by Staci Clark

Created on: July 05, 2008   Last Updated: July 08, 2008

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you're looking for a game to relieve stress or to simply help you go to sleep at a night, then Spring Up from Frozax Games is the game for you. The game is a variant on the traditional brick-busting game. The premise of the game, like the graphics itself, is very simple. You must use your mouse to launch balls at bricks or balls of the same color and then catch the falling bricks and balls with a paddle. Each brick and ball that you catch will earn you points that you can later use to buy items for your garden. You must clear each level of all its balls and bricks before you can proceed to your garden and to the next level of the game.

Don't expect spectacular 3D graphics with Spring Up. The balls are plain red, blue, green, and yellow circles, while the bricks are merely color-coordinated squares and rectangles. Do, however, expect a variety in game play that more than makes up for the rudimentary graphics. The full version of Spring Up boasts 72 levels and 12 backgrounds. Each level contains a different brick-busting puzzle. Some levels have balls and bricks that are constantly moving. Others pose obstacles between you and your target. Level 1-3, for example, features two fans that blow the balls away from you as you try to catch them with your paddle, while Levels 1-2 and 1-4 contain landscaping posts that spin like windmills when the balls and bricks hit them. The difficulty of clearing each level tends to increase as you progress throughout the game.

Spring Up offers you the choice of turning its help feature on or off at the beginning of the game. If you should initially choose to turn it off but change your mind and want it on later, you can simply enable the help feature by clicking on "Menu" at the top right corner of the screen and then clicking on "Help." While the help feature advises you on the brick-busting aspects of Spring Up, it does not guide you through the intermediate garden levels. The garden levels are basically screens full of dollar signs in circles. You cannot preview what lies behind the dollar signs. When you place your cursor over one of them, you are only told how many points that particular dollar sign will cost you, not what it will buy you. If you subsequently click on the dollar sign, you will automatically purchase the hidden item, and the game, unlike Lowe's or the Home Depot, does not allow for returns.

Spring Up offers you one additional choice in game play. You may play in Adventure Mode or in Quick Play Mode. Quick Play Mode allows you to replay any completed level. Adventure Mode, in contrast, returns you to your first uncompleted level in the game. The only way to replay a completed level in Adventure Mode is to return to the Main Menu and to sign in as a new player.

A mellow soundtrack that is appropriate for Spring Up's spring theme accompanies the game. However, the music is so light that after awhile you may find yourself yawning without knowing the reason why. Both the music and the sound effects' volume can be adjusted from the Main Menu.

While I enjoyed Spring Up, due to its simple graphics and the overabundance of similar brick-busting games on the market, I would not purchase it at its current price of $19.99. However, I would consider buying it at a much lower price.

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