![]() Sparkle 2 is a familiar puzzler with a few welcome twists. Oh boy, it's the last stage of the campaign! Overall, it'll keep you engaged yet there's no unique hook that sets it apart from similar experiences. On the audio side, a triumphant orchestral score that'll be more at home in an epic film plays throughout. Visually, you're treated to fetching artwork and easily distinguishable stage features. Sparkle 2's presentation is by no means lacking yet it's nothing special either. When you consider the fact that Sparkle 2 in no way revolutionizes the Puzz Loop formula, the lack of variety in these additional modes is all the more noticeable. As a result, it all becomes boring after a while, so it's probably best to play it in short sessions between other games. However, that all depends on your willingness to hang around for that long.Īlthough there are so many modes to play around in, you don't really do anything different to the main campaign. Seeing as every single bit of completion is rewarding, filling it all out will be quite the journey. It'll take a very long time to work your way through all of this content. Survival mode allows you to play any of the 32 stage layouts to see how long you can survive, Challenge mode consists of 24 extra levels with varying difficulties, and Cataclysm mode is made up of 20 incredibly difficult stages. Stages with multiple tracks can get rather trickyĪfter you make it through the main campaign (which will take at least a few hours), you can play it again on two higher difficulty settings and master a few additional modes. Of course, hardcore gamers can remove everything and see how their raw skills stack up if they so desire. Trust me it's great to have an edge in some of the trickier stages. With sixteen to uncover and four slots to equip them in, experimenting to optimize your abilities and make up for your shortcomings is a fun part of the challenge. As you progress through the 90 stage campaign, you'll unlock upgrades that enhance your abilities. Sparkle 2 provides some additional complexities that make its gameplay feel relatively fresh. Sparkle 2 is played exactly like this so if you're already familiar then you'll pick it up and play with no problem whatsoever. However, if you let the balls pile up and reach the end of the track then it's game over. It gets interesting as you start to get massive chains when the train of balls collapses into itself. As soon as you make a match with three or more of the same colour, they disappear. If you're unfamiliar with the formula, you basically rotate a launcher that shoots coloured balls at a track that perpetually moving balls travel down. Over the years, many other Puzz Loop clones would pop up and unfortunately Sparkle is one of them. The developers of Puzz Loop accused PopCap of ripping them off and rightfully so. Five years later, PopCap released Zuma which basically took the exact same gameplay and added an Aztec theme. Why not start this review with a little history lesson? Back in 1998, a Japan-exclusive game called Puzz Loop came out. │ Video Chums loves promoting hard-working indie devs so check out our Indie Game of the Month Awards and Rapid Fire Reviews. ![]() It's tempting for developers to take a concept and try to improve on it, so does Sparkle 2 offer enough uniqueness to make it a worthwhile puzzler? ![]() Originality in the puzzle game genre is hard to come by in this day and age. Sparkle 2 is also available for Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, PS Vita, and PS3 Maciejewski playing an Xbox One on February 4, 2016
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