Actionloop Review

By Kristan Reed Published 1 February, 2007

Simple, but loveable.

Version tested: DS

If you keep up with the DS import scene, you might recall Nintendo releasing a puzzle game about nine months ago called Magnetica. Well, this is the same game under a different name - more in line with Mitchell's original PuzzLoop arcade game from 1998. Of course, if you've frequented the Xbox Live Arcade, you'll probably take one look at Actionloop and assume that this is a rip-off of PopCap's Zuma, but this is the real deal.

The gem-busting premise is largely the same as ever (i.e. heavily influenced by Bust-A-Move), but with a few interesting tweaks that, arguably, make the DS the best version of this hugely addictive puzzler. As ever, the idea is to make sure a spiralling line (or lines) of coloured gemstones doesn't reach the hole it's snaking toward. To do this, you have to continually flick gemstones from one or more launch pad(s) at the spiralling menace coming towards you - with three of a kind required to eliminate them.

The trick is to not only be quick and accurate, but to take advantage of The Rules of Attraction. If, for example, you match three reds and there are two yellow gems on either side, they will be attracted to one another, ensuring the line is dragged back a notch - helping to give you vital breathing space as you busily flick gems towards their target.

Zen puzzling

'Actionloop' Screenshot 1

Once you have multiple launch pads and different lines to deal with, the challenge really kicks in.

Actionloop manages to blend the formula three different ways, with varying degrees of success. By far the most maddeningly addictive is the Quest Mode, which contains 60 fiendish missions, along with a boss stage after every tenth level. The game is easily at its strongest when it's just tasking you with clearing all the gems, and this remains your sole goal on each and every stage. Where it starts to get more complicated is when it gives you multiple launch pads, not to mention multiple lines to clear. In what amounts to the puzzling equivalent of plate juggling, you're constantly having to divert your attention to what's going on elsewhere on the screen, trying desperately to stem the tide of one line, just as another threatens to reach its evil goal. When there are three... well, it starts to provide the kind of puzzling zen that all great games require to hold your attention.

But Actionloop doesn't simply provide more complicated layouts, it piles on the punishment in ever more fiendish ways. One minute you're trying to avoid little buzzing critters that deflect your gemstones away from your intended target, the next you're having to cope with electrified force-fields that shield entire sections of the line - forcing you to frantically focus on other sections to keep the line from encroaching too far.

And then just when you think it can't get any more evil, it starts placing black holes that suck your gems into oblivion if you stray too close to them, or it will fog up sections of the screen so that you can't even see the gems underneath. So what do you do? At first, I just tried a bit of educated guesswork, and then, knowing the DS I thought, "I bet you can blow them away". One quick puff later, the screen was clear. Genius. Your fellow commuters might question your sanity, however, so beware.

Points don't mean prizes

Now and then the game lends a helping hand, with various stopwatch icons appearing among the gems so that you can slow, stop or even reverse time if things are getting out of hand, or a Multicolour Bomb that lets you take out all the gems of the colour that you aim at. And if points are important to you, you can even direct gemstones into the little slots in the corner of the screen to activate a little fruit machine on the top screen - with bonus coins appearing if you get a matching pattern.

'Actionloop' Screenshot 2

The boss stages aren't a huge threat, but it's a great idea.

Anyone who played PuzzLoop or Zuma, though, will delight at just how well the game has been shaped around the DS. It's as if the game has finally found its true home, and works all the better as a consequence. Being able to use stylus strokes to flick gems with instant precision from the launch pad is a simply brilliant idea, and once you're having to constantly switch between multiple launch pads you soon realise the game just doesn't work as well using conventional control systems. Not only that, you get a much more satisfying sense of having full control over where the gemstones are going; with no need to rotate your aim, you can flick every which way in an instant, making games far more intense once things get going.

Checkmate mode, meanwhile, takes the opposite approach, and allows you to sit back and ponder your moves before you make them. Essentially, the idea still revolves around eliminating all the gems and not allowing them to reach the end of the line, but this time there's only a finite number on the screen, and they are fixed in position. For example, the early levels task you with clearing a small line of different coloured gems within three moves - with the general aim to cause a chain reaction in the right order so that one set explodes and triggers off the rest in the process. Sure enough, though, the challenge ramps up enormously - to the point where you're forced to try things every which way in order to root out a solution. Much like Mitchell's excellent (and rather under-rated) Polarium, you'll enjoy the challenge and admire the simple principle - and for quick sessions in a break at work or on a commute, Checkmate mode works like a charm, and with 60 modes to tackle, it'll last you weeks if you like chipping away at things at a leisurely pace.

