Atlantis Sky Patrol: Save the World One Marble at a Time

App Name:	Atlantis Sky Patrol
Platforms:	iPhone, iPod Touch
Publisher(s):	Big Fish Games
Genre(s):	marble-shooter

At its core, Atlantic Sky Patrol Sky is nothing new. It’s a marble-popping game in the same vein as Luxor, Stoneloops, and Bust-a-Bubble. However, Big Fish Games presents this marble shooter in a stylized, attractive package that will at least push it to the top of the list of games you already have in the same genre.

Those few people who haven’t played a game like this before will catch on quickly . . . You control the ship at the bottom of the screen by sliding it left and right. A marble is pre-loaded at the tip of the ship so the color can be seen. Tap the ship to launch the marble, and hopefully you’ve aimed it towards a line of at least two marbles of the same color coming down the tunnels. Once a line of three or more marbles of the same color is struck, it explodes and the overall chain of marbles becomes shorter, and you’re that much closer to completing the level. Atlantis Sky Patrol presents some slight twists on this formula, but that’s marble-shooting games in a nutshell.

A game like this that doesn’t bring a lot of new gameplay to the table relies on presentation, and that is where Big Fish Games succeeds. There is a thin story line (it couldn’t support much more) in which we learn that there are over 100 doomsday devices planted around the world. Our job is to take our ship to the locations and disarm these devices . . . A side note: Technically, we shouldn’t call the colored pieces “marbles.” In keeping with the game’s theme, they are parts of the doomsday devices that need to be destroyed. As you continue through the game, every so often the front page of a newspaper will be displayed. All that can be read is the headline, and in this way the story moves forward as we progress, with little bits of information being given about who planted the devices. From the in-game graphics to the story interludes, everything is done in a cool art-deco style. These glossy, smooth visuals really help keep the game and its appearance from getting stale.

Big Fish Games included several clever touches to set Atlantis apart from other similar titles. As far as gameplay, not only do we have to clear the moving chains of marbles, but there are also stationary pieces that you have to shoot at whenever a moment can be spared. Once these are cleared out no new chains will come down the line. This splits your attention and is a nice, challenging touch. Each marble also has a “secondary” color, meaning you can change the color of the pre-loaded marble that is about to be shot (this is done by shaking the device). Power-ups drop down from bursted marbles and can provide momentary advantages like special explosions or a brief pause of the moving chains. At the end of each level, coins are awarded depending on how long it took to finish, and these can be used toward leveling up your ship in a handful of categories. Lastly, the developers threw in bonus rounds that allow you to collect more coins. But these bonus rounds are the same every time and quickly get old.

For the time being, Atlantis Sky Patrol stands as the best of its genre. Even though it doesn’t strive to break a lot of new ground apart from some gameplay and graphics innovations, what it has to offer is polished and enjoyable. There are certainly more impressive titles available for 99 cents, but anyone drawn to marble shooters in the past should download this game ASAP.

Our Rating:  3.5/5

Altantis Sky Patrol is curently available in the App Store for $0.99 at the time of the review.  (App Store)

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Devin Wieland

 

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