iAppLover

PuzzLoop

We’ve come a long way from playing snake on our cellphones. While that game will always have a very special place in my heart, the time has come to move on to slightly more complex and different games. I’ve been looking for a somewhat mindless game to play, one that offers fun to both casual and somewhat more serious players.  That game is Puzzloop.

Conceptually, it’s a race against time.  The name can be broken down into two parts – Puzz, which obviously stands for puzzle and loop.  That second part refers to the gameplay itself.  Balls of different colors run along a track that spirals into a conductor, who represents you.

Your basic objective is to prevent that line of colored balls from reaching the center.  Doing so requires you to toss out balls coming from the conductor, inserting them into a place in the line.  Putting three or more balls of the same color disintegrates them and adds to your point total.

You win when you disintegrate each and every ball in the stage.  Each stage varies in number and pattern of colors.  The colors that you launch from the middle are completely random, increasing its replay value – which is what is what I look for in a game.

You’re not looking for an indepth strategy game or a well developed fighting game when you look for a game for your cell phone, at least I don’t.  You’re supposed to look for something simple and entertaining, one that will serve its purpose of filling up your time when you’re bored and you have a blank space in your schedule.

Powerups abound in the game, but even newbies will become experts in a real hurry once they take a look at the documentation included with the program.  Options related to gameplay are easily available, even in the middle of a stage and controls are simple enough – you simply tap the spot on the screen where you want the ball fired towards and there you go.

The graphics are impressive for a cell phone or iPhone game.  Slick, polished and clear are words that I’d use to describe them. The sounds are entertaining enough.

At the end of the day, there’s really nothing to complain when it comes to this game.  It’s simple and addictive, which is what makes it worth the cost.  If anything, the cost of Puzzloop may be the only thing stopping you from buying it – $7.99 is a small amount, but there are cheaper games for people who are not as discerning.