Pop

Developer: Nnooo
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0

Graphics / Sound [rating:5/5]
Game Controls [rating:5/5]
Re-use / Replay Value [rating:5/5]

Overall Rating:

Pop is a fantastically fun bubble popping game with multiple gameplay modes and some interesting power-ups to keep your interest. Think of it as popping bubble wrap amped up to the max. An OCD person's dream.

Pop first appeared as a WiiWare title on the Nintendo Wii a few months ago. This port of that game shows careful attention to the iPhone though as it has been overhauled perfectly to fit the game play differences between the platforms.

Your basic goal in Pop is to pop as many bubbles as you can. Seems simple but it's a little more involved than that. There are lots of variables that can lead to you getting more points or having more time left in your game. Some of the basics are that you get points and add time to for each regular bubble you pop. The larger the bubble is the more time it adds to the clock but the fewer points. You also get multipliers for chaining bubbles of the same color.

Here's a nice video from the developer that shows an overview of the gameplay.

[youtube dGWFGQ5GY28]

While this game seems rather simple, there are a lot of facets to the gameplay. Understanding them will help you achieve the best score. To that end, the application includes a great tutorial level that walks you through all of the chaining, scoring, and special power-ups in the game. Here's a video of part of that tutorial.

[youtube 0oaL30RJ6zQ]

Some of those special features of the game include powerups. Here's a video that goes over some of them.

[youtube GofWqdqjfsg]

In total there are 5 game play modes in this game. Three will be added once you finish the tutorial mode. There's also normal mode -- play for the highest score before the time runs out -- though time can be added by popping bubbles. Advanced mode - get 9,999,999 points in the least amount of time. Timed - pop as many bubbles as you can in a set amount of time. And then there's Chill mode. In Chill mode you just pop bubbles without any points or time pressure.

It's obvious that the developers really thought about how this game would translate to the iPhone. Some great extra touches show this. Features like playing the in game music only if you are not already playing the iPod. The ability to play in portrait or landscape mode. Color blind mode where the round bubbles change shape with each color having a different shape. Auto game save when you get a call or leave the app. The built in interactive tutorial. All great little features that put this game over the top.

Pop is a fun game that just seems natural on the iPhone. It just works. Considering the fit and finish on this game, it's a steal at $4.99. Loads of fun!