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7 Wonders Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Thursday, May 24, 2007
Plays pretty good; Rune Quest Mode can be interesting.
A pretty bland Bejeweled knockoff; Story Mode grows boring; bland presentation.
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?
The main story mode in 7 Wonders consists of seven worldly landmarks, including the aforementioned Mausoleum along with the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria among others. Players have to "build" these landmarks by turning over puzzle pieces, matching them up to eliminate them from an interactive playfield. Once built, players merely go to the next section until completing the landmark, eventually getting all seven completed.
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.
Along with the bland story mode, the game does offer a fun rune quest mode, forcing players to eliminate puzzle pieces in a specific grid until it's all filled up. Sadly, it's just you taking this journey, as the game offers zero multiplayer to liven things up. Oh, but there are descriptors of the seven wonders, for those interested in learning history to go with their gaming. You know, the two of you. The free play mode has its moments but none of them worth dropping $20 on.
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.
