Diamond Dash on Facebook: It smells like Bejeweled Blitz in here

Diamond Dash
Diamond Dash, Wooga's fifth Facebook game, is nearly a flawless puzzle game on the platform. It's too bad that it's already been done before, has millions of daily players and a mobile version to boot. While Diamond Dash is an impressive puzzle game, it has undoubtedly been "inspired" by Bejeweled Blitz, a PopCap game. Did we say inspired by? Sorry, we meant that aside from switching up the method through which you destroy shiny gems oh, so slightly, this is a Bejeweled clone.

Now don't you go all, "Take it easy, Joe. It's no big deal." While you would be absolutely right in saying that, do we really need another spin-off of an already popular game? The colored gems, 60-second timer, weekly tournaments, level system, Hearts, and power ups are all accounted for--just as they are in Blitz. However, instead of switching gems through either clicking-and-dragging or clicking two gems, players just have to click sections of three or more identical gems.

Level Up!
While that sounds simple enough, it actually turns out to be more difficult when your brain has been hardwired for switching rather than clicking. In fact, the clicking approach to bashing gems actually feels less rewarding than the tried-and-true method. Then again, that feeling could be a result of the nagging thought, "I've done this before ... on my phone." Simply clicking gems to destroy rather than the split-second thought process of switching gems is rather mindless, which could easily be the point of the game: Just turn off the brain for a few minutes and blow up some shiny stuff.

While that would have been a unique hook, it's sadly not the case due to the game's tournament system and focus on speed to maximize points. Worse even is that your Hearts, another game feature borrowed from PopCap, do not refill over time, but only after asking friends to help. Hearts are required to play 60-second Diamond Dash matches, but you're only given five Hearts to start. Sure, Facebook games are social, but literally forcing players to harass their friends to keep playing is just disruptive. Sadly, these are the types of games that keep the genre from escaping its stereotypes. But if what you're looking for is some good old mindless fun, give it a go.

Click here to play Diamond Dash on Facebook Now>

Have you tried Diamond Dash for Facebook yet? Which game do you think does gem-busting better?