Droppa Lite

Whilst looking for a new and addictive puzzle game I stumbled upon
"Droppa Lite" a game that was apparently a clone of the popular Sega
Genesis / Sega MegaDrive game "Columns". Columns was a simple idea and similar to Tetris but rather than needing to make a line across the screen you just needed to make a line of 3 of the same colour in any direction (horizontal, vertical or Diagonally) by rotating piece. It was seen as the Sega rival to Tetris and although it wasn't as good as Tetris it is still a very playable game that I still find myself turning on now and again.

The original Columns was a game that started slowly but eventually got up to speed and could end up being frantic sadly though this version of it really lacks everything the original game had. The game is slow, cumbersome, graphically uninteresting, musically garbage and frustrating...for all the wrong reasons. The controls, which were so simple on the original console port have no become as responsive as a coma patient (I'm allowed to say that damnit, I was in a coma) and just don't seem to work.

Whilst the concept is the same as Columns and in some respects the the graphics are "similar" it's taken the charm, the colour and the style and drained it. What were sparkly gems in Columns have become dull and boring squares with all the life of a stuffed animal and the game just looks so boring as a result. Sadly the sounds don't help the matter and whilst Columns had a fantastic musical score by Tokuhiko Uwabo which seemed to be Greek themed this has very basic effects when you move a piece or rotate a piece.

Yay the torture
has ended!

Sadly the developers of "Droppa" (both the "Lite" version which is free and the "Pro" version which has a small cost) CRB Games have managed to take a classic, destroy it and leave a really nasty feeling in my stomach. As a fan of Columns I feel disgusted by this cheap and tacky imitation that really doesn't do anything well. It controls badly, looks dull, sounds cheap and is our first entry into the Hall of Shame.

Addictiveness-3/10 If the controls weren't so broken it would be addictive. Sadly the controls are so badly done that you can't be addicted to it
Controls-2/10 It seems to respond sometimes but not all the time, the controls are simply frustrating
Graphics-5/10 They do a job but really are dull, lifeless and uninteresting
Sounds-2/10 Click, click woo...oh so amazing! The game this is based off has a memorable musical score this has...erm...clicks.
Originality-0/10 It's a straight off Columns clone...without the charm, the controls, the music or the playability.

Total score: 12/50

Overall it's garbage. I'm about to delete it (the first game from the Android Market that I'll have deleted from my Samsung Galaxy S2) it's genuinely atrocious. The only way it could be worse is if the game actually spat acid in your eye rather than just took a dump on Columns.

Game mark E