BioGems

Game Description: Fight 9 different villains, through 10 epic battles, in this extraordinary turn based Match 3 adventure game!

How to Play BioGems:

• Wait until the game fully loads. Then, click the yellow 'Play Anyway!' button.
• If you want to start a brand new game click the 'New Game' button.
• If you want to continue playing a previously saved game click the 'Continue' button.
• If you are beginning a new game you will need to select your character: Ryu or Pixel. (After you win the entire game, a third character will emerge named Bit). Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses.
• At the beginning of each new game, you will see a few different screens come up explaining some of the rules. Just click the yellow 'Got It!' button to make the screen go away. Each screen will only show up one time. After that, they will disappear for good.
• BioGems is a turn based Match 3 game. This means that you, and the villain you are fighting, will take turns playing.
• For each fight you always get the first turn.
• The clock is at the top center.
• You get 19 seconds to make a move.
• If you fail to make a move within 19 seconds your turn will be forfeited and your opponent will take his next turn immediately. (Hint: Listen for the clock. When your time gets down to the final three seconds, the clock will begin to tick warning you that you are about to lose your turn).
• As is typical in any Match 3 game, you will swap one gem with an adjacent gem to form a line of three or more matching gems.
• To swap gems you can either click on each gem individually, or use a dragging motion.
• The gems will only swap if there is a resulting match of three or more. If no match is made, you can try again as long as you do not run out of time.
• If you are able to match 4 or 5 gems in a row you get a valuable extra turn!
• Occasionally you will encounter a situation where there are no more matches available on the entire board. When this occurs, BioGems will show a message that says 'No more moves reshuffling', and it will immediately reshuffle the board so either you, or your opponent, may make their next move.
• Your character, and your character's statistics are at the left side of the board.
• Your opponent, and his statistics, are at the right side of the board.
• Each player has a green Life line at the top. This green line represents life. As each player loses life, the green line will grow shorter and shorter. Each player's life points are also shown on his green line right next to the clock. That number shows precisely how many life points each player has remaining at any point and time.
• The yellow line, right below the green line, represents each player's energy level. As each player's energy is depleted, the yellow line will grow shorter and shorter. Each player's exact energy points are shown on his yellow line right next to the clock.
• Each player has a rage meter in his upper corner. The rage meter will fill with red as his rage increases. (Hint: You want your character's rage to increase. This will allow you to attack your opponent in a vicious way. But be careful. Your opponent can do the same thing to you!)
• There are 7 different gems on the board. Each gem has its own special power. The 7 gems are: Attack, Special Attack, Counter Attack, Increase Rage, Gain Life, Gain Energy, and Increase Defense. (There is another special, and very powerful gem, called the Rainbow Black Hole gem which will only appear on the board by making a match of 5 gems in a row).
• Attack gem -- The Attack gem is grey in color and has a fist icon. It deals damage to your opponent but costs a bit of energy.
• Special Attack gem -- The Special Attack gem is purple in color and has a star icon. It deals more damage to your opponent but costs a lot of energy.
• Counter Attack gem -- The Counter Attack gem is pink in color with a curved arrow icon. It returns a percentage of damage dealt to you during your opponent's next turn.
• Increase Rage gem -- The Increase Rage gem is red in color with a fire icon. Use it to fill your character's Rage meter in the upper left corner. When your meter is completely filled, your character will release a devastating attack on your opponent. Rage meters can be filled over and over again.
• Gain Life gem -- The Gain Life gem is green in color and has a heart icon. It restores a small amount of life.
• Gain Energy gem -- The Gain Energy gem is yellow in color with a lightning bolt icon. It restores a bit of energy.
• Increase Defense gem -- The Increase Defense gem is blue in color with a shield icon. It prevents a percentage of the damage dealt to you during your opponent's next turn.
• Rainbow Black Hole Gem -- The Rainbow Black Hole gem has a round shape and is multi-colored. It only appears on the board after a match of 5 gems in a row. Swap it with an adjacent gem to destroy all other gems of that type. (Hint: Always swap the Rainbow Black Hole gem immediately. If used correctly, it can severely weaken your opponent).
• Each battle gives you rubies.
• After a battle is over, click the 'Continue' button to enter the Upgrade shop where you can spend your rubies. Upgrades will make your character much stronger for his next fight.
• To purchase an upgrade, first click on the upgrade you are interested in. Then, click on the yellow button located near the lower right corner where it says 'Upgrade'. If you do not currently have enough rubies to buy the upgrade, the Upgrade button will be dimmed. (The amount of rubies you currently have available to spend is shown by the number located near the lower right corner, just above the yellow 'Map' button). And remember, you will automatically earn more rubies each time you fight another opponent. So if you do not have enough rubies to buy a particular upgrade, just do more fights until you do earn enough rubies).
• There are 7 types of upgrades you can buy. They are: Space Armor, Power Glove, Battery Pack, Power Collar, Force Field, Reflex Boots, and Rage Snacks. (Don't be concerened about the last two upgrades at the Upgrade shop: the 1000 and 5000 rubies. These two upgrades can only be purchased with MochiCoins by Mochi premium members. You won't need these. You can easily earn more free rubies than you can ever hope to spend by simply playing the game).
• Space Armor -- The Space Armor upgrade increases your maximum Health!
• Power Glove -- The Power Glove upgrade deals more damage with Attack Gems!
• Battery Pack -- The Battery Pack upgrade increases your maximum Energy!
• Power Collar -- The Power Collar upgrade deals more Special Attack damage to your opponent!
• Force Field -- The Force Field upgrade blocks more damage from your opponent!
• Reflex Boots -- The Reflex Boots upgrade returns more damage to your opponent when you are attacked!
• Rage Snacks -- The Rage Snacks upgrade allows you to inflict even more damage with a Rage Attack!
• Each upgrade may be purchased up to a maximum of four times. (You can see the level each upgrade is currently at, as indicated by the number in its upper right corner). Each time you buy an upgrade it will cost you more rubies, but it will also be much more powerful.
• Any unspent rubies will carry over to the next level.
• After purchasing your upgrades, click the 'Map' button where you will choose your next opponent to fight. (While at the Upgrade shop, should you for any reason want to get back to the main menu, just click the home icon located just to the upper left of your character icon at the upper left corner of the screen).
• The map will roll up and down with mouse movement. You may refight any opponent you have previously defeated, or you may go on to the next opponent by clicking the word 'Fight!'
• After you click the 'Map' button, if you think you forgot to buy an upgrade you may click the 'Shop' button located at the lower left corner. That will take you back to the Upgrade shop.
• There are 9 different villains. Here is the order in which you will fight them: Python (the snake), Ratu (the bat), Tyson (the bear), Ditko (the spider), Jaws (the Shark), Woody (the moose), Marcus (the rhino), Goord (the Slime Boss), and Master Squid who you will have to defeat two times.
• Master Squid is the final villain you will fight. You must defeat him two times. The first time you fight Master Squid he will begin the battle with 300 life points. After you defeat him the first time he will immediately come back meaner, badder, and more powerful (with 875 life points). Unfortunately for you, your life points are what they are. In other words, let's say that you begin the battle with Master Squid at 500 life points. But after defeating Master Squid in the first battle you may only have say, 200 life points remaining. So, that's it. It will be your 200 life points against Master Squid's 875 life points. You certainly will have your work cut out for you!
• Your goal is to defeat each opponent by getting his life points down to zero before he can do the same to you.
• If you defeat your opponent, you go on to the next fight.
• If your opponent wins, you must refight that opponent until you win. (If you have enough rubies to spend, don't forget to buy more upgrades while you are at the Upgrade shop to make your character more even more formidable).
• When you manage to defeat Master Squid two times in a row the game will end. (This will also open up a new character named Bit. If you do win the game, play it again but choose a different character for a slightly different gaming experience).
• BioGems should automatically save your game progress for you. Then, just come back here to Richard's Game Reviews and continue your game by clicking the 'Continue' button.

