Nnooo's Pop is an unusual puzzle/shooter hybrid. It has a lot in common with matching-based puzzle games: activating multiple objects (in this case, bubbles, activated by tapping) of the same color as they fall builds a score multiplier, and gameplay-modifying items are found in some of the objects. However, unlike Columns or Bust-a-Move, there is little immediate penalty for missing. Bubbles don't build up and kill you when they fill up the screen -- they fly by at a constant rate regardless of your actions. You are required to pop consistently to fill a timer, but the lack of building stacks does change the character of the game a lot versus that kind of puzzle game.
Instead, Pop's tension is based more on recognizing the flying bubbles quickly, and popping as rapidly as you can with some semblance of strategy. There's no penalty for popping different colors, but popping the same color builds your score multiplier. Big bubbles add more time but less score, and small bubbles add more score but less time. Since all of these effects are still positive, the basic strategy of the game is to pop the hell out of anything that is a bubble. In this way, the game feels very much like a scrolling shooter.
Looking over this week's releases, we're fairly certain we know what most of you looking for a new experience to enjoy will be playing. Boom Blox does look very intriguing, so we're right there with you. Will it be everything it's cracked up to be? Well, those of you with the game already may feel free to let us know what you think! The rest of you who aren't going to be playing Boom Blox, tell us what you're playing!
We were already totally pumped about getting Cho Aniki on the European and Aussie Virtual Consoles, but our faces lit up when we saw what else was lying in store for us this morning. Metal Slug is the first Neo Geo game to appear on the download service since December 14th, but what a comeback!
From a value-for-money perspective, we'd still recommend picking up Metal Slug Anthology (especially now that it's so cheap), but it's great to see SNK's classic series represented on the VC (and this version even has Classic Controller support). Puyo Puyo 2 and TurboGrafx billiards title Break In complete this week's line-up.
Cho Aniki -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 900 Wii Points
Metal Slug -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points
Break In -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 700 Wii Points
Puyo Puyo 2 -- Mega Drive -- 900 Wii Points
Hop in your Slug and blast your way past the break to see all four in action!
... if you're in France. Despite much frantic hunting on the internets, we've only been able to locate this neat little piece of Boom Bloxmerchandise at a French outlet, where it's being given away to those who purchase the game early (Boom Blox launches across Europe tomorrow).
Although it lacks a ball to knock your blocks down with once you've finished building, assembling this puzzle is probably the perfect way to pass the time while your family plays on Boom Blox and you stubbornly refuse to admit that you might have been wrong. Bah. Oh, one word of advice, though: handle with care.
The first screens of Rubik's World, the puzzle game based on the colorful cube (which is, of course, a decorative item only, and not a solvable puzzle) show a beautiful, stark white environment and items made of Rubik's Cube components -- and no information at all about what the game is or how you would play it. Do you build a Rubik's Tree? Do you arrange parts into the shape of a tree? Do you throw a ball at it and knock it over? We're going to have faith that this is a game and not merely a 3D block building kit.
The press release accompanying the game refers to stuff like living "Cubies" you can interact with, music composition, and unspecified puzzles of some kind, as well as the classic Cube gameplay. We hope that whatever this turns out to be is as cool as it looks, because we could spend quite a bit of time staring at what basically amounts to 3D pixel structures.
Gamers these days seem to be obsessed with the divide between what's "casual" and what's "hardcore." Often, software is immediately labeled for one group or the other. That's why it's nice to see games that bridge this gap, like Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox. There's nothing better than a title that everyone can enjoy. Did people enjoy it, though?
The answer to that question is a resounding yes:
1UP(100/100) loved the game so much that they gave it an A+: "Boom Blox is simply a laundry list of great features and options wrapped around an incredibly fun, expertly designed, and well-tuned puzzle game. Sure, its cute veneer won't do it any favors with the more intense console crowd, but I found it charming and refreshingly cheery. It's a casual game made for a casual crowd, but it's far and away the best one I've ever played."
IGN(81/100) enjoyed a lot of the game's features, but felt that the title's biggest strength was its addictive multiplayer: "EA has really capitalized on the Wii remote to give you pinpoint accuracy as you make throws with real, calculated velocity -- throws that interact with block formations encased in genuine physics. You will find the single-player offering robust and varied, but the multiplayer mode -- compatible for up to four gamers -- is tantamount to crack cocaine in its ability to addict. And while there are hundreds of levels to keep you busy, there's also a full-blown stage creator that works hand-in-hand with WiiConnect24."
Wired(80/100) praises the game's mass appeal: "Boom Blox does what so many Wii titles wish they could, by splitting the difference between casual players and lifelong gamers. You can pass the Wiimote to your grandma or a 5-year-old and they'll have a ball with its clever mix of brainy puzzles and satisfying explosions. But hard-core players like me will find a surprising amount of depth to the gameplay and a satisfying, addictive challenge."
