South American Idol: Zuma by Astraware Reviewed [Archive]

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Doug Raeburn

01-11-2005, 06:00 PM

<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan05-Zuma-00.gif" /> Product Category: Action/puzzle games Manufacturer: <a href="http://www.astraware.com/all/default/zuma">Astraware</a> Where to Buy: <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=149408">Handango</a> [Affiliate] Price: $19.95 USD (Trial version available) System Requirements: All Pocket PCs running Pocket PC 2002 or later Pros: <ul><li>Easy to learn;<li>Colorful graphics;<li>Engaging music;<li>Addictive gameplay.</ul>Cons:<ul><li>Addictive gameplay;<li>Aiming is a bit harder than with desktop version;<li>Difficulty ramps up unevenly;<li>No native VGA version.</ul>Summary: American Idol may be a big ratings winner on TV, but personally, I'd rather play an engaging game than watch the sometimes marginal talent performing there. So here comes South American Idol to the rescue! Zuma is colorful and fun, and will make a great addition to your library of Pocket PC games. And there's no obnoxious celebrity judges required! Read on for the full review!<!> <PAGEBREAK> What's the buzz? If you've visited the popular online game services sponsored by portal sites such as MSN and Yahoo, you're probably familiar with Bejeweled. It was one of the first of these games to become a real hit. But Bejeweled has been around for a while, so for those who are looking for the next big hit, Zuma seems to be the likely followup. In an attempt to take advantage of its online popularity, Astraware has just released versions of Zuma for Pocket PC and Palm. So if you're a Zuma fan (or like many players, a Zuma addict), how does the Pocket PC version measure up? Let's play a few levels and find out! Zuma Basics <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan05-Zuma-01.gif" /> Figure 1: It ain't easy being green… and being made of stone ain't so great either. While Bejeweled is more of a leisurely puzzle game, Zuma is a more action oriented survival challenge, owing some of its inspiration to games like Tetris. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan05-Zuma-02.gif" /> Figure 2: Ready or not, here they come… A stream of balls of various colors advances onto the screen on a track. The player is a frog in the middle of the screen. The frog has the ability to shoot the same kinds of balls out of his mouth. The goal is to eliminate all of the balls from the screen before they fall into the abyss at the end of the track. You do this by shooting the balls from the frog's mouth at the advancing line of balls to create groups of 3 or more balls of the same color. When you do so, the group vanishes. You aim the ball by touching the stylus to the screen at the point where you wish the ball to hit… the frog turns and fires in an instant. When you shoot one ball, another appears in the frog's mouth. They come up in a random color order. The next ball to appear is indicated by a colored dot on the frog's back. By tapping on the frog, you can swap the current ball and the next ball, if the next ball is more useful. <PAGEBREAK> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan05-Zuma-03.gif" /> Figure 3: The Zuma meter is on the top right. Just below it in the corner is a bonus coin. In order to clear the screen, you must first fill the "Zuma meter", at which time no more balls advance from off screen. The meter is filled a bit at a time when groups of balls disappear. When you eliminate several groups of balls in succession, the meter fills more quickly. Coins will also appear randomly on the screen, and if you hit one with a ball, it fills a big chunk of your Zuma meter. When the meter is full, you have only the remaining balls on the screen to deal with. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan05-Zuma-04.gif" /> Figure 4: Power balls blow up good… they blow up real good. Other tools that are available to help you are the power balls (not to be confused with the lottery of the same name). A power ball is one of the advancing balls with a special symbol on it. When you eliminate a group of balls that contains a power ball, that power is activated. One power ball explodes, taking a bunch of additional balls with it. Another causes the chain to move backwards for a few seconds. A third causes the chain's advance to slow down for several seconds. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan05-Zuma-05.gif" /> Figure 5: Screens with 2 tracks are especially challenging. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/raeburn-jan05-Zuma-06.gif" /> Figure 6: Falling into the abyss… There are a few more details, but that sums up the basics of the game. <PAGEBREAK> How does it compare with the original? As with many of these online games, there is a free version of Zuma (the online one) and a Deluxe version that you can buy and download to play on your desktop PC. The online game has levels that consist of 4 screens… the next level has the same 4 screens, but the balls advance at a faster rate. As you get further into the game, additional colors of balls are added, and everything gets faster. The Deluxe version for the desktop has many more screens, so it offers much more variety. It also features some lively background music that sounds like it was inspired by the theme for Survivor. The online version features a limited number of sound effects only, with no music. I got hooked on the online version a few months ago, and then decided to pop for the Deluxe version. For several weeks the Deluxe version took up a good portion of my free time… it's one of those games where you keep saying to yourself "just one more game" over and over again, and before you know it it's 2 AM. When I heard that AstraWare was going to create a version of Zuma for PDAs, I was intrigued, but also a bit skeptical. How faithful would it be to the desktop playing experience? Would it be more like the basic online game or more like the Deluxe game on the desktop PC? Now that I've had a chance to try it out, I'm pleased to see that the Pocket PC version is very similar to the Deluxe desktop version. It has the variety of screens, the lively music, almost all of the sound effects, and all of the power balls. The graphics are colorful and very faithful to the desktop original… the screens have been made longer and narrower to accommodate the Pocket PC's screen. One complaint about the graphics, though... Astraware has just released Bejeweled 2 with native VGA graphics, and the graphics are eye-popping. Zuma's more detailed graphics could benefit even more from a native VGA version, but none is available at this time. Play-wise, it seems pretty accurate. With the Pocket PC's smaller screen, I found that my aim was off a bit more often than with the desktop version, but the frog was very responsive to my screen taps. Also, on the desktop version, the difficulty ramps up very smoothly. On the Pocket PC version, the earlier levels are almost too easy. Then the levels begin getting quite a bit harder very quickly. Aside from those observations, Astraware did an impressive job of shrinking this desktop game down to a PDA size. It's quite faithful to the desktop version and should satisfy any Zuma fan. Conclusions Astraware has a reputation for creating some of the most addictive games that you can find on a PDA, and Zuma is no exception. It's easy to learn, but challenging. And it can keep you entertained for hours at a time or for a few minutes while you're waiting to board your flight. This game is so good that even Simon Cowell would be hard pressed to make a snarky comment about it. But if you decide to buy Zuma, I take no responsibility for the amount of free time that slips away while you get lost in it. Now, how about Zuma VGA? :wink:

