Arxon Review

Written by: Keith Durocher Published: October 17, 2006 Arxon from Alawar Entertainment is a color-matching game not too far removed from Bejeweled. It has an interesting twist in that you don't just swap different elements on a game board. Wrapped in the trappings of Ancient Egypt, Arxon presents you with a grid of multi-hued cartoon scarabs. Navigating the border is an upwardly mobile beetle looking to find a home with the others. Your task is to push this "Dynastes tityus" onto the grid, matching three or more shades. Doing so results in an explosion that clears away room for more scarabs. Although Arxon is an interesting spin on the color-matching genre, it's not as intuitive as most of its contemporaries. It can seem ruthless, in that a single instance of letting the timer run out will result in the game being over; you aren't given multiple chances to try again. Graphically, Arxon isn't too bad, but it's not quite eye-catching enough to leave a lasting impression. I can't help but think Arxon could've been great with a little more attention paid to style. It's still fun, it's just not a classic. Scoring (out of five dragon heads): Graphics: Ease of use: Gameplay: Difficulty: Sound effects: Music: Final analysis: Click here to download the free trial version of Arxon.