Zoop

Review

by Brett Alan Weiss

Zoop is one of the most addictive games to come down the pike since the late 1980s, when Tetris for the NES, Game Boy and PC stole so much time from so many gamers. Maneuvering the little triangle, quickly switching its color scheme, desperately trying to keep all the shapes from entering your territory, is challenging and a whole lot of fun. While playing this game, you'll constantly feel like the odds are against you (they are), so when you do make it past a level, your spirits will soar, at least for a second or two, until the next wave of shapes begins descending on you.

Zoop is an excellent game for many reasons: elegant simplicity, high level of challenge and engrossing game play. However, one thing that would have added a lot to the game would be a two-player mode. The ability to control the advancing shapes while a friend tries to keep you from invading his Center Square would add another dimension to this already excellent game. A two-player cooperative mode would be interesting as well, especially when the game gets too difficult to go it alone.

The Super Nintendo version of Zoop is very similar to Zoop for the Genesis, but with one overriding exception: the controls for this game are much better. In the Genesis version, when you aim your triangle up, it sometimes goes to the left or the right. Neither game has perfect controls, but the Super Nintendo control pad, which is generally a better controller to begin with, is much better suited for games of this type. You'll quickly become addicted to either version, but the Super Nintendo game is a more satisfying, less frustrating experience.

Like Tetris, Zoop is a deceptively simplistic game with very few rules, a clear objective and no secrets or surprises. And like Tetris, they'll have to chop off your hands before you'll be willing to stop playing. On second thought, maybe then you could play the game with your feet...