Zuma's Revenge

Yet another addictive release from Popcap games.

Zuma's Revenge is a sequel to the immensely popular Zuma.


Nothing much has changed here, the gameplay is still the same, a player must shoot colored balls at a moving line of other colored balls, like-colored balls attract each other and 3 or more balls in a row will cause them to explode and give the player points.

What's New

Zuma's revenge now comes in higher resolution, interestingly enough, this makes it harder to play the game, as the player has to take a longer time to move the mouse and to observe the position of the balls.

Also added are different kinds of bonus balls, one gives you the power to destroy balls by shooting cannon balls, a lightning ball allows all balls of the same color to be destroyed.

There are also a couple more modes, including Iron Frog, a gauntlet of increasingly difficult stages with only one life.

Boss fights are also new here, while not particularly difficult or different, they provide a way to end off a chapter as well as introduce a storyline.


Verdict

While not as fun or fresh as Plants vs Zombies, Zuma does allow hours of casual or hardcore gameplay for people of all ages. The simplistic one button gameplay allows anyone to pick it up, while the level design and modes allow deeper strategies for those who wish to get more value out of their game

Trine

Trine is a puzzle platformer in the vein of Braid or Paper Mario.

The premise is good, 3 different people/classes, a wizard, a knight and a thief get melded into a single entity, they must then use their different skills to find a way to escape their situation.


Gameplay is simple left to right 2D scrolling with a mix of platforming and combat, the Knight can fight off monsters easily, the Thief can shoot arrows and use a grappling hook to swing across chasms, while the Wizard can create boxes and bridges out of thin air.

While the idea itself is good, the execution of Trine is a bit unpolished, levels begin to become repetitive half way through.

The Good

The graphics are good, whether inside a castle or in a forest, the art style reminds you instantly of a fantasy world in the twilight. The characters themselves are well animated.

The Bad

The levels get a little frustrating at times, not because it is difficult, but because the physics based engine makes it hard to maneuver tricky jumps and the Wizard's objects. These basic moves become a source of frustration instead of fun.

The voice acting while good is ruined by the one dimensional writing, the Knight is a slow witted lumbering hunk of meat, while the Thief is greedy for treasure, the Wizard, slightly subverted here is not only young, but a womanizer. The opportunities for chemistry or banter between the three of them are here, but never appear, instead you spend most of the levels in silence.

Verdict

Trine had a lot of potential, but fails to come up with anything interesting or engaging.