Zuma

Zuma is an action puzzle game that was designed by Bejeweled creator PopCap Games. The developers combined an interesting strategy with a nice variety of actions. Your game's goal is to destroy chains of colored balls, which are slowly rolling down all over the levels toward a sacred gold head. You need to destroy those chains when you have groups of three or more like-colored balls by shooting out of a stone frog. That’s how you’ll get bonuses and power-ups.

Graphics 3.5/5

Zuma’s graphics on PS3 doesn’t look as beautiful and smooth as it looks on other platforms. Visuals are also sharp, and, in overall, playing this game feels like the graphics were not enhanced for HD. So it becomes a little bit obvious that the game is a port from another system and doesn't use full capabilities of the PS3's graphics power.

Gameplay 5/5

Zuma is not a game from a regular puzzle category. It requires from you quick reactions as well as quick thinking and in overall is similar to a game - Tetris. "The rule of three" like in other ball-popping games is also applied here. Thus you should try to fire your ball at two or more balls of the same color to destroy the line. Then, the remaining balls merge to close the gap and likely set up some big combos. Special power-up balls can also suddenly come into play giving you the ability to shoot quickly, detonate sections with the balls or slow them down.

But unlike other ball-popping games, the balls strings are always spiraling, and on the move, so it’s harder to make a right shot and increases the risk of missing a one-colored group entirely. If you don't move quickly and let the balls reach the screen's center, you lose a life and must start all over again.

Also, certain levels challenge you to deal with multiple separate rows of balls and require from you to defend effectively against an attack from the two fronts.

Controls 4/5

In Zuma, you control everything with a stone frog that spits out colored balls. You can turn it the way you need from a top-down perspective and shoot. You need to aim carefully and make shots land where you expect them to because the string of colored balls is rolling unstoppable toward you and changing speeds depending on the level and some other factors. The controls are intuitive and fairly responsive, so they perfectly help you to think quickly and aim precisely.

Replay Value 4.5/5

Zuma is a quite exciting and interesting game. But it’s needless to say that all games of this kind get familiar quickly and can become even boring after some time. However, with this game the more you test it, the more addictive it becomes.

There are 20 temples to explore, and each of them has five and more stages additionally. Moreover, this game has an Adventure mode to conquer, so Zuma can last far longer than you initially suspected. So progressing through all of these levels and stages you will measure time in hours rather than minutes and want coming back for more. Thus be ready to struggle with stopping yourself from play.

In-app purchases

Zuma for PS3 costs $4.99 and doesn’t have any in-game purchases. So you can just buy it and start enjoying the game right away.

Conclusion

Zuma is a reflex-oriented puzzle game with a distinct look that has a lot of various levels to complete and temples to explore. It will also surprise you pleasantly with different trophies, PSP Remote Play support, and an online leaderboard.

• Graphics 3.5
• Gameplay 5
• Controls 4
• Replay Value 4.5

Pros

challenging and responsive gameplay;
attractive graphics and good sound effects;
a wide range of trophies;
online leaderboard;

Cons

only two game modes;
no options for controlling;