Zuma, one of the best-selling casual PC and mobile games, puts you in charge of a stone frog that must spit colored balls into an ever-snaking chain of spheres. When three or more of the same color touch, the combo vanishes. Depending on where the combo is in the chain, you can either send the chain reeling backwards or at least halt its progress. If the frontal ball in the snake drops into the hole, the entire chain falls in and you lose. There are coins you can collect for bonus points and special power-up balls that, when destroyed by a combo, had various effects on the chain. It's a rather simple premise, based on the popular Japanese puzzle Puzz Loop, and it's a lot of fun on the iPod.
The click wheel works exceptionally well for Zuma. Rotating your frog to line up shots is easy and the degree of accuracy surpasses the great mobile version. The game includes dozens upon dozens of puzzle screens, offering solid play value -- you're getting a lot for your $4.99 here. The game looks sharp on the iPod screen, too, and if you aren't listening to your own music, Zuma pumps out some jungle-tinged tunes to go along with the Incan theme.
