds many more treasures. Skip this and go get the REAL game instead.