Cradle of Rome Critic Reviews

Although there are all kinds of these games out on the DS, this one is definitely worth your time.

Another shining example of how the simplest concept can be the most addictive.

There are a lot of bland puzzle titles that fail on one level or another but Cradle of Rome manages to avoid that status just narrowly.

While Cradle of Rome does have some unique additions to the formula, it’s not quite enough to make it really stand out.

The mix between strategy and puzzle is entertaining, but not a highlight.

Cradle of Rome is surprisingly addictive, easy to play, and challenging from a number of different angles.

As a combination of puzzles and history lessons, you can't get much more entertaining, really.

I felt myself compelled to play, but the control issues really got to me. Had there been no control issues, I would have been able to recommend this without any problem.

Save your sesterces for something else.

Cradle of Rome is far from terrible, but it has neither the strategic depth nor the Pavlovian addiction required to be a worthwhile puzzle game.

If you look past the fact that Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome isn't as polished as it should be then you've got a reasonably fun puzzle game that's good for short spurts of play, perfect for train rides on red steam engines or big red bus journeys to Redditch.

In spite of its shortcomings, however, Cradle of Rome is still an oddly addictive puzzler. There’s no real city planning, the screen sensitivity wreaks all sorts of havoc during puzzles, and the presentation in strictly bare-bones.

It's still a fun Bejeweled clone, and you'll need a few hours to clear its puzzles, but we needed something innovative.

Cradle of Rome is an entirely inoffensive puzzle game that relies heavily on its central mechanic of flawless match three gameplay.

The difficulty gets brutal, but the game is relatively forgiving. If you're interested in a short, fun puzzle game for DS, you could do much better, but you could also do worse.

The Roman Empire was left behind by the march of progress, and the same can be said of Cradle of Rome.

The game should be another Puzzle Quest, a game that brilliantly built an RPG around puzzle-based battles, but instead, it's just another Bejeweled knock-off lost in a sea of derivative clones.

While this does give the player a reason to continue playing, the game's frustrating mechanics could be enough of a reason to leave Rome as nothing more than a pile of rubble.

I can’t really recommend this game to anyone. Even at the budget price of $20, this game isn’t good.

An uninteresting matching puzzler that's slotted into a structure big on monotony, Cradle of Rome demonstrates game concepts shouldn't be built in a day.