MadCap's Game Reviews - "Candy Crush Saga"

So...yeah...having no money sucks.  Fortunately for me, I happen to have happened upon a free game that has apparently taken the world by storm.  At least so far as Android, iOS, and Facebook culture has gone.  I know because I have a pile of denied requests from friends and several more piles that have not yet received my stamp of disapproval.  But really, this game is huge!  On Facebook alone it has managed to overtake Farmville 2 as the most popular game - with over 45 million people playing it!  And that only begs me to ask one simple question.

Why?

Seriously, people, it's just Bejeweled with a candy themed skin. There are some vague differences in it, to be sure (different modes of gameplay with slightly different objectives), but it's pretty much just a Candy Shop version of Bejeweled.  Of course, it being the culture phenomenon that it is, I would be remiss if I said nothing on it (being the dashing and informative internet critic who hasn't reviewed anything involving games in nearly two months), so here's my take on it.

It's Bejeweled with a candy themed skin.

Seriously, you match up three candies to "crush" them and get points, four candies in a row makes one of them a "special" candy and you get more points for the more candies you crush.  Simple.  Really, there is absolutely no depth or complexity to it in the least. And maybe that's why people are enjoying it so much. It's mindless, requiring very little thought and virtually no investment at all, like most games in its family.  And honestly, that seems to be enough.  Even if I were to just wave it off as the Bejeweled-clone that it is, that doesn't keep 45 million people from enjoying it.

Even I, myself, have been lulled in by it.  You get lost among the colorful confections and look up realizing after a few levels that two hours have gone by. Seriously, if the developers wanted to take over the world by slipping subliminal messages through the game, I'm pretty sure they could pull it off.  So, no, I'm not going to give this a thumbs down. It serves its purpose, which is pretty much just killing some time from cradle to grave and does so enough for a broad spectrum of people to be hooked on it. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's not so destroying the fabric of our glorious gaming society like that dreaded Farmville rubbish.  Perhaps there is some hope for humanity after all!

Candy Crush is now available from King.com on iOS, Android, and Facebook.

This review is based on the Facebook version of the game.

...all hail our King.com overlords!