Jewel Link: Safari Quest (Nintendo DS) Review

What can be said that has not already been written about time and time again with Match-3 puzzle titles? Jewel Link Safari Quest follows in the sturdy footsteps of the development team's previous Jewel Link entries and gives players the enjoyment of being able to swap two adjacent tiles around on-screen in order to match three or more of the same colour - horizontally or vertically - and fulfil whatever criteria is specified in a stage in order to move onwards.

The angle taken in this particular DS outing is that the gamer is working their way around a safari park and, as such, lots of animals are paraded around on the visual front to reflect this. It is the same heart beating under an alternate aesthetic, and with no extras poured in to differentiate this from the countless other Match-3 games on the market, whilst still addictive, Safari Quest grows stale quicker than expected.

However, saying that, the pleasure of clearing large batches of tiles in one go thanks to clever positioning of one set is still enough to keep that 'just one more go' feeling present. Drawing specific objects wedged in the middle of gaming boards down to the bottom of the screen by clearing the way around it can prove to be frustrating at times, but certainly in a good way as it adds to the challenge. Sadly, though, this lacks the pizzazz of its counterparts.