Buy Now...

Introduced to the gaming community little more than a year ago, the StarL envir4onment of Match 3 game play has now reached version 4 of this particular challenge.  As with the earlier episodes in this series, profiles can be created to record the progress of different players and make adjustments to the playing environment.  The game can be played in full screen mode with set volume levels plus showing instructions in a variety of European languages.

This latest version of the game comes spread over 130 levels of Match 3 action.  These levels have been split into groups of ten challenges which you will need to work through in sequence.  Later you can return to an earlier completed level and try to improve your performance and increase the number of stars earned as your reward.

With a picturesque scenic background, the gaming area will feature the grid challenge for the current level.  Running across the top of  the screen will a panel containing icons and information.  Access from this panel is provided for features made up of Options, Help, Hints, Level number, Time and Steps allocation plus a rechargeable hammer tool. 

See also: Games

more

While the mention of Time and Step allocations might indicate that these refer  to limitations that need to be adhere to when completing the level, this is not exactly so.  Rather than bring a level to a conclusion, they will, instead, reduce the number of stars you are awarded for completing the level if you do not keep within their range.

With the initial nine levels of each group, you will be required to clear any covered areas within the grid.  This task will be carried out by creating groups of three and more similar tiles by swapping two adjacent tiles thus causing the created group to disappear.  The resulting space will then be filled by other tiles falling downwards and possibly causing further damage with resulting explosions.  One important factor to remember is that explosions will only cause damage when it occurs next to elements that are of the same colour as the exploding elements.

Along with the removable tiles, grids will also feature a wide range of other types of elements that regular Match 3 players will, no doubt, be familiar.  You will need to deal with ice blocks, crates, ropes, shields, locks with an associated key that need to be released before use and containers that only offer a single access point.  Some of the grid cells could be greyed out, so denying access,  In such instances you will need to be on the lookout for a Smiley face tile.  Once this tile has been removed then the grey cells will be populated and opened up for use.

As mentioned earlier, a hammer is available and this can be used as a power-up tool to remove a single cell.  You will also have the ability to create other power-ups within the grid itself.  By creating a group of four similar tiles, you will earn yourself a bomb that can be used when necessary.  In a similar way, when you create a "T" or "L" shaped group then your reward will be a lightning bolt that can clear a row or column of its content.  As usual these power-ups will only affect elements that match their colour.

While retaining the basic group creating feature of swapping two adjacent tiles, the tenth level in each set offer a more specific challenge that will need to be completed within a set number of moves.  The challenge could involve collecting various set groups, reach a certain score, link areas of the grid or remove all the gems in a certain area.  You will be given the option to either skip or repeat the task if you fail to meet its target.

This game does tend to have an addictive quality and it can quickly get under your skin with its bright colourful graphics and challenging game play.  I downloaded my copy of this game from Gamehouse.com where it is priced at $9.99.  The game requires a 1.6 GHz processor with 1024MB of RAM and 266MB of hard disk space running Windows 7 and later.

StarL 4 | GameHouse