Xbox Live Arcade Review: Zuma

Everyone who plays Zuma has a deep-rooted hatred for it. It's the immeasurable, heated, and downright dangerous type of hatred. Actually, maybe it's not Zuma they hate, but how much people miss out on life because of it.

Like so many of PopCap's online flash titles, this basic little title with the simple "rock frog shoots colored balls from his mouth" hook is enough to wear down even the highest level of the endurance gaming crowd. While putting together colored items so they disappear isn't original, Zuma's spherical nature is. Pieces don't fall from the top of the screen, or shoot up from the bottom.

Instead, players are trapped in-between their ever approaching doom on all sides. Levels add variety like multi-tiered stages or even double ball strings. It's a rare bit of variety for the genre, and a massive increase in challenge as things progress.

Zuma's combo system is the real addictive portion here. Watching an entire part of the screen light up with the pleasing audio cue right behind it is a marvelous sight, and offers an incredible level of accomplishment. Finding different ways to create chains, using randomly generated powered up balls to your advantage (and not always going for the first one) is key to succeeding.

The spinning nature of the player's frog would have made this a classic trackball title. Since they're nearly obsolete, we get accurate analog control that services the game play just fine. It's no more or less accurate than a mouse, and considering the PC version is $20 and the Live Arcade translation is only $10, a few control issues would have been acceptable. However, no compromises are here.

Still, it's a shame there's no multi-player (even though it's not a feature of the original). The game would greatly benefit from any extra modes though given the paltry two it features. Adventure and Gauntlet provide the basics and not much else. Given the addictive nature though, gaining that 24-hour Achievement shouldn't be a problem even with an anemic selection of modes.

Zuma is unquestionably one of the brightest aspects of the Xbox Live Arcade, and a perfect example of how it can work. It's accessible, bright, simple, and you can't stop playing. It's probably the most entertainment available for $10.

Zuma is a rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB. This game can also be found on: PC.

Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

Visit Matt Paprocki's author page — Matt Paprocki's Blog