The Lost Treasures of Alexandria

Lost Treasures Of Alexandria's release on the DSi Shop comes as something of a surprise. That's because it's the first game in a short while to break the trend of poor Match-3 games to which the service has been cruelly subjected. In fact, this latest game rectifies many of the issues that plagued publisher MSL's other recent efforts and — much to our wonderment — is actually pretty good fun.

Variation is essentially the key ingredient in this new and improved recipe, as the developer has made some excellent decisions when it comes to the core gameplay mechanics. For example, you are traditionally restricted to swapping only two tiles at a time in most Match-3 games; Lost Treasures of Alexandria does this, but also incorporates a rotating swap feature, as found in games like Hexic. The game constantly shifts the focus between these two styles of gameplay, and it does a very good job of keeping you engaged.