Focus Multimedia and PopCap Games Introduce a Revolutionary New Way to Play

(SANEPR.com) May 15, 2009 -- Bejeweled Twist now available on PC CD-ROM

May 2009 – The most popular casual game franchise of the 21st century is back, and you’ve never seen it like this before! Focus Multimedia, the UK’s leading publisher of PC value and casual games, is pleased to announce the release of Bejeweled Twist at UK retail.

Bejeweled Twist is another product of Focus Multimedia’s successful partnership with PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games. To date, 15 PopCap titles have now been launched in the UK and Ireland by Focus.

Adding a “twist” to Bejeweled’s tale, the new game mechanic is fresh and exciting, while still retaining all of the features which have made the casual game franchise one of the best-loved of all time.

The challenging new style of gameplay removes the barriers of traditional match-3 games. Instead of swapping adjacent jewels to make a match, players rotate an entire 2x2 block of gems clockwise in an effort to create a line of three or more gems of the same type.

Also, it’s no longer necessary to make a match with every move – instead gems can be freely rotated anywhere on the board. This allows for greater liberty of movement and adds a more strategic element to the game. Players can now plan combinations, cascades and chains in advance, making the resulting explosions and high scores much more rewarding.

Bejeweled Twist has four modes of play. Classic and Zen modes are available from the beginning and the others are unlocked as you progress through the game:
• Classic: Classic features Bomb gems that tick down to a deadly detonation. You need to clear them before they hit zero or it's game over!
• Zen: You literally can't lose in this free-form mode. Explore dozens of alien worlds as you hone your gem-matching skills without the pressure of obstacles or time.
• Blitz: You have just five minutes to get the best score you can.
• Challenge: Designed for the serious problem-solver, Challenge mode offers a dozen separate puzzle worlds, each with seven levels of difficulty and a final infinite stage.
With endless rewards, constant surprises and all-new elements, the latest incarnation of the classic puzzle game will impress existing fans of the franchise and also entice new players to boost the ranks of over 350 million worldwide.

So if you’re looking for a chance to shine, grab your copy of Bejeweled Twist today! But beware, you’ll be rotating gems until the wee hours, muttering “Just five more minutes…”

Bejeweled Twist joins Focus Multimedia’s Essential range of great value PC games and software. Every Focus Essential title has the suggested retail price of just £9.78 including VAT.

Bejeweled Twist can be purchased from all good retailers, or may be ordered direct from www.focusmm.co.uk.

About Focus Multimedia
Focus Multimedia is one of the UK’s leading consumer software publishers. Within a comprehensive and constantly evolving product range, Focus is able to offer more than 400 high quality PC software titles for all the family. The company consistently delivers quality, value and choice across its market-leading PC budget software brands - Essential, Revival and PC Fun Club. Focus’ portfolio includes many highly acclaimed brands, amongst them; Bratz, CSI, Deal or No Deal, Disney Pixar Cars, Driving Test Success, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Law & Order, LEGO, Oxford University Press, Scooby Doo, Scrabble, SpongeBob SquarePants, and many more. For further information on Focus Multimedia please visit www.focusmm.co.uk.

About PopCap
PopCap Games (www.popcap.com) is the leading multi-platform provider of "casual games" -- fun, easy-to-learn, irresistible computer games that appeal to everyone from age 6 to 106. Based in Seattle, Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of over 200 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Vancouver, B.C., Dublin, and Shanghai. Its timeless games have been downloaded more than 1 billion times by consumers worldwide, and its flagship title, Bejeweled(R), has sold more than 25 million units across all platforms. Constantly acclaimed by consumers and critics, PopCap's games are played on the Web, desktop computers, myriad mobile devices (cell phones, smartphones, PDAs, Pocket PCs, iPod, iPhone and more), popular game consoles (such as Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS), and in-flight entertainment systems. PopCap is the only casual games developer with leading market share across all major sales channels, including Web portals, retail stores, consoles, mobile phones and MP3 players.
The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company and product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and are used for the benefit of those owners.

About Bejeweled
From PCs and Macs, PlayStation and Xbox consoles to mobile phones, PDAs, iPods and iPhones, Bejeweled is available for more than a dozen devices and platforms and is the most popular casual game of the 21st century. More than 350 million copies of Bejeweled/Bejeweled 2 have been downloaded from the Web, accounting for nearly a third of the 1 billion-plus downloads of all PopCap® titles. Tens of millions of copies of Bejeweled have been installed on mobile phones worldwide, and more than 25 million units of the game have been sold across all platforms, amounting to over $300 million in consumer spending over the history of the game.

For further information please contact:

Lucy Felthouse – PR & Marketing Executive
E-mail: l.felthouse@focusmm.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1889 570156
Web: http://www.focusmm.co.uk