In addition to the main game there are survival and challenge modes. What’s the point of running a race if nobody’s keeping time? What should have kept us occupied for hours barely held our interest. In games like this leader boards and records (mine or other’s) are a huge part of the experience and replay value, and their absence leaves a giant hole. As long as the level was completed, whether I did it fast or slow, with simple matches or mega combos made no difference. The lack of scoring means that there is no reward for playing the game well. Finish a level in an insanely short time? No one but you will ever know.

Squeeze a ball through a tiny gap to make a match? Doesn’t matter. Make a sweet six chain combo shot? Meaningless. Sparkle 2 lacks any sort of scoring system, and the game suffers greatly for it.

Unfortunately, while the base game play is solid, the designers seemed to think that alone was enough. Progression is one thing Sparkle 2 really nails – whether an enchantment or an additional game mode, finishing a level always moved me closer to unlocking something, which provided some motivation. Enchantments are arranged into groups, allowing me to pick one from each group to customize the game somewhat. The game also features enchantments, which can be unlocked through level progression and applied to the launcher. I could also swap my item for the next ball in the launcher, effectively holding it for later, which was cool. In addition to some fairly standard ones I got items that would shoot fire from my ball launcher, or shoot a cloud changing all of the balls within its reach to a certain color. Items are available, but rather than being random are awarded for every three consecutive matches. While the game play in Sparkle borrows HEAVILY from Zuma, there are some fun distinguishing features. Once a certain number of matches have been made, the chain ends and the player moves on to the next stage. A chain of colored balls rolls toward one or more holes in the ground, and the player fires balls into the chain to make matches, removing those balls and preventing the chain from getting to the hole. Sparkle 2 is a variation on the seemingly eternal match three concept.

While the core game play is fine, the game misses every opportunity to engage players, and is ultimately disappointing. Sparkle 2 presented us with the prospect of a new battlefield on which to wage war, but that conflict fizzled quickly. One of the rare exceptions was Zuma (and Zuma’s Revenge!), which locked us into a tense, controller passing battle for supremacy and bragging rights. I’ve said it before in both written and podcast form, but generally speaking my wife has zero interest in video games.

Sparkle 2 metacritic