Puzzle Bobble v2 Review

From what I hear, Puzzle Bobble has been around for a while. PBv2 is the first game in the series for me. I must say that the game I played was impressive on my Zodiac. The graphics, gameplay, and replay value are among the best on Palm OS.

In order to succeed, you will need to be comfortable with the control scheme. Practice mode is a rudimentary choice for starters. This mod allows you to select the level and play without a high score record. The aiming bubbles, which I will discuss a tad bit later, are always on in this mode. If the difficulty is still too much after practice rounds, the options menu allows you to set controls, difficulty, etc.

The controls could not be more simple on the Zodiac, but other Palm devices will vary. The joystick moves the aiming device at the bottom of the screen. The blue button, when pressed, will release the balls.

As in most normal puzzle games, PBv2 shows the next ball on the bottom left hand of the screen. This becomes useful when planning a strategy for freeing balls. When 3 balls of the same color are touching one another, they will be released and fall to the bottom of the screen.

I guess I should try to explain better for people not familiar with the series. On the top of the screen is a pattern of different colored balls. Near the bottom of the screen is a line, which the balls can not cross when stacked from top down. The goal is to free all of the balls on the screen by linking balls of three, four, etc., that are of course, the same color. Balls below a linked chain of balls will also fall.

Now it’s time to elaborate on the different game modes. First, depending on whether you buy the $10 expansion pack, there will either be thirty or sixty levels in the single player mode. In the single player mode, you go from one level to the next by clearing the screens. Score points and earn a high score.

Vs mode throws you into a game against a computer player. A counter next to the score shows how many games each person has won. The game plays just like the single player, except when balls are cleared, they go to the other side of the screen. Once one side of the screen is cleared, the winner is decided. An alternative way to win is if your opponent’s screen fills and crosses the line on the bottom.

The final game mode is the “Vs. Playoff�. In this, you play against a computer opponent, the same way that you did in the vs mode, but play will only continue until someone reaches three wins. The person to reach three wins is the winner of the tournament. Five random rows of balls are created and again, as in vs mode, balls are sent to your opponent’s side.

Puzzle Bobble v2 isn’t like any other Palm OS game that I’ve played. It’s appeal is long-lasting and I can go hours at a time playing through the levels provided, whether against the computer or not. PBv2 is still the best Palm OS game that I’ve ever played, despite the error message that pops up when entering high-score information.