Bejeweled for iOS becomes even more grand with Lightning Mode update

While there have been plenty of official Bejeweled apps released on iPhone and iPad over the years, the basic "Bejeweled" app has quickly become the definitive version for those that want to destroy gems while on the go, and has become even more fantastic with the game's latest update, bringing Lightning Mode to the experience.

Lightning Mode will be familiar to those that have played games like Bejeweled 3 on XBLA, as it offers timed gameplay not entirely unlike that of the Bejeweled Blitz Facebook game. However, with Lightning Mode on Bejeweled iOS, there's a major twist: you're not limited to playing for just 60 seconds, but can play for much longer by destroying gems that contain extra seconds. You'll start with 60 seconds, and can earn up to 60 seconds in bonus gems during that first round. At the end of the round, any bonus time you've accumulated will become your new timer and the cycle repeats. If you're skilled enough (or perhaps lucky enough), you can spend 5-10 minutes in a single Lightning game as you earn more and more bonus time, and rack up more points as your multiplier ticks ever higher in each round.

Of course, this Lightning Mode comes to both the iPhone and iPad version of the game as a free update, bringing us to five total game modes: Classic, Zen, Diamond Mine, Butterflies and now Lightning. The experience is still lacking versus its console or PC counterparts, but with PopCap's dedication to the game already being obvious, we shouldn't have to wait that much longer for additional modes to launch. If you've yet to pick up Bejeweled, you can download the game now for $0.99 on iPhone and $3.99 on iPad.

What do you think of the Lightning Mode in Bejeweled on iOS? Which game mode do you hope is added to the game first? Sound off in the comments?