We’re back to the match 3 games with Dig the Ground 3. The 3rd game in the Dig the Ground series, this one claims to be bright & challenging. Is it just me or does that make the other 2 sound dark & boring?
Gameplay is described as assembling crystals of the same color into chains. Sound familiar? Makes me think of that last so-called match 3 game DragonScales 6 that I felt like was more of a marble shooter game than a match 3 game. Granted, I haven’t played this one yet & I’m going by the description on bigfishgames.com but I’m heading into this game a little jaded.
Dig the Ground 3 sounds like a fairly short game if you decide to buy it after you try it. Your goals are to find gold chests & water flowers. That’s it. There are only 40 levels & you’re told up front that is has “7-8 hours of match 3 fun”. On the positive side it does have 3 game modes so, I suppose, you could try to beat the game in each mode to stretch it out. Well, 60-minutes of free play, here I come!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Dig the Ground 3 was nothing like was I was expecting. A tutorial would have been nice but there isn’t one, so you have to figure this one out on your own. Well, YOU don’t because I’m going to help you. This chain match 3 game means you drag the cursor along the matching crystals to remove them from the board. You have to connect a minimum of 3 but you can go in a straight line or diagonal. The longer the chain, the bigger explosion bonus you get. The explosion bonus clears off large sections of the board. I don’t know what determines the end of a level, whether it’s a certain number of crystals collected, or you just reach the end of the board. Either way, levels do end but I was beginning to wonder because that first one lasted a long time.
The colors are vivid, but I didn’t notice anything really spectacular about the graphics. The actual gameplay is smooth, not glitchy or jerky & that’s a plus in any type of chain game. It’s a nice game but repetitive. Once you’ve played one level, you’ve kind of played them all. Dig the Ground 3 is a good way to pass the time but if you’re looking for something more in depth, you aren’t looking at a match 3 game to begin with.
