The four game modes do offer some variety in the gameplay but you can neither speed up nor slow down the pace of the game. Another thing about the gameplay is that when the crystals are set to shoot out into the play field, the spot that it should go is highlighted. Now I say should go because sometimes, it doesn’t go there. Sometimes it goes very near there and sometimes it runs into another crystal along the way and sticks to it even when the other space is still highlighted. Inconsistency like this makes the game slightly frustrating. The spinning hexagonal playing field means you can move the field to capture crystals where you want, but that is hit or miss at best due to this.

The graphics of the game look like they were recycled from a puzzle game from 1990 and on my 24” LCD looked hazy and a little jagged. The backgrounds look like they were parts of other games or purchased from some stock image library. There’s nothing unique about them and they don’t really give the game a totally cohesive look. As I stated the music is an ambient sort of tune (yes, one tune) that plays over and over in the background. There’s another song for the menu system as well. There are some other minor sounds for the firing of a crystal, placement of a crystal etc. They’re not exciting to say the least.

Finally, there’s a multiplayer mode. It’s local only and honestly it doesn’t really make the game any more interesting or exciting. I can say with all certainty that Crystal Crush is not worth the 400 Microsoft Points or the time it takes to download the 18MB. While there might be some of you who like the challenge of unpredictable crystal placement and lack of control over the speed at which the crystals are launched, I suspect the majority of you should simply steer clear of this game. The game has some potential even though this review might sound almost completely negative. The game modes could be made interesting, challenging and fun and I can see some unique gameplay potential in a multiplayer versus mode, it’s just that none of it is built into this title.

http://www.crystalcrush.com/
Xbox Live Community Game