''AstroPop'' is a real-time puzzle video game developed and published by

PopCap Games PopCap Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Seattle, and a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. The company was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka. Originally founded under the name "Sexy Action Cool", ...

. The Adobe Flash version can be played online for free at several different websites, or a deluxe version can be downloaded and unlocked for a fee. The game is available for Xbox and Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade. ''AstroPop'' was ported over to the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

in 2007 alongside another PopCap game, '' Bejeweled 2'' which was released as a two-game compilation pack as ''PopCap Hits! Volume 1''. The game has also been ported to cell phones.

Gameplay

The object of the game is to clear a certain number of bricks in each level in order to fill up the ''Brick-O-Meter''. Players control a ship which moves horizontally along the bottom of the screen. The ship can grab and release bricks (up to 6 of the same-colored bricks at a time), moving them from one column to another. If the player releases bricks such that 4 of more bricks of the same color are touching, the bricks explode. As bricks explode, the bricks below move up to fill in the gaps. If this causes 4 or more bricks of the same color to meet, they too will automatically explode (referred to as a ''combo''). New rows of bricks continuously arrive from the top of the screen, at a rate directly proportional to the level of play. The game ends when any column of bricks touches the bottom.

Reception

Most reviews of the game indicated that, while somewhat similar to existing offerings, it offered enough new elements to be worth playing. In a review of the Xbox 360 version, TeamXbox concluded that "''AstroPop'' offers enough fun in its gameplay and design to warrant the purchase." GameSpot, reviewing the

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version of the title, felt that it played well and that it "should appeal to virtually every mobile gamer out there", resulting in a score of 8.5 out of 10.

References

External links

Official ''AstroPop'' website at PopCap Games

Xbox.com ''AstroPop'' game details page
* 2004 video games PlayStation 2 games Flash games Mobile games Original Xbox Live Arcade games Puzzle video games PopCap games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox 360 games {{puzzle-game-stub Single-player video games