Bejeweled Blitz fans say 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!'

Bejeweled Blitz new stats screen
Bejeweled Blitz 600k noviceEvery time a game makes a change, it's not without controversy. The puzzling basics of PopCap Games' Bejeweled Blitz was a winner three years before Facebook itself came into existence in 2004. Players of the game have also been climbing steadily this past week.

Well, today, PopCap whipped out a new acheivements system with a flourish, which features 131 ranks, where the first hundred have corresponding badges, the oldest being the "Elder Bejewelian". (But you can go higher than Rank 131, since PopCap admits they simply "ran out of cool names at that point.") Even without checking out the revamped game, the first thing I knew was that the change will upset veteran players.

When Bejeweled Blitz finally got the 25k bar to work, it meant that people had to deliberately play badly to fill it up again. Another issue was when they allowed players to hit beyond 500k, but didn't introduce the 500k Star Medal 'til much later, prompting players to try again. All these things happened because the new features couldn't be applied retroactively. And then they had to go and introduce the Boosts system, which injected the game with a freshness we didn't think was possible, but it definitely lowered the bar for newbies to score higher than previously before.

The immediate reaction by fans to this latest change is that the screen has SHRUNK. By this, I doubt they mean the play area. Because I've noticed that the player roster on the right has this unpleasant varnished look to it, indicative of a smaller screen size. And yet, this isn't so important as how silly it is for a player like me, to have scored over 620,000 points at one point, reduced to the rank of Novice. Oh well, at least the race to the top will be fun.

PopCap launches Bejeweled Blitz LIVE on XBLA with blazing speed

Consider your Xbox 360 assimilated. PopCap announced today that the company has launched Bejeweled Blitz LIVE on Xbox Live Arcade. The game costs 800 Microsoft Points, or $10 USD, and is essentially Bejeweled Blitz without the Facebook connectivity. However, the game does make liberal use of Xbox Live, allowing 16 players at once to compete in 60-second matches. You can also battle your friends one-on-one on the same console or over Xbox Live. The question is: Will your Xbox Live friends be as impressed by your Bejeweled score as your Facebook friends? Check out our preview of Bejeweled Blitz LIVE before rushing to the Xbox Game Marketplace and decide for yourself.

[Image Credit: PopCap]

Have you tried Bejeweled Blitz on Xbox 360 yet? What PopCap game would you like to see on consoles next?