by Mohamed Arif Izzudin

Created on: September 28, 2008   Last Updated: September 29, 2008

Casual downloadable games, nowadays, tend to be simple and playable puzzle games, such as Bejeweled and Sweet Tooth. Pop-A-Tronic, the latest game from Big Blue Bubble, is no exception to that.

The game features 4 different modes. There's Marathon, Puzzle, Lock-Out, and Self Destruct. Each of these are unique from one another, and are subsequently unlocked as the game progresses, but they all share one common characteristic; pop as many bubbles as you possibly can!

The gameplay is rather simple. Just pop bubbles by left-clicking groups of similarly-colored bubbles in bunches of three or more, and move bubbles from place to place by right-clicking on them. However, the difficulty increases throughout the game, as the rate of which the bubbles drop increases, and a new kind of bubble is added every now and so often. Eventually, some bubbles even begin to destabilize and "lock", which will prevent you from popping them.

The game also features a few power-ups, which will help you throughout the bubble-popping mayhem. There's the "Purifier"; which pops all bubbles of the same color, the "Charge Bomb"; which increases in size (and destructive power!) the more you click on it, and the "CTD" or "Color Transmutation Device"; which recolors nearby bubbles, enabling you to rack up a bigger combo.

The backgrounds used in the game gives you the impression that the place is some whimsical factory with lots of levers, beakers and concoctions all over the place. The bubbles themselves look good, and the debris formed when popping bubbles is a great touch of detail. All-in-all, the graphics used were well pulled-off.

The sound effects and music used in the game are top-notch and excellent, as the catchy background music makes you want to keep on playing. The sound effects used when popping the bubbles sound almost real, and the sound of the bomb's explosions are well used, and not overdone.

Even though the concept of matching puzzle games has been there for a long time, Pop-A-Tronic brings a somewhat new meaning to it by making it extremely fast-paced as the game progresses. This adds up great as the game tests your agility as well as your color-matching skill at once.

However, the game does suffer a little bit after a bit of playing, as the lack of many power-ups makes the game boring and repetitive after a while. The developers tried to counter this by adding more modes which are unlocked as the game progresses, but even so, the new modes tend to get boring after a while too.

Overall, the game scores a 3.5/5, as it is a great game, with excellent sound and good graphics, but it suffers a little bit when it comes to playability. Even so, its a great game to get, and even with the $19.99 pricetag, it's still well worth it.

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