PopCap Gets Its Bejeweled in a Twist

Say goodbye to your spare moments: PopCap's latest installment in its casual game empire, Bejeweled Twist, has landed at both brick-and-mortar and online portals.

PopCap Games has officially launched Bejewelled Twist, the latest installment in its Bejewelled series of casual games. But this is no casual launch—the company has pulled out all the guns, launching the game simultaneously on leading online game portals (like Steam, MSN Games, RealArcade, Yahoo Games, WildTangent, Zylom, Orb, and more) along with major retailers like Wal-mart, Best Buy, Target, and Amazon.com.

Besides the mammoth launch, Bejeweled Twist pushes the boundaries of casual gaming by offering high production values, eye-catching visuals, and a widescreen presentation. The game also re-invents the Bejewelled franchise, offering a far greater degree of freedom in the game and enabling players to develop whole new strategies. Players can now rotate entire two-by-two blocks of jewels clockwise to line up gems, and players no longer have to make a match with every move. The game also features new bonuses and power gems, along with four modes of play.

PopCap is also localizing Bejeweled Twist for European markets and will launch on PopCap’s international sites later this month.

PopCap’s Bejeweled franchise is the most successful casual game on the market, with more than 350 million copies downloaded and more than 25 million units sold.

Bejeweled Twist is $19.95 and rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB. The PC version requires Windows XP or Vista.