Pop

When I downloaded Pop from the WiiWare Channel I wasn't exactly sure was I was going to be getting.  Was the game simply just you pointing at a screen and pushing a button for no apparent reason?  Well yes, and no.
I have found that I play Pop a lot, on average about 2 hours a week.  There's just something about the game that keeps me coming back and I don't really know why. 

Gameplay

At it's base Pop is simply just you sitting in front of your TV screen, pushing a button on your Wii Remote and popping bubbles.  That's it.  There's not much more to the game, or so it would seem.  Each level you are faced with numerous bubbles of differing colors.  By popping multiple bubbles of the same color you are adding to your scoring multiplier and raising your score ever so high.  You are penalized if you miss a bubble by a short period of time being removed from your time limit for the level.  Each bubble pops realistically so if there are bubbles that overlap it chances are you are going to pop that bubble as well.  If it's the same color it continues to add to your multiplier.  If it's a different color you have now broken your scoring chain and must start over.  By popping larger bubbles on the screen you gain even more points.  The bigger the bubble, the more the points.  By popping the smaller bubbles on the screen you are actually increasing your time limit.  There is some strategy there as you can prolong the level ever so slightly and give yourself chances for even more scoring.  Each level adds different colors and will also randomly change the direction the bubbles flow on the screen. 

Pop also features what could be considered a fairly strategic multi-player component.  This version of the game supports up to 4 players on one console.  Each players reticule will be a different shape to help avoid confusion on the screen.  Once you select your players and which profile each will use you're dropped into the game.  Gameplay is almost exactly like the single player portion of the game.  There are though, power ups that can be triggered that have varying effects.  Pop the "nuclear bubble" and you will cause an explosion that will pop every bubble of the same color the shockwave hits, each of those bubbles adding to your score multiplier.  Unscrupulous players will use the time penalties to their advantage.  Pop two or three bubbles, then continue to purposely miss every bubble on the screen and the level is over in 3 seconds.  You've just won the game and you didn't really do anything.  Perhaps that can be fixed if there are any future editions of the game. 


Visuals/Sound

The game has a very soothing audio/visual presentation.  The game uses vivid colors that can be very calming and the sound is serene.  No techno thumping in your ears in this game.  The menus are fairly bare boned.  There's no flash to them.  No explosions when you select an option. Just click and move on.  This could only be to help keep the file size down. 
These aspects don't detract from the game in any way, but they don't add much.  After a few minutes you'll forget about everything and all you will see is bubbles. 


Conclusion

There's not a lot to this game.  Thankfully the price comes in at a relatively low 500 Wii Points.  It's easily worth the purchase if you just want  a game where you can forget about everything and just waste some time.  It has online leaderboards if you're looking to prove you're the best bubble popper the world has ever seen.  You can also set it to a casual mode where there is no time limit and you just simply spend time popping virtual bubbles.  This is a great mode if you have a 3 year old who wants to play with you, but you don't want their lack of aim to ruin a level 3 seconds into it.  They can have fun shooting things on the screen while you're working on continuing scoring chains.