Too much pressure

The mode that doesn't quite work as well, however, is the slightly ill-advised Challenge Mode. As John pointed out in his Magnetica review, it's just too frantic too soon, leaving you fighting for your life before you've had a chance to get into a groove. The general idea, again, is to eliminate gemstones just as with the Quest Mode. The difference here is that it's a level-based set-up, with the goal to get to level 99 to complete the challenge. Even on the basic Training level it's by no means a foregone conclusion, but on Normal (and beyond) it's utter chaos as soon as you get above level 50.

'Actionloop' Screenshot 3

Challenge mode isn't the game's strongest point.

What tends to tip the balance into the realms of unfairness are the rockets that appear every tenth level - forcing the line of gemstones towards the end line unless you can destroy it by flicking a gem in its direction. At first, this isn't much of an issue (because you'll be able to keep up with the elimination process), but once the game starts increasing the number of different coloured gems on the screen, the harder it is to clear a path to destroy the rocket. It reduces an already pretty frantic task to a lottery, as you're mostly at the whim of the sequence in which the game spits out the gems. You might squeak through if there are clusters of two or more to take out, but it doesn't always work in your favour, leading to much hapless flicking and a resigned frustration that the game doesn't really want you to succeed anyway. You might enjoy this mode if you're feeling masochistic, but otherwise, the real fun is to be found elsewhere - I would argue with John's assertion that this is the 'main' mode - it's just the first of three single-player modes, and one that's easily ignored. The rest more than compensates.

So what of the multiplayer? Well, there's no CPU opponent, oddly (considering the second screen), but you can take advantage of frantic single pak or multipak wireless two-player fun. In this helplessly addictive mode, your main goal is to destroy your gems quicker than your opponent, while also making the best use of the attack items, such as Black Holes, Smoke, and gemstone blocking Pillars. In general, the rule is that the more gems you destroy, the more blockers appear on your opponent's screen, and the harder it becomes for them, so if you can find a player of equal ability it's a great deal of fun. If you fancy, you can also determine whether to use attack items at all, as well as a handicap if you want to even the odds with a newcomer. Another neat touch is the way the game does a data exchange with Polarium Advance (not DS, sadly), unlocking 10 additional stages and two 'special' tiles in the GBA title. Whether you'll care about the presence of Actionloop's rumble pack is dubious - it's probably not really worth trading off your battery life to be able to feel the gems 'clunk' into one another.

Although you might baulk at the prospect of paying £20 for an ageing puzzle game that you can play on other systems for a fraction of the price (in which case, mentally dock a mark or two depending on how much this influences your purchasing decision), there are more than enough unique tweaks and additions to make Actionloop a worthy addition to your DS puzzle collection. While it doesn't have the incessant allure of something like Zoo Keeper, it's yet another puzzle game that benefits greatly from the addition of touch-screen controls, and one that will definitely stay in our DS collection for a long time to come.

8 / 10

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Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tejstar #1 5 years ago

    i hadn't eben heard of these - seems like it's worth checking out!

  • Tejstar #2 5 years ago

    Btw I love Zuma so this would be perfect for those dreary tube jouney's!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #3 5 years ago

    I played Magnetica a while back. I found it fun but then again only for 20 minutes. Sicne I don't take the public transport to get to work or anywhere else I only play at home and I don't know if it's worth it then. Maybe when it gets cheaper.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #4 5 years ago

    Der_tolle_Emil, you should learn the joys of DS bedtime gaming! 20 mins before you go to sleep is just perfect. ;)

  • Santino #5 5 years ago

    ^ dont forget the 'on the bog' session either ;)

  • UncleLou #6 5 years ago

    Der_tolle_Emil, you should learn the joys of DS bedtime gaming! 20 mins before you go to sleep is just perfect. ;)

    The number of times I woke up, only to find the stylus sticking to my body somehwere. :p

  • krudster #7 5 years ago

    /erases mental image.

