Zuma's Revenge!
a game by | PopCap |
Platforms: | XBox 360, PC (2009) |
Editor Rating: | 8/10, based on 1 review, 2 reviews are shown |
User Rating: | 6.9/10 - 16 votes |
Rate this game: | |
See also: | Best Casual Games, Puzzle Games, Games for Kids, Games like A Little To The Left, Mouse Only Games, Match-3 Games, Zuma Series, Games Like Toon Blast |
When you see a game showcasing colorful tiles, the first thing you'd think would be, 'Oh no, not another tile-matching puzzle game.' Admittedly, that was my first impression of Zuma's Revenge. Just another soul-sucking, harmfully addictive puzzler that would put you out of your wallet and ultimately out of mind. However, there's more than meets the eye.
Zuma's Revenge may be an addictive puzzle game, but it's not a copy-paste of so many of the other straight-to-mobile games we've seen. The gameplay isn't tailored to spend as much money as possible but rather to create an entertaining puzzle experience. So how far does it deliver in curating that fun-filled atmosphere?
He's Back with a Tile-Matching Vengeance
Zuma's Revenge is actually a sequel, believe it or not. It follows the themes and gameplay of the original Zuma, released 6-years back. Sure the game was popular, but it seems bizarre that there would be a random sequel a few years later. Perhaps the developers were jumping on the popularity of these tile-matching games? Who knows. But what we can say is that Zuma's Revenge is pretty fun.
The visuals are much the same as its predecessor, adopting the cartoony Polynesian theme littered with color and humorous expressions. Naturally, we're drawn into all the vibrant environments and weird characters that will make up the protagonists and antagonists of gameplay. The aesthetic syncs well with the core mechanics of the game.
Players will do much the same as in the last game. You'll use a frog to fireballs into a string of rolling tiles from your opponent in an attempt to get three matching colors. Once they do, they'll disappear from the battlefield, with your objective to clear the board. If they fill up the board and reach the 'skull emblem,' you're dead.
It's all pretty elementary, but sometimes the simple stuff makes the most fun. Zuma's Revenge is an easy-to-learn puzzler, yet with new gameplay elements and more complex levels, it's challenging to master. You could easily pass it off as one of the ultimate casual games, where anyone could pick up and leave off, investing a few minutes or a few hours into gameplay. Zuma's Revenge is the same game as old, but it's done well.
Revenge is Best Served Similar
There's nothing inherently different about Zuma's Revenge bar, better visuals, and a few more gameplay modes. That said, the sequel came at the right place and time. When many microtransaction puzzle games like Candy Crush Saga were enslaving the world, Zuma's Revenge feels like an experience tailored for players to enjoy, nothing more.
It's a polished tile-matching puzzle game that's arguably one of the most accessible genres. Zuma's Revenge can easily entertain whether you're a casual player looking for a few minutes to stretch your brain. Even hardcore players can set themselves challenges in some more complex levels. It's all-around good fun.
Round-Up - Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Vibrant and attractive visual aesthetic
- Simple gameplay that's easy-to-learn and hard-to-master
- Endless replayability
Cons:
- Much the same as the original
- Has the stigma of a microtransaction tile-matching game
Download Zuma's Revenge!
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Game Reviews
It Doesn't Seem to be possible for PopCap to release a bad game. Sure, they've had a few partial misses in the past, but since Peggie exploded, they've just nailed that treble 20 each time. Zuma's Revenge is just the next game off their conveyor belt of fiendishly addictive, quality casual titles. It's also safe to say, though, that it doesn't have that all-encompassing joy factor of Peggie delivered, as, surprisingly, it's a little bit user-unfriendly.
The premise is that your hero, a frog, is shipwrecked on a monster-infected Hawaii-like island and, in his attempts to explore his surroundings, has to do battle with the denizens of the jungle. There are lots of mentions of the word Tiki, too, which is always nice. His battles take the form of long ribbons of coloured balls that snake along a track towards a gaping maw of death. You have to stop said balls disappearing into the demonic gullet by firing additional spheres into the snake. It's a twist on the match-3 games like Bejewelled, just not on a grid. The key is to make sure you don't fire too many in at once, as each addition extends the line by one, inching it ever closer to destruction. Chain matches together for big points and huge reductions in the length of the snake.
Zuma's Revenge is addictive and it's fun, but it is more frustrating and rage-inducing than other PopCap efforts of late. Plants vs Zombies never once made you feel like you were never going to finish a level, but Zuma's Revenge has a lives and a checkpoint system, making you replay a few difficult levels after a couple of failures. It also takes an age to load the game on lesser systems. Yet overall, it's a great little game though and certainly a worthy successor to the original Zuma.