7 Wonders of the Ancient World (Nintendo DS)

...games on the cartridge is 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. I recognised the title from playing online demos (games and Ciao pass my work days quite nicely, thankyou very much!) so I knew what the game involved. I wasn't expecting anything too exciting, more like a "filler" to bump up to the 50 total of games.

I was pretty much on the money.

7 Wonders is a game much like Bejeweled where you swap icons around ...
...the background for that row changes colour, and you have to change the entire board. Still not a new concept.

There are two modes of gameplay on the DS version: Free Play and Rune Quest.

Free Play simply means that you can play any of the wonders you want, although you have to unlock them first in Rune Quest.

In Rune Quest, where you travel through the wonders completing several levels each, you must ... more

As I mentioned in a previous review, I recently got a 50-in-1 games cartridge for my DS after my interest for it waned, and it certainly worked as I've been playing non-stop since it arrived! So here's review number two from that, there's bound to be more...

One of the games on the cartridge is 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. I recognised the title from playing online demos (games and Ciao pass my work days quite nicely, thankyou very much!) so I knew what the game involved. I wasn't expecting anything too exciting, more like a "filler" to bump up to the 50 total of games.

I was pretty much on the money.

7 Wonders is a game much like Bejeweled where you swap icons around to make rows of three. The difference here is that the background for that row changes colour, and you have to change the entire board. Still not a new concept.

There are two modes of gameplay on the DS version: Free Play and Rune Quest.

Free Play simply means that you can play any of the wonders you want, although you have to unlock them first in Rune Quest.

In Rune Quest, where you travel through the wonders completing several levels each, you must clear the board and free up (by letting it drop through the bottom of the board) a building block or two each level. After the level you get a picture of the wonder and how far it is progressing, eg 15%. The levels are timed, but the time limit is so generous I never got even half way down it, and you do have multiple lives.

The levels are also ridiculously easy to master. There are a lot of bonuses which will clear a whole line or random tiles over the board. I expected the game to get harder as I went on, I've played similar games which have certain tiles locked so that you have to work around them and include them in a match row to break the chains. Here the only variation was some tiles that had to be matched twice to clear. That's a lot of samey levels to complete the "quest".

As I got further in the game, I noticed something that really bothered me...they list EIGHT wonders, not seven.

For each wonder you are able to read a short history blurb about it in layman's terms.

This isn't one of the more well known DS games, unsurprisingly, but it can be found online for between between £8 and £20 (I couldn't find it available at many places, eBay seems to be your best chance to buy it) and I'm sure if you looked hard enough you could find it at some larger games stores, probably in the bargain bin.

One pro is that the game makes good use of the stylus, by which it is controlled completely. However, the icons are so small some players may have trouble telling the difference between the them, I did sometimes and I have pretty good eyesight. If you're colour blind, definitely forget it!

I definitely wouldn't buy this game had I not got it included with others. If you enjoy relaxing puzzle games you will most likely enjoy playing it for short spells. It can be picked up and put down easily and is perfect for if you only have a few minutes to play. It is definitely not worth the money. The Rune Quest mode is so easy. Overall, good controls, average graphics (this type of game doesn't really need great ones), uninspired music and sounds..boring game. 

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