NLS

01-11-2005, 09:04 PM

We WANT more VGA games!
I would even concider RE-releases if they are good enough in VGA version! For example the dead project of SimCity 2000? (what's with that company? they started making PC clone games and now are japanese? wtf?) Or Monopoly (with ability to read the streets etc. unlike the old version), 3D games, solitaires... MANY posibilities!

Anyway, now VGA games are LESS than ten right? Ain't it time for them to flourish?

winsquared35

01-11-2005, 09:45 PM

sponge

01-12-2005, 02:35 AM

NLS: There's still the very large issue of procesor power! 4x the drawing, with nary a speed increase to be seen - infact there's usually slowdowns on VGA devices. The amount of optimization that would have to be involved just to get the framerates back to their QVGA counterparts would be enormous, and not even worth the time.

Wait until D3D Mobile comes out, things (hopefully) will change then.

NLS

01-12-2005, 09:10 AM

not really
haven't noticed any slowdown in my device when playing (my 720 plays QVGA games BETTER than my 5450)

VGA devices ALWAYS draw VGA even on QVGA programs, the OS has some doubling procedure that steps somewhere in the middle, so I would expect native VGA software to be same speed OR FASTER, not slower - at least this applies for 2D software, because I understand 3D could need more work (not SO sure though)

Doug Raeburn

01-12-2005, 03:19 PM

This looks very much like Podz by Ace Pocket. I've been spending lots of time with it and haven't been able to beat it yet.
I would like to see someone who has played both do a head to head comparison.
Perhaps those of us who are addicted to Podz would also get addicted to Zuma! :?

I tried Podz and I found it to be a very good game as well. Although the basics are the same, the details are quite different. The play mechanics of Zuma are simpler and more straightforward... you have the advancing balls, the power balls and the coins, and that's pretty much it. You keep track of the Zuma meter because it's to your advantage to fill it. So you have one thing (the balls) that where advancing is bad, and one thing (the Zuma meter) where advancing is good. And there's no such thing as power downs.

Podz has a lot more that you have to keep track of... especially the panic timer and the hidden power downs. So you have lots more working against you. You have to worry about 2 things advancing... the podz and the panic meter. It has a greater variety of power balls (nuke in particular is pretty cool). The power downs add an interesting twist, but I think the "hidden" part is a bit contrived. Another difference is that, as far as I can tell, there's no "reward" in Podz for consecutive hits of 3+ podz. In Zuma, that makes the Zuma meter fill faster for each 3+ hit.

Zuma's background graphics seem a bit more detailed, but Podz' animation graphics are superior. Overall, though, both games do quite well graphically. And both sound very good as well. Zuma feels faster paced overall, with its single speed somewhere between Podz' startup speed and its speed-up speed. And Zuma's reactions are a bit quicker... a single tap both aims and fires, while a comparable move in Podz requires 2 taps. Of course, you can use tap + fire button in Podz, but I prefer to use the stylus only myself. But then, Podz provides the aiming crosshairs that Zuma lacks.

IMO, the games play and feel different enough to make them both attractive in their own way. After just buying Zuma last week, I just plunked down the cash for Podz... the trial mode was just that engaging (and a better representation of the game than Zuma's "way too easy" trial mode).

So as you can tell, I love this type of game... Zuma got me hooked, and Podz is a fun variation on the theme. I suspect that Podz fans will find the reverse to be true as well.

winsquared35

01-13-2005, 07:10 PM

Thanks, Doug, for the comparison.
I agree, fans of one game will probably want the other. I have to exert lots of self discipline to refrain from buying Zuma now, for fear of losing all hopes of productivity in my work! I really liked the trial version of Zuma, although it's way too easy compared to Podz. I suppose the full version will become hard at the higher levels.