Xbox 360; �29,99; cert 12; PopCap
The compilation, that evergreen provider of bloat to the video game racks. For the consumer, it's a way of getting many for the price of some. For the developer, it's a surefire method of squeezing fresh sales from slightly musty product, with the odd gem thrown in.
PopCap, that renowned creator of "casual games" (think: Tetris, Solitaire, Minesweeper) first sprang to prominence in 2001 with the maddeningly addictive Bejeweled. Since then, the company has assembled an impressive catalogue of dip-in, dip-out titles ? four of which are plucked from Xbox Live Arcade and compiled here.
Zuma, from 2003, is the oldest title, a pseudo-puzzler in the Bust-A-Move tradition which borrows heavily from late-90s title Ballistic, aka Puzz Loop. It features a snaking chain of variously coloured balls following a winding, pre-determined path towards an exit.
You, a frog (don't ask), are equipped with coloured balls of your own to try and stop them getting there. Fire them into the pack, and every same-coloured row of three-or-more balls disappears, temporarily halting the chain's progress. Sadly, this a slightly lazy port from the PC/Mac original, featuring an intrusive border around the main action as opposed to offering a full-screen mode, and those that have previously played with either a mouse or a scroll-wheel will find the Xbox controller a little clunky to use at first. That said, it's superb fun, with a satisfying feel as each ball fires off and clacks against others, pool-style.
Feeding Frenzy 2 is the Marmite title in the collection. A cross between Ecco The Dolphin and long-forgotten 8-bit classic Savage Pond, you begin as butterfly fish Boris, making your way around the ocean looking for schools of smaller fish to hoover up, avoiding ominously large predators, and gradually working your way up the food chain until you're big enough to gorge on pretty much everything in sight.
Expanding on the original with more power-ups, a great co-op two-player mode, some largely forgettable party games, plus additional levels which see you able to venture to the surface to pluck insects from the air and perform flips and flops, it's a cute mixture of hectic action and a soothing ambience, and while not for everyone, is well worth its inclusion here.
Quality drops as we reach Heavy Weapon, a fairly primitive side-scrolling shooter with a decidedly retro feel ? think Moon Patrol as reimagined by Michael Bay. You control Atomic Tank, attacking all that comes at you from air, ground and sea. Making use of a control system in the Robotron/Smash TV vein, left stick moves the tank, while right stick controls the direction of your fire.
After some straightforward opening levels, soon you find your reflexes stretched to their limits. But alas, while the air fills with pyrotechnics, fun remains thin on the ground. Repetition sets in fast and after a few inevitable and frustrating deaths, it's hard to muster up the will to start again. There's a decent array of weaponry and power-ups on offer, and multiplayer modes add interest, but nothing here isn't done far better elsewhere.
The real attraction in this package is Plants vs Zombies. A tower defense-style romp, it pits you against scores of the undead, armed with a series of plant-based weapons including pea-shooters, melon-pults, cherry-bombs, walnuts and (my favourite) corn-cob cannons to curb their progress. The most recent title here, and far-and-away the most polished, PvZ is far from "casual" gaming ? it takes serious willpower to stop yourself taking on each new level.
The controls aren't quite as satisfying as in the touchscreen versions (this is a game that excels on iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone), but they work extremely well. After building to an almost unbearably hectic crescendo, story mode does seem to end a little too abruptly, but while working through you'll unlock several other game modes and some very decent mini games, and there's plenty of replay value to be had.
An essential XBLA purchase, it's simply superb, and fully deserving of a physical release.
A mixed bag then, but perhaps the biggest reservation about PopCap Hits Volume 2 comes when you look at the maths. To download all four would cost you 3,200 Microsoft Points, which even at top whack works out less than the retail price of this compilation. Similarly, it's hard to fathom why the developer stopped at four titles. Downloading them all would only take up a little over 200Mb, so the DVD media is hardly being stretched to breaking point here.
Bejewelled Blitz, Peggle Nights and Bookworm are just three fine PopCap titles that remain uncompiled, and would have helped add up to decent value for �29.99.
As it stands, there's quality to be had here, but the discerning casual gamer would perhaps do better to invest in some portable storage and a fistful of points to cherrypick PopCap's best for themselves.
?�Game reviewed on Xbox 360
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