by:	April 25, 2006

AstroPop has an incredibly Japanese look to it, with it’s shiny Jolly Rancher like blocks, it’s crazy sound effects, and energetic style of gameplay that seems to have been lost to the rarely found puzzle arcade machines. The game is set up pretty simple, and from the start you are guided well so that you get the mechanics down easily. You have a little ship that you must suck up a block from the top of the board, and then shoot it back at blocks of the same color, connecting at least four of them. When you connect at least four of them you destroy the blocks. As time ticks, the blocks inch closer and closer to your ship, and if they end up crashing into your ship it is a game over. In one mode, when you destroy a certain amount of blocks, the level ends. You can take a number of blocks, and shoot them, as long as the colors match, and if you hit a certain amount of blocks or the blocks are lined up in a certain way you get a combo that could effectively destroy blocks around it. There are also little bombs in later levels and other modes of the game that if you destroy them, they will not only disintegrate blocks of the same color, but other blocks in the area as well. Along the way you will get dead blocks that can’t be taken off, but to balance it out you are given power-ups that help you destroy more blocks at a time.

The game has four different characters, each have their own variations of ships, and special moves, but you originally only start out with two, with each of the two characters playable at the beginning needing to save/unlock one of the characters. When advancing through the game, or playing one of the more difficult modes, as you destroy blocks and do combos a meter powers up. When you are getting stuck, you can use this power, shooting a laser blast, controlling it as you wish. The blast will destroy a few blocks and you will get a better chance of survival this way. This comes in handy especially in the more challenging mode of the game, Survival Mode. This is time based, and the difficulty of destroying the blocks is also increased.

What probably helps keep the game exciting is the fact that when you do a combo or something cool, there are a bunch of crazy effects on the screen and an announcer will say something like “Ultra Combo!” along with the energetic although sometimes annoying techno music. The visuals are bright, and they help add to the excitement. As of now, there really isn’t a game on Xbox Live Arcade like this one, and the Arcade definitely has been in need of this game ever since they launched it. Both modes are addictive, and they of course have their achievements, but you can easily get at least half the achievements within three days of hard play. Another drawback is there is no multiplayer; something that I will say time and time again needs to be a must for if you are making an Xbox Live Arcade title. The title is priced right surprisingly enough, and it is at least a break from when you get drained from playing a bit to much Oblivion or G.R.A.W.

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A fantastic title with appropriate visuals, sound, and energy. It’s a shame however that it all just seems so familiar. Despite the familiarity, it is really the only kind of game like it on the Xbox Live Arcade right now. If you need a distraction for this summer between playing baseball and having barbeques then you might want to check this one out.

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