PSN Review – Zuma
Zuma is the second game released onto PSN from Pop Cap Games. Zuma is a puzzle game that has been on every type of gaming platform from mobile phones to the Xbox 360. It has been a smash hit on all these other platforms, so how does it hold up in comparison?
The point of Zuma is to eliminate different colored balls that are traveling along a set path. You must do this by shooting other colored balls from the mouth of a frog to get at least three in a row. The ultimate goal is to get enough points to fill up a bar which will stop any new balls from entering. There is no time limit, but if the balls reach the opening at the end of the line then you will lose a life and need to start over.
Each round starts with a rush of balls that initially fill up a third of the set pattern. Your frog will then have two colored balls to use, one in his mouth and one in his back/rear. You can switch between each one by pressing circle to make sure you’ve made the appropriate choice.
Upon choosing your color, you will then fire that ball at the line of balls coming down. Once you get three or more in a line they will disappear, at which point you move onto the next color. Now you will notice that sometimes three or more balls will already be in a line, but these will not disappear until you fire a new ball at them.
There are also special balls that will help you out. One reverses the line, one slows down movement of the line, and the last one is a bomb, destroying multiple balls at a time when fired. There are also a few other things that are added to aide you. If you can shoot a ball between a gap to complete a line, or get multiple lines in a row, this will give you more points which will fill your bar up faster.
Zuma has quite a few levels included. There are three temples and each temple has three sections; within each section there are seven different map layouts. The first section of the first temple is relatively easy, but with each completed level the difficulty increases to a point that by section seven or eight, you will be ready to pull your hair out in frustration.
As well as the arcade mode, you can also play the Gauntlet, which is a survivor mode. Basically any map you have played in the arcade mode is unlocked and you will have an endless amount of colored balls coming. It starts off easy, but with each bar you fill up it will get harder and the amount of different colors will increase. You are slightly aided when you complete each bar, as it will reverse the line movemenet for about five seconds, but then it speeds right back up again.
The music and visuals aren’t anything special. There is only one song which can get quite old and the visuals really aren’t a big deal since this is a 2D puzzle game. It would have been nice to have a variety of music since hearing the same song over and over gets old quick. Some gameplay variation would’ve been nice, and the difficulty level really shouldn’t be so high in the last few levels.
Though Zuma’s pretty fun, you really do need fast reaction times to process everything that is going on. It does not do anything different, but with the abundance of maps and the amount of replay value, this game for anyone who likes challennging, fast-paced puzzle games.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Audio and visual work is subpar. Deceptively simple, and ramps up in difficulty a lot. |
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19 Responses to “PSN Review – Zuma”
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March 5th, 2009 at 9:20 PM
Nice review! I don’t see myself picking this up though, as I’ve played it countless times before…
March 5th, 2009 at 9:32 PM
ya the game was a bunch of fun. Although like I said in the review pretty frustrating towards the end
March 5th, 2009 at 9:35 PM
Great review. But I just can’t see myself paying for this suped up flash game. BTW I want to remind everyone about the NEWS button on the top of the site. It gives you a very clean and extended basic layout of everything posted, its basically what PSLS used to be, only that its now 1/8 of the whole site! Look at me speaking like im a staff member (wink, wink)
03/05/2009 at 9:41 PM
It’s not everything actually, reviews are now exclusively found under the review tab.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:40 PM
lol spread the word KnaveX spread the word
March 5th, 2009 at 9:50 PM
my bad john i meant to say everything news related, it was even in the back of my mind while i wrote it, then i forgot, dang.
March 6th, 2009 at 3:21 AM
Interestingly enough, Zuma is the game I play in between games, if that makes any sense. I really get a kick out of it.
March 6th, 2009 at 5:44 AM
@evo agreed it’s a blast when you do not want to play anything serious just start it up play for 20 minutes and then your done
March 6th, 2009 at 6:14 AM
I played the demo and liked it, but it was the same, the same, the same, till the end of the demo. Which was a real turnoff. But I guess if you guys like it as an “in between game” then its not all that bad.
March 6th, 2009 at 6:19 AM
Yep it isn’t really a game I can sit and play for hours on end. It definitely will get repetitive, but for a 30 minute break it works nicely.
March 6th, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Nice review but I wish this game supported a mouse. It would be soooo much easier to play
March 8th, 2009 at 11:19 PM
The part of Zuma that I enjoyed was that fact that I could load it up within seconds on my phone and play. Something about having to turn on the ps3, then wait for the game to load doesn’t really cut it for me.
March 9th, 2009 at 8:09 AM
i had some fun with the demo, it was def. a cool take on this type of game, though at 10 bucks i can pass.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Plus Remote Play… woooooo!
March 9th, 2009 at 12:17 PM
I will probably get this at some point. My wife loves this game. I just think games like this should be closer to $5. Most of them can be played for free on the PC. It is still a nice change of pace though. I get tired of killing things from time to time. Thats usually when I play my PSN games.
March 10th, 2009 at 11:27 AM
@Traxx – you mean you are that lazy you can’t wait a few seconds for it to load on your ps3? HHAHHAHA lol, seriously that’s funny
March 11th, 2009 at 8:11 PM
nice review
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:58 PM
@ KnaveX
i agree .. reminds me of battle tanks
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:36 PM
to much like battle tanks.. glad i never purchased it
November 4th, 2009 at 6:14 AM
there so many flash type games they all start playing and sounding alike.. lol. idk.. it looks cheap