Tomb Breaker Review
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Tomb Breaker Review

Our Review by Jennifer Allen on May 20th, 2013
Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar :: SIMPLE MATCHING
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Tomb Breaker keeps it simple with gameplay just a matter of matching up gems and nothing more. It's fun for a time, but pretty forgettable.

Developer: Simple Machine
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 5

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarhalfstarblankstarblankstar
Playtime Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Replay Value Rating: starstarhalfstarblankstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar


For those who enjoy matching together jewels, there's rarely a dearth of choice on the App Store. Tomb Breaker is the latest title to attempt to offer something a little different to an already overflowing category.

The sole structure behind it is akin to something like Bejeweled Blitz with players competing to gain the best score within 60 seconds, before submitting it to a leaderboard to compare with friends. What makes it distinctive is that players only actually have to match two gems if need be, rather than the usual three.

Lining up the gems is different, too. Players drag their finger around the screen to connect the gems through a line to indicate what matches up and where. It's a format that takes a couple of attempts to adjust to, after being so used to the Bejeweled way of doing things, but it does offer some extra flexibility.

As is customary, power-ups go some way to boosting one's score too, with extra time or combos easily acquired through this method. That's also where the in-app purchases feature, given the coins purchased can be used to regularly implement power-ups. It's all very similar to a Facebook game, which explains the Facebook connectivity and focus on leader boards.

It's just unfortunate that Tomb Breaker doesn't really stand out. It's fine and quite fun, but it doesn't grip players in the way that something like Bejeweled Blitz does and its focus on speed, rather than puzzling, means it's quite shallow. Given it's free, it's probably worth a play for those desperate for a new Match Two or Three fix, but it's quite forgettable in the long term.

iPhone Screenshots

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Tomb Breaker screenshot 1 Tomb Breaker screenshot 2 Tomb Breaker screenshot 3 Tomb Breaker screenshot 4

iPad Screenshots

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Tomb Breaker screenshot 5 Tomb Breaker screenshot 6 Tomb Breaker screenshot 7 Tomb Breaker screenshot 8
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