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Pop Review for the Nintendo Wii

Pop Review for the Nintendo Wii

With WiiWare now up and running, the future holds an exciting level of promise as the platform gives smaller developers a chance to truly shine on Nintendo’s console. The potential for greatness also comes with a caveat: the possibility to disappoint. The reduced cost and instant distribution means players will be able to sample truly unique games from publishers big and small without major risk or financial outlay, but in some cases will they also be taken advantage of in the process? A game like Pop raises such a question.

Pop screenshot

Pop is truth in advertising taken to the very extreme; the game is solely about popping bubbles. Sound simple? It is. Does the game offer players enough incentive to play beyond the first few quirky minutes? Well…yes and no. Putting an end to tons of colorful bubbles, racking up score multipliers, and avoiding dangerous skulls is mildly fun in short bursts, but it’s hard to shake the feeling something is missing from the experience. While playing the game, you may find yourself waiting for something big and exciting to happen only to be disappointed when that moment never truly arrives. The kicker is Pop is the kind of game players may find themselves returning to over and over again – against their better judgment in some cases – simply because it possesses a strangely satisfying, Zen-like quality.

Initially, the concept is beyond basic. An endless stream of bubbles of various shapes, sizes, and colors will float across the screen in random cluster patterns. Your job is to pop the bubbles by pointing at them and clicking either the A or B button on the Wii Remote. The main objective is twofold; you must pop enough bubbles to reach score benchmarks that allow you to move on to subsequent waves while keeping the clock from ticking down to zero. Popping smaller bubbles will give you higher points, but popping large bubbles will add precious seconds to the clock. Taking out large clusters of bubbles in one shot gives you lots of points, and you’ll score major bonus multipliers for popping a consecutive series of the same kind of bubble. Also, three seconds are taken from the clock every time you miss. A few minutes of these simple mechanics quickly grow boring, but things do pick up as new twists are added in.

Pop screenshot

As you progress to new waves, the direction of the bubble current will change and the speed will increase. The color patterns will also fluctuate from deep blues and purples, to reds and pinks, and so forth. This is around the time when new bubble elements (that produce unique effects when popped) start floating their way into the streams. Though they’re cute, skull bubbles take time off the counter when popped and are best avoided altogether whenever possible. Radioactive bubbles slowly explode outward and pop any same-colored bubbles – for better or worse – they encounter. Another bubble gives you a larger pointer that’s helpful when going after large swaths at a time, but it makes it difficult to pick out individual bubble types in a group. Vortex bubbles slow the flow of the stream and lower the pitch of the music and sound effects for a brief time. All these elements add in minor layers of strategy that make the fact you’ve just spent upwards of 25 minutes simply popping screens full of colorful bubbles a little less embarrassing.

Pop screenshot

Playing the game feels a lot like channel-surfing on a TV; you’ll spend most of the time just pointing the Wii Remote at the screen and hitting the same single button over and over again. It’s also possible to grab a bubble and pump it up with the Wii Remote until it bursts, creating the same effect as the radioactive bubbles mentioned above. The game starts out slow, but it picks up after a few levels. By the time you get towards the last few waves the bubbles will be moving at a dizzying pace. This does make for some hypnotic and tense situations if you happen to make a false move or hit too many radioactive bubbles.

Pop screenshot

With a fast current and lots of bubbles flowing in the later levels, large explosions can set off strings of chain reactions that will indiscriminately and voraciously consume good and bad bubbles alike. This can bring the counter dangerously close to the single digits, which is perhaps the only time when the game can make you feel frantic. When you’re only a few waves shy of maxing out in the game’s 16 main levels, the prospect of starting over from the beginning will be enough to burst your bubble of relaxation. Still, Pop has addictive potential. Even if you do meet the game-over screen prematurely, it’s definitely a game you’ll want to pick up and play again a short while after your irritation has waned.

Up to four players can pop bubbles at once, aiming for a high score and to keep the clock form zeroing out. This competitive mode includes special power-ups that can temporarily hinder opponents’ bubble popping abilities by shrinking the size of their cursor, temporarily locking out their controls, or blacking all but a small flashlight-like circular are of the screen. An online leader board and an achievement badge system give the solo mode a little extra oomph, and a few different levels of difficulty will put your popping skills to the test. Also, a “chill” mode lets you space out and pop bubbles without any objectives, score, or time.

There is beauty in simplicity, but Pop is just a tad too simple. It’s a briefly entertaining distraction, but the quality of the content just doesn’t rise to the occasion for the price you have to pay. That’s really the only major issue. The game – what’s there at least – is essentially good. At a lesser cost, Pop’s lack of real depth would be far less of an issue, but $7 just feels too steep for something that can be simulated with a 50 cent can of bubble stuff from the local toy store.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.2 Graphics
Stylish bubbles of many colors and varieties, but that’s about it. 3.5 Control
Step 1: Point at a bubble. Step 2: Pop it. Step 3: Repeat steps one and two…FOREVER. 3.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Mellow background tunes are soothing rather than exciting. 2.0

Play Value
Most humans will find popping bubbles tends to get old rather quickly, unless you’re on drugs.

3.2 Overall Rating – Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Pop bubbles repetitively…for fun.
  • Pop yet even more bubbles.
  • Pop bubbles with up to three other friends…at the same time.
  • Pop bubbles until your eyes bleed.

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