Snood 2: On Vacation Mobile Review

All right, straight off the bat, let's get one thing set aside here. Snood 2 is not a game that relies on originality. Sure, it's a sequel to start off with, but another thing you have to keep in mind is that it originally borrowed its gameplay concept from Taito's Bust-a-Move series, except it replaced the bubbles with monstrous creatures that made faces at you. With that in mind, I can honestly say that Snood 2 still manages to avoid the pratfalls of other puzzle games and manages to keep replay value fully in mind.

Like I said, the concept is hardly original. You man a cannon that shoots out little ugly beasts, as well as the occasional power-up, and your job is to line up 3 or more similar enemies in a row as you proceed. There is a timer that ticks above, and once it reaches a specific point, the screen lowers a notch, making your playfield a bit more limited. Fortunately, you have said power-ups to your advantage, like helpful "linking" bubbles with question marks and little bombs that obliterate whatever they come into contact with.

The graphics are sufficient for a game such as this, even if the sound is somewhat non-existent. But what players will really enjoy here is the gameplay options. The general game in itself is easy to learn with precision and speed, and you'll need it as the later levels ramp up. While the game sorely lacks a multiplayer option, it makes up for it with a number of modes.

Levels simply takes you into specific levels where you have to clear the screen in a given time frame. Puzzles gives you a preset pattern to beat in as little moves as possible. Journey is a progressive version, with harder levels coming into play to keep you going. Armageddon stacks the screen with these suckers and dares you to clear them. Finally, Revenge is a neat little mode, where, if you take too long clearing the screen, the monster icons become unremovable skeleton icons, with only bombs to save you. The ability to save high scores is a nice touch, and allows you to challenge friends.

Snood 2 probably won't be remembered years from now as a bonafide classic, like Bust-a-Move clearly is. However, for being a "me too" title, it has enough value to make it worth the download for your cell phone. The modes offer hours of fun and the challenge picks up at a nice pace. Go with Snood, dude.