  • UncleLou #8 5 years ago

    I'll post some pics later.

  • neilka #9 5 years ago

    As long as it's only "to" and not "in" :/

  • asphaltcowboy #10 5 years ago

    Great score... budget price you say?

    /is so very tempted!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #11 5 years ago

    Der_tolle_Emil, you should learn the joys of DS bedtime gaming! 20 mins before you go to sleep is just perfect. ;)

    I do. Nothing beats falling asleep over the DS. Currently though Rythm Tengoku refuses to leave my DS.

  • Pac #12 5 years ago

    Is there any difference between this version and Magnetica?

    I am guessing not.

  • Darren #13 5 years ago

    I don't own either a DS or PSP but I'm amazed at the amount of good solid *interesting* games that Nintendo's machine gets compared with Sony's which seems to get mostly safe and bland PS2 cast-offs from the reviews I've read. If I was buying a handheld I'd definitely go for the DS.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #14 5 years ago

    Buy one. You won't regret it. 20 minutes a day before going to bed or while on the loo will be worth it. Especially if you also don't own a GBA and can enjoy the vast amounts of great games now too. Plus they really look good on the DS Lite's screen.

  • Pac #15 5 years ago

    @Darren

    I would love to see some consumer usage statistics for the PSP as to how much time was spent playing games or using for other activities.

    I hardly ever use mine to play games but I understand that "some people" use the machine for watching "questionable" movies frequently.

    On the other hand, I use the DS nearly every day.

  • DFawkes #16 5 years ago

    To be honest, I just bought this for the Rumble Pak. Luckily I'm really enjoying it - I've never played Zuma or any other version so I'm not fussed about paying £20 for a web game with a Rumble.

  • jonsaan #17 5 years ago

    Trion Cube is a fantastic import puzzler. Check it out!

  • dirigiblebill #18 5 years ago

    Urgh. Do you guys 'enjoy' your DS anywhere other than the bog and the bedroom? ;)

    @ Darren

    I'm considering getting a DS but the charms of Wipeout, Daxter, MGS, Valkyrie Profile and Loco Roco are proving hard to resist...

  • GamerAddict #19 5 years ago

    Is this game colour-based only or is there the option to put symbols on the gems??

    Alternatively, is it just red, yellow and blue gems or are there more colours involved?

  • krudster #20 5 years ago

    Lots of colours, initially just two and then more and more as you progress. No options for symbols that I know of, which must suck if you're colour blind.

  • Razz #21 5 years ago

    I played Magnetica for about 3 months solid. This is a great game. Really addictive and challenging.

  • Kiigan #22 5 years ago

    Kinda weird to review the same game twice.

    But the new review is much better :) Love the game, wish they'd kept things simple and just called it "Puzz Loop" though - it even says that name on the back of the box!

  • krudster #23 5 years ago

    This game needed much more love, to be honest. And its long-overdue release and name change justified making people aware of its existence.

  • ED209 #24 5 years ago

    I've been playing zoo keeper for a while and you know, I still haven't unlocked the Apache gunship...

    Puzzle games, what are the point!?!
    I didn't care about my scores in 1981, and I still don't now!

    (tetris is ok though cos that's like Lego, innit)

  • Santino #25 5 years ago

    just bought this for £15, and i think its ace. games like this are what handhelds are about for myself, the DS simply has the games i cannot go without when bored at work and need to burn time in between serving customers (in a video rental shop part time).
    Between this, Sudoku Master and 42 All Time Classics i'm sorted for months and months.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #26 5 years ago

    Hurrah! At last that idiot Walker's deranged rantings have been set right. This is one of the best DS games you can buy. And it's exactly the same as Magnetica except Puzzle mode is now called Checkmate.

    Although personally I'd have been tempted to dock it 7 marks for the levels where you have to blow into the fucking mic. FUCK OFF, ALL MIC-BLOWING GAMES.

  • krudster #27 5 years ago

    Actually, I should have pointed out it says you can rub the smoke off the screen, so worth remembering when you're on the tube and don't want to look like you're frothing mad.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #28 5 years ago

    Because the first one was WRONG.