Review: Bijou 360
Score:
75%
Thanks to Nokia's Calling All Innovators and the release of the Qt 1.1 SDK we've been seeing a number of interesting games and applications published recently. Bijou 360, an implementation of the popular gem matching style of game, is a good example of this. It's been written by Tom Udomprasert, in his spare time, and boasts a feature that we can't recall seeing in any other Symbian game: It is playable, to a real purpose, in four different orientations.
Version Reviewed: 1.0
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Bijou 360 Video Review
Bijou 360
The gem matching genre has long been a popular entry in the casual game category. There are numerous examples of the type in the Ovi Store, but one recent addition, Bijou 360, caught our eye because it has an unusual feature for a Symbian game. It is playable in all four orientations: landscape (0°), portrait (90°), upside down landscape (180°) and upside down portrait (270°).
Bijou 360 follows the same path as other gem matching games. The idea is to- match 3 gems of the same colour in a vertical or horizontal line. This is achieved by swapping the place of two gems which sit next to each other (either above, below or on either side). Once you have matched 3 gems together they disappear, to be replaced by gems falling down from above. Extra gems will also be added, at the top, to replace those that have disappeared.
However, when you remove one set of gems, it is possible that another set of three gems will also be matched. These too will then disappear. Such chain reaction matches score more points than a single match. Yes it's possible to enjoy such games on a basic level, but to score the big points and get a greater sense of accomplishment you have to play strategically.
The strategic skill in playing these gem matching games is working out which gem to remove so as to cause a chain reaction of matches. You also need to be careful to avoid getting into a situation where there are no more possible matches. And that's where the extra playing orientations come in. By changing the orientation you can dictate which way the remaining (and new) gems fall. This means you can steer gems in the right direction to make additional matches or to get you out of no-more-matches situations. It is a simple, but highly effective, addition to the gameplay.
As Bijou 360 is a fairly basic implementation of the gem matching genre, you'll not find much in the way of extras here, which limits the score we can give it. However, the basics have been well executed - gameplay is as it should be - straightforward and fast.
Nonetheless, there is still clearly room for additional features and updates, such as power-ups, backing music and improved sound effects and I would hope to see these in a future version of the game. However, the unusual four-way orientation switching, which adds an extra level of strategy to the game, means it's well worth a download for those who are fans of this game genre.
Bijou 360 is available for free, for a limited time, from Nokia's Ovi Store. It is compatible with all Symbian^3 handsets (N8, C7, C6-01, E7-00). You can follow the developer on Twitter @tomuapp.
Rafe Blandford, All About Symbian, 18 May 2011
Reviewed by Rafe Blandford at