It's a cardinal rule of this site not to mention other games when doing reviews. You let a game stand on its own merits. However, it's prudent to mention that I am a Zuma fantatic. Not a fan, a fanatic. It's on my PC, laptop, Xbox 360, PDA and mobile phone. I also own Luxor and Magnetica. Apparently, this is a game mechanic that is part of my genetic makeup.
That being said, you can imagine my glee when Namco pushed their demonstrator off of Atlantis Sky Patrol (people were in line for this game) and put it in my hands. Wee! Colored marbles to shoot. Queue maniacal laughter ...
Atlantis Sky Patrol is a beautifully designed title along the vein of the aforementioned games. The art is inspired by the story: Doomsday devices have been built, and it's up to you and your crack squad of flying aces to destroy them. To do this, you'll shoot colored marbles — but not before taking out the control mechanism. Ahh ... the defining difference.
At the base of the screen is your plane. You have a primary colored marble that shoots forward and a secondary marble, which can be switched with the primary of the color and is to your advantage. The goal is to match three colored marbles in a snaking line of marbles. If marbles on either side of the match are the same color, they will knock back; if there are three, they also will match and destroy.
The snake of marbles will continue until you take out the control mechanism. This is a set of marbles placed somewhere central on the board. It consists of a random number of single marbles. To destroy them, you must hit them with a marble of the same color. Until you remove them all, your snaking line will continue. Let the line reach the end, and the Doomsday Device will be activated and well ... it's Doomsday!
With 111 levels, things can get squirrelly after a while. Colors are added as levels progress. You may gain unique marbles that help you, but the more likely scenario is you'll see marbles that require multiple hits and light-bending — evil geniuses who make Doomsday Devices never make things easy.
Along the way, you'll gain coins. Levels also are interspersed with free-fly levels in the air, where your goal is to gain as many coins as you can. You use these to power-up your plane. You can increase your accuracy, speed, rewinder (makes the marbles head backwards), disrupter (slows down the release of marbles) or the magnet (brings items to you). The more times you upgrade, the more expensive that upgrade becomes.
I mentioned the art style. The best I can describe it as is 1940s flyboy. I felt like I was looking at a stylized comic book. It was pleasing to the eye and added wonderful flavor to the title.
After three levels, I handed the demo unit back to my guide with the words, "Take this from me." I knew I'd spend a lot of time playing it. As much as I love Zuma — and I do — this simply works better in the mobile format. I don't need to worry about accuracy in a 360-degree world. I've only left-right to worry about and then dealing with the 97th level! Atlantis Sky Patrol launches this winter, and I'm afraid I won't be reviewing many PC/Console titles ... as I said, matching colored marbles are in my genetic make-up. And Namco has done good with this one.
I'm a mother of two boys, ages 7 and 10 and live in the chaos that ensues. I've a permanent disability that keeps me homebound, so books, kids, games and books are my constant companions. Oh, and books, too. *grins*
My children both play games so I often play them first, getting to know exactly how something may effect my sensitive and easily stimulated older child vs. my stoic and imperturbable younger.
I like games for games; for the pure enjoyment of them and believe that no game is wholly bad, though some are real stinkers.
I also have the dexterity of a camel in mittens so find playing FPSs difficult (and I also don't like the gore) and RTSs at times can stump me. I just can't seem to move quickly enough to keep up with them. Some of my favorite games are arcade games and I'll spend 3-5 years on the same 5-6 levels because I just never get any better. But, I have fun.
