[i]Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire 3 - Collector's Edition[/i] is a card solitaire game developed by Suricate Software and published by Grey Alien Games. As the name indicates, it is the third game in the [i]Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire[/i] series. Since there is no story here, I'll just jump into the gameplay. Like the previous games in the solitaire series, you're given 200 levels in the base game, with an additional 200 levels in a bonus version, as this is a collector's edition. You can choose from among three difficulty levels: relaxed, normal, or expert. (For purposes of this review, I chose to play on normal mode.) In each level, the objective is to clear all the cards from the board with your given deck. You have to pair a card on the board that is one value higher or lower than the card in your deck. If you manage to clear all the cards on the board, you can earn up to 3 stars. Also, the boards have coins and emeralds. Coins are used to purchase upgrades in the shop that can help you clear the board. Upgrades include increasing the number of starting cards in your deck and power-ups, like randomly eliminating a card from the board. Emeralds are used to purchase decorations for various scenes, which can then be used as computer screensavers. (Purely for cosmetic purposes, of course.) In addition, there are various mini-games, like the usual solitaire variants, mahjong solitaire games, and even a new match-2 level mini-game. Also, there are the usual Steam achievements/in-game trophies although they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "profile features limited".
Now that I've gone over the gameplay, I'll move onto my thoughts. I enjoy a relaxing solitaire game although it has been quite a while since I last touched on the [i]Jewel Match[/i] series. Although the gameplay for the usual levels is still the same, it's still quite enjoyable, and I found the levels to be pretty doable to clear. Especially, it helps to purchase power-ups and such to clear the boards more easily. In regards to the mini-games, I found most of them to be enjoyable. I'd say that the only one I didn't enjoy was the supersize levels. They're basically the usual levels but with way more cards on the board. For me, personally, the reason that I didn't enjoy this mini-game is that they take a long time to clear (even if you purchase all of the power-ups), and if you fail to clear the board, it's pretty much a waste of time because you have to restart the level and successfully clear the board if you want to pass the level. Now, if passing a certain number of supersize levels wasn't achievement-related, I probably wouldn't care too much, but since there was a specific achievement tied to it, I found this pretty annoying. It's doable, but it takes time and it can be a bit tiring. However, I did enjoy the other mini-games, and all of the Steam achievements unlocked for me without any technical issues.
As for the art, it is as gorgeous as ever. Part of the reason that I play these games is for the art style, and I like seeing what new scenes I can unlock. Also, I enjoy gazing at the underwater scenes. I'm glad that this style is still used in the [i]Jewel Match[/i] series. In regards to the music, it is relaxing to listen to the tracks. I wish that there had been one or new tracks, though, as I didn't notice any variety or such. Still, they are soothing to listen to and fit very well with the theme of this game.
Overall, would I recommend [i]Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire 3 - Collector's Edition[/i]? If you enjoy solitaire in general, want a lot of value from a game, and enjoy the [i]Jewel Match[/i] series in general, then I think this is worth it. Especially if you're aiming to obtain all of the achievements, you'll get a lot of gameplay hours. (It took me over 47 hours to get all of the achievements. :o) Of course, you can choose to wait for a sale, and it's in a few Steam bundles. With that said, I'm looking forward to the next game in the series. ^^
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