![]() ![]() Sparkle does away with the scores, but still keeps the chains and combos. In a game like this, where time is of the essence, and accuracy is paramount, the touch screen controls are preferable. It makes things more accurate and more timely. You can simply tap where you want your shot to go, and tap the launcher to switch between available colors. You can use the analog stick and the buttons to play the game, but to really get the most out of the experience, you’re going to watch to use the touch screen. As you progress through the game, you’ll have more marbles to contend with, more colors, and a faster pace. Making a group of three or more like colored marbles will clear them out slowing down the train and maybe even reeling it backwards a bit. Your only defense is launching more marbles at the incoming ones. Veritable conga lines of colored marbles are being pushed down a track towards a hole in the floor. I wouldn’t say this is a game where you absolutely need to keep the volume up, but it won’t be a bother if you do. Using the wild card power-up results in an amusing laugh that never failed to illicit a chuckle. It feels more in line with a horror/adventure game rather than a fast paced puzzler. However, the danger music when the marbles get too close to the goal is a bit jarring. The fast pace and staccato strings work nicely with the every creeping stream of marbles. Keeping up with the fantasy theme, the music is darkly energetic. It’s a simple look, but one that looks more than fine for what it is. ![]() The various power-ups in the game create some amusing affects, such as bolts of fire, sprays of colored powder, and meteorites crashing onto the course. The colors are rich and dark, adding to the fantasy atmosphere the game is trying to convey. Your launcher is situated in a fixed point, and you launch marbles at incoming streams in order to create matches and clear marbles. Each course is a static screen with a trail for the marbles to follow. The presentation for this game is quite simple, as you’d imagine. Unlike Zuma, you don’t score points, so you’ll have to do with besting your own times. ![]() You can play any of the courses on one of four difficulty levels in order to best your own time. Survival is simply about seeing how long you can hold up, while challenge mode is more of a time trial. Playing a bit in this mode will unlock challenge mode and survival. The amulets are awarded for reaching milestones, and do things like speed up your shots, increase the rate of power-ups, and other suck things. The quest mode is rather light on story, but you have limited lives and can earn amulets that give you special powers. There are three primary modes in the game. However, it does have just enough differences to differentiate itself from that series while still keeping the essence intact. At first glance, it is simply a clone of Zuma. Sparkle makes its way onto the Vita over from mobile devices. However, it is entirely possible that a “clone” could be just as good or even better than the original. Mobile marketplaces and digital distribution centers are rife with copycat games that offer inferior experiences to the games they’re trying to be. In the age of digital distribution, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
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