7 Wonders - PSP Review

I'm going with one of those newer, lightweight reviews I have been using lately to talk about a game that my wife and I are quite divided on.  The title is 7 Wonders for the PSP, and it is one of the many puzzle games that use the 'match three' recipe that Columns and Bejeweled has been using for so long now.  What makes this game a bit different is the framework around it.  Instead of working within a rectangular space, you actually are trying to build 'shapes' like a pillar or a circle.  You are also pitted against a time and tasked with trying to lower cornerstones to the bottom of the screen where an animated worker will then diligently picked it up and and put it where it belongs as they build the shape.

Along the way you can earn power-ups that are not only useful - but overly powerful in my opinion.  I think I lost maybe two rounds on my way to beating the game in three or four hours or so.  To me, the title was lacking the depth of puzzle games that incorproate other elements into them (like Puzzle Quest or Gyromancer).  There was very little lasting interest for me on this game, though the initial play through was okay for the most part.  The music and graphics are pretty bland, though I liked the little animated workers that give you a bit more to look at than you usually get in these games (sort of like Puzzle Fighter where you have characters animated off to the side and responding to the flow of the game but doing nothing to actually impact it).

Now my wife really likes this game.  I made the mistake of trying to trade it into Gamestop because well, I had already beaten it and never planned to play it again.  Nope, this and Puzzle Quest were her two favorite PSP titles and I was not allowed to trade it in.  I know she has beaten it a handful of times now as well, but when she is looking to kill some time and the iPad's not handy, this is one of her preferred games to play on the go, where as in my opinion it is entirely forgettable.