Since the game was announced, we've heard sources cite Nintendo's Dr. Mario WiiWare game (bundled with Brain Age 2's Virus Buster minigame) with two different titles, Dr. Mario's Virus Buster and Dr. Mario & Bacteria Extermination, both likely direct translations of the Japanese title, Dr. Mario & Saikin Bokumetsu.
If you kept your eye on the Digest Video that introduced today's Nintendo Channel release, though, you might have noticed Nintendo of America's official name for the puzzler: Dr. Mario Online RX. Not bad!
The two-and-a-half minute clip also revealed pricing for the game: 1000 Wii Points ($10). Unfortunately, there's still no word on whether Mario Mario, M.D. will debut with the download service's launch.
Much like we were, Penny Arcade was driven into a frenzy of Blox-booming desire by the recent Boom Bloxpreview video. What sounded at first like a mildly diverting concept has become the kind of thing we'd basically want to play all the time.
Tycho's enthusiasm for Steven Spielberg's latest (thing he's attached to in some unclear way) goes beyond wanting to play the game constantly. The fictional character based on the Penny Arcade writer wants to play Boom Blox not just while the Wii's on, but the rest of the time -- and meets with a somewhat unpleasant user experience with the "tabletop version" of the game. They're called Boom Blox and not Tumble Harmlessly Blox, after all.
This week, we've got two titles on the Virtual Console tap. How are they? Well, we can't waste precious space here telling you about them. That's what the video above is for! And, if you can't check out our videos for some reason, head past the break for some screens and text.
Wow, it seems like it was just a short while ago we were talking about Boom Bloxfor the first time. Actually, it wasn't too long ago. But, the game has come a long way since then and we know many of you are looking forward to it. As for the rest of this week's games, well, we're pretty sure that they're not going to win any popularity contests.
Well now, we know our Friday Video feature is usually for the more, uh, let's say interesting videos out there on the net, but we just couldn't pass up this pile of videos from upcoming EA title Boom Blox. They all show off the content creator at work, as well as some fruits from the labor of creation. So hit up the video above, then head past the break for loads more.
An immensely pleasing sight greeted our bleary eyes when we inspected the PAL Virtual Console this morning -- the revival of last September's Hanabi Festival! What does that mean? Simple: for the next few weeks, the VC will feature games that were previously unreleased in Europe or Australia, which we suppose justifies the slightly higher price tags.
Best of all, we're promised that this will continue for the next few weeks. Wonder what else we'll get? Here are this week's trio:
Columns III: Revenge of Columns -- Mega Drive -- 900 Wii Points
Final Soldier -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 700 Wii Points
Gradius II Gofer no Yabou -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 900 Wii Points
As usual, make the jump for footage of all three.
[Update: There's much excitement here, as further inspection of Nintendo's press release reveals that Speedos-clad TurboGrafx-16 shooter Cho Aniki will be one of the future Hanabi Festival releases!]
This blogger is more likely to throw a Rubik's Cube into a raging fire than make a realistic attempt at solving one, but surely some of you superfreaks readers out there enjoy the challenge. It's for people like you that Rubik's World was conceived, as it combines the iconic 1980s toy with modern-day technology.
This piece of software by The Game Factory promises "extremely addictive" puzzles that involve constructing 3D objects (therefore, you needn't worry, it won't simply be a virtual Rubik's Cube game). The press release also mentions navigating through mazes and creating your own soundtrack, the latter of which piques our interest.
Local multiplayer will support up to four players, but sadly, there will be no online play (aside from picture swapping and leader boards).
When we first heard about Pop (okay, maybe not right at first), we were charmed by its addictive-looking simplicity. That, though, was well before a slew of other games were announced for WiiWare.
That doesn't mean that we've lost interest in the bubble-themed puzzle game, but we'll be a little more picky when it comes to purchasing it. If you're on the same page as us, you might be thinking that the cost of Pop could be its "make it or break it" factor, which is why we don't envy the people in charge of making such decisions.
Nic Watt, creative director of Nnooo, says that it's difficult to determine how much the software will cost because there's no set line for WiiWare games. To be fair to consumers, the company is trying to base their game by Virtual Console standards. According to Watt, the game should be "somewhere between a NES and SNES game in price," which means it will cost from 500 to 800 points (aka, $5 to $8).
What say you, readers? Does that sound about fair?
The WiiWare version of Namco Bandai's popular, impossible-to-localize puzzle game Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan (Word Puzzle Mojipittan) got its first add-on pack today. For 200 Wii Points, an additional 30 puzzles, along with new background music for those puzzles, can be downloaded from the Wii Shop, which actually doesn't seem like such a bad deal.
The stages in the pack range from easy enough for children to "Ultra Hard," and have themes like "Countries of the World" and "Sweets." We aren't sure how themes in Mojipittan work -- spelling words in just the appropriate themes seems like it would be pretty hard!
Since the game was announced, we've heard sources cite Nintendo's 
An immensely pleasing sight greeted our bleary eyes when we inspected the PAL Virtual Console this morning -- the revival of last September's 
