Game Review - Azkend, Azkend 2: The World Beneath

Game Review - Azkend and Azkend 2: The World Beneath
Score +2/-4 (Azkend), +3/-4 (Azkend 2)

Overview

A match-3 chain game, with occasional hidden object scenes. Nice but static artwork.
+ Very good artwork in background images. More so in Akzend 2, where they more frequently show the artwork, add a bit of animation, and you can review the scenes in your journal.
- /+Azkend story was not very well reflected in the gameplay. This was corrected in Azkend 2, which had a stronger correlation. For example, the "dynamite" powerup is found after you locate four sticks of dynamite in the story, and when you match them, they explode to clear tiles.
-- Too many symbols (especially in Azkend 2, where this situation happens quite early) means you frequently encounter no-moves and reshuffles. The game starts to become more chance than skill.
+- Challenging hidden object games, but you can't go back to redo them and your degree of success appears irrelevant -- you just get pushed through to the next chapter of the story.