BioGems Game Options: The game options may be accessed either by clicking the 'Options' button located at the lower right corner on the main game screen, or by clicking the 'Pause' button during game play. (The 'Pause' button is located just below the clock). The game options are:

• The game sounds may be turned on or off by clicking the sound icon.
• The music may be turned on or off by clicking the musical note icon.

BioGems Playing Tips:

• Match as many Attack (grey fist) and Special Attack (purple star) gems as you can to reduce your opponent's life points.
• Every attack against your opponent will cost you a bit of energy. Keep an eye on your yellow energy line and fill it up by matching Gain Energy (yellow lightning bolt) gems when it's almost empty. (If your energy line gets too low, you will not be able to attack your opponent. That is, your attacks will have zero effect).
• Watch your green life line. When your life points are low, match some Gain Life (green heart) gems to add some extra life for your character.
• When your opponent is low on life points, match some Gain Life (green heart) gems yourself, so he can't get any!
• Gems will explode when matched in a chain of 3 or more. Then new gems will fall from the top of the screen to fill the grid. This can cause a chain reaction of matching gems, giving you the effect of all gems destroyed in that combo. As you gain experience, you will be able to recognize many of these combos before you make your move. So scan the board carefully, and quickly, to look for these opportunties.
• Try creating an L or a T shape with gems of the same type for a very explosive special effect.
• Don't forget to try to make matches of 4 or 5 gems in a row. Each time you do, this will give you a very valuable extra turn!
• Think about what the board's configuration will be after your move. Try to prevent your opponent from matching the gems he needs by shifting the board around defensively.
• When your opponent is low on energy, make sure to match Gain Energy (yellow lightning bolt) gems yourself, so he doesn't get any!
• When you see that your opponent's rage meter is almost full, try to match Increase Rage (red fire) gems yourself, so your opponent will not get any more for himself!
• Match Increase Defense (blue shield), or Counter Attack ( pink arrow) gems, when your opponent's rage meter is almost full to reduce his Rage Attack's impact. (Also keep in mind, that both the Increase Defense and the Counter Attack effects only last for a single turn. So, if your opponent did not unleash his Rage Attack with his last turn, you are still vulnerable and you will still need to protect yourself as much as possible by again matching either the Increase Defense or Counter Attack gems).
• Make sure you do not waste Attacks or Rage on a shielded opponent. (You can easily tell when either you, or your opponent, are shielded because you will see and hear the shield come up along with the words 'Defense Up').
• Buy as many upgrades as you can. These will make a huge difference! Eventually, your character will grow strong enough to defeat every villain!
• Whenever you see a Rainbow Black Hole gem, immediately swap it with another gem. It can, if it is used correctly, cause major damage to your opponent. However, be very careful on deciding which gem you swap it with because if you swap it with the wrong type of gem, depending on the current state of the game, you can actually mortally wound yourself. That being said, I still think it is never a good idea to leave a Rainbow Black Hole gem on the board, because your opponent will very likely be able to use it to devastate you!

Richard's Rating: 5 out of 5.

Comments: With incredible animations and great sound effects, BioGems is truly phenomenal! If you are a Match 3 fan, BioGems is sure to quickly become one of your all-time favorite games.