You know what are cool? Puzzle games. You know what game is a puzzle game? Super Bubble Pop. Yeah. It is. That means, in theory, that Super Bubble Pop is cook, and it is. As with most puzzle games, this one has absolutely no plot, and doesn't need one. Just "Poptastic" fun!

G R A P H I C S
These graphics definitely won't dazzle anyone, but they get the job done. They are very flashy and will probably some day give someone seizures because of all the flickering lights and colors. Depending on who that is, that could be either a good or a bad sign. I guess the most important things are the spheres, and they don't look blocky or chunky -- they look fine. What is most annoying about the graphics is the smeary-type look and feel that one gets while playing. Easily the worst-illustrated itemis the background, which is flashing, flickering, and changing the whole time. It looks very pixelated, no matter which background you choose (3 to choose from initially), and is extremely blurry, and almost makes the game itself harder.. That, by the way, is a cool feature, being able to choose the background, even if they look really bad. Another feature similar to this is the ability to change the way the "bubbles" look. Someone could have them look normal, look Christmas-y, look like faces, or look like many other things. That's a good option, too. One other thing that distracts the player is the "equilizer" in the background. On the back wall is a continuation of the grid you play on, and there are colors that seem to be random. The game tries to explain it, but it doesn't make any sense. Oh well. Not the end of the world.

G A M E P L A Y
This is where most puzzle games excell and rack up most of their points for the total score. Is this game any different? No. The game itself is pretty fun, and lasts for a little while. There are four different skill levels: Training, Chilled, Groovin, and Hardcore, each (in that order) getting increasingly more difficult. The difficulty levels are just about for everyone -- at least, everyone who either owns a gaming system or plays often. An inexperienced gamer who's picking up a controller for the first time in a while will have problems. Maybe an even easier mode would have been nice? The game can also wear out fairly easily, which is very disappointing. There is not much variety at all, which means it can get old pretty fast if you're just the average, no-preference gamer. However, if you love puzzle games, you'll love Super Bubble Pop. The multiplayer is also fairly unsatisfactory -- it really isn't any different from the one-player, you're just trying to win faster. It could have been something really cool like working from different angles to try to make the other person lose while you win. Or something like that. Yeah, that would be cool.

C O N T R O L
What is usually an easy 8 or so points for average control is not quite up to par in this game. The actual controls are fine -- the buttons and such -- it's the movements and reactions on the screen that could be better. The one thing that bugged me was that it was both hard to tell which line of blocks (er... bubbles) you are standing in front of, and hence limits gaming because it is so very easy to make a mistake. Again, especially very beginner-gamer-types will have problems in this area. Also, it would have been a tiny bit mor convenient if the L and R buttons were put to use instead of B and X -- there would be less moving around of the fingers and would provide for even faster-paced gameplay.

S O U N D
What the hell? Why is this sound so good? It just doesn't make any sense. The music is delicious. Technoized and dance-like, it completely sets the mood or the game and helps keep the pace fast and moving in the game. What's really (really) cool is the jukebox feature. It lets you create your own song lineup from a rather large list of songs that are availible. The songs sound better than the normal gaming music, but, of course no masterpiece (but then again, no technoesque music would really be considered a masterpiece). The sound effects (there aren't too many) are ok, but pretty unnoticable. Overall, wonderful sound.

"If you love puzzle games, you'll love Super Bubble Pop."

"The music is delicious."

I N - B R I E F
Graphics - 7.8
Gameplay - 9.0
Control - 7.2
Sound - 9.3
Overall - 8.6