Treasure of Montezuma Blitz is a gem-matching game which recently became available on the PSN store exclusively for the PS Vita, and best of all, the game is completely FREE - or is it?
The game itself is excellent, featuring a number of unlockable items including special Totems, and various items to give players an advantage during the game.
Nevertheless, whilst the game itself is completely free for users to download, it does contain a number of small, hidden optional costs, which have the potential to make this game one of the most expensive PS Vita titles you could own.
First of all, the in-game currency is called Crystals, and this currency can be used to purchase various totems or gem-bursting items etc, but up 1100 'Crystals' are also extracted at the start of each of the game's five rounds as well.
The game starts with a good amount of Crystals, and there is a chance to win some Crystals back during the game, but it is surprising how quickly the required number of crystals needed to even start a game seem to disappear. So how can you play the game now?
Well, players can win bonus Crystals by playing a daily scratch-card mini-game, which takes place once per day and features random amounts of Crystals (from 200-100,000), but even then, it could take a few days before players have one enough currency for even one round of the game.
The only other option is for players to purchase more Crystals via their online PlayStation Network accounts. There are different price packages available from the PSN store, the cheapest of which is just £2.99 for 1000 gems or up to £15.99 for 100,000 gems.
Nevertheless, although the game does feature a 'free' way to win new Crystals, it is more likely that players will be tempted to choose the easier and faster option of buying more Crystals, and as the game uses a high proportion of Crystals per round, this apparently 'free' game suddenly becomes circuitously expensive.
Worst still, this game only allows the user five lives, which means that after five rounds the game is over, and users cannot play the game until the lives have been replenished. Again, there are two ways that players can replenish these lives. The free way is to wait fifteen minutes before starting the next five rounds, during which time, all five of your lives will be atomatically restarted.
Nevertheless, players are once again given the opportunity to purchase another five lives immediately. This time for 79p. Although this might sound like a small amount, the cost can quickly mount up.
Furthermore, there does not seem to be any valid ezplanation as to why players' crystals are being extracted at the start of each round, but the more cynical amongst us might reason that the game has been specifically designed to encourage gamers to splash their cash.
The sheer brilliance of this game is not in question, but the fact that it includes potential expenses does raise a serious challenge to the notion that Treasure Of Montezuma Blitz is a 'free' game just because it costs nothing to download. When it comes to this game, the old adage of 'you don't get something for nothing' is only too apparent.
HAVE YOUR SAY...
Have you downloaded this game yet?
What are your thoughts on the potential hidden costs involved?
Should this game be described as a 'FREE' game?
Whatever your thoughts on this issue, please leave your comments in the comments box below. Mini Gamers looks forward to hearing from you.
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I downloaded the game a few day ago. Very fun game, But like you stated, You only get 5 games until you have to rest for 15 minutes. Which isn't too bad. But the subtraction of crystals during the beginning of each game is an instant killer for me. With the minute of play time given,I can get about 20 crystals on a good run. Too bad it cost about 200 or so crystals per game! Not worth it by far which is a shame cause the game is fun.
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