[b]save the planet[/b] is a different kind of match-3. it plays a bit like [b]horizontal solitaire[/b]. you see, earth is under attack by colorful aliens, several rows of them, and by moving the ones at the end of the line to other lines and creating matches, the invasion can be stopped. if they reach the right side of the screen, our planet is doomed. well, it's doomed anyway, but this will make shorter work of it than humanity could.
looking at the trailer I wasn't a fan of this mechanic, until I realized it's basically a [b]somewhat flexible turn limit[/b]. much better than a fixed one, let alone a timer that's fortunately not part of the deal, and [b]monsters only move if no matches are made[/b]. there should be [b]60 levels[/b] with a certain amount of horizontal matches to make, but after finishing the last one, the game moved on to 61. couldn't select it after I failed, as level selection only goes up to 60.
creating matches one after the other increases the combo meter for no reason whatsoever, and [b]including randomly appearing monsters glowing in different ways creates power-ups[/b]. they can be explosive, destroying multiple aliens around the epicenter, lightning destroys 3 full columns, then there's one that gets rid of every monster of the same color, and another freezes the board for 10 turns whether matches are created or not. I feel like clearing an entire line should give some sort of bonus though, or spawn a glowing alien, and [b]cascade matches don't count[/b], which always sucks.
it's a [b]pretty cool concept[/b], might be done to death for all I know, but I don't think I've seen anything like it. interestingly, levels aren't entirely separate, you can play continuously until earth gets destroyed, advancing a level after the goal is reached, so at first I thought it's a 'roguelike' and I'd have to start over, but nope. and [b]if you have to quit, mid-level progress is saved[/b], don't have to restart the current level next time.
it's [b]a bit samey[/b], the first level is just like the rest, except the images at the bottom change as you go through evolution. still, [b]it's really fun, not your average mindless matching, every move counts[/b]. the presentation is fine too, except the font choice, the most basic they could find. the music is pretty good too and there are separate volume settings, windowed mode with a fix-sized window, and multiple player profiles. [b]worth trying if you're looking to freshen up your match-3 collection[/b].
