We’ve all played puzzle games, all of us. From the legendary Tetris to new classics such as Sudoku, it seems no one can escape the grasp of a puzzle game. Its understandable why so many casual gamers stick with these games because they’re easy to play, addictive and usually a blast to play. You can sit back, relax and spend as much time as you want playing a game. Rise of Atlantis does a good job of feeling like a nice cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day; it hits the spot and feels just right.

The gameplay is easy enough as the main goal is to connect three matching tiles together to remove them from the game board. As the tiles are removed from play you get closer to freeing up an artifact piece, which are needed to clear the stage. All of the levels and stages in the game revolve around completing the artifact of power in the hopes of restoring the lost world of Atlantis. Each location in the game is based upon ancient civilizations such as Phoenicia, Babylon, Egypt, Carthage, Rome, Greece and Troy.  As you move from stage to stage the tiles change to match your current location.

The game includes several power-ups you can use to clear out troublesome tiles. If you match four or more tiles in a row you will re-charge the power of the sun. Once the sun is fully charged you can unleash an attack that will clear out a large portion of blocks on the stage, randomly. There are four additional power-ups that become available as you progress during the game. The Lightning and Bomb power-ups will, of course, remove blocks from the stage. The Time and Switch power-ups will provide you additional time or swap out tiles pieces. All of the power-ups, once available, are simply activated by clicking on their appropriate icon.

The game itself is an easy-to-play game that no one should have troubles playing immediately. You simply point and click to match the tiles together and if connected properly the tiles will disappear while additional tiles fall down to replace them. All of the tiles are easy to identify with the tiles having their own specific color and logo. Regardless of your graphics card you won’t have any problems determining the tile you’re clicking on. If you get stuck the game will offer show you an available move. The game does a great job of slowly introducing all of the power-ups and other aspects of the game in a non-intrusive manner that rarely distracts from the overall gameplay. Rise of Atlantis is one of those games that does just enough right that it will keep gamers coming back for more, even if it’s only for a few stages at a time.

Gameplay: 8.0
This one has classic puzzle game written all over it with a point and click interface, nice tutorial and tried-and-true puzzle elements.

Graphics: 7.5
Nothing spectacular but nothing that will have you squinting at the monitor wondering if you’re picking the right block. This is a bright and colorful game that should look great on any monitor & PC.

Sound: 7.5
The game presents a nice soundtrack to mellow out to while playing the game. Each location has a different theme with all of the music having a Middle Eastern influence.

Difficulty: Easy
No one should any problems getting into this game. Rise of Atlantis does a great job of ramping up the difficulty as you move from level to level.

Concept: 7.0
We’ve seen countless number of puzzle games that center on matching colors/tiles. The game does award you with an animated screensaver of various locations in the game, once you’ve completed all the levels.

Overall: 7.5
Rise of Atlantis doesn’t offer really anything new that you haven’t already played in other puzzle games; it just offers a nice complete package. Puzzle geeks looking for the next title to conquer should keep an eye out for Rise of Atlantis.