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PS2
Plus Plum 2 Again
- New Import |
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NCS
Game
Synopsis
«©NCSX»
An ancient artifact which holds untold power is
discovered in a small burg but no one knows how to
unlock its mysteries. The mayor of the town
announces a competition for the prize with the
stipulation that the winner spends a month trying to
decipher the artifact's secrets. When news of the
contest spreads, champions from around the world
descend on the town to get a chance at ferreting out
the artifact's power. Twelve adventurers in
particular have plans for the mysterious artifact...
Enter Plus Plum 2 Again, a competition puzzle game which features
three types of falling objects that must be
color-matched in groups of three. The wrinkle in
PP2A is that once a color-match is performed, the
disappearing objects change the colors of every
contiguous object. For example, a red sphere shifts
to blue if a color-match is triggered next to it. By
careful planning and color stacking, one may create
multi-chain color combos by taking into account the
color change factor as objects are faded from the
screen. The other wrinkle in Plus Plus 2 Again is
the concept of weight in the game. The platform that
holds each player's crop of falling objects is a
scale which rises and falls based on how many blocks
are sitting on it.
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NCS Game Notes
» In the intro to the
game, a voice over explains the situation while an
image of a recently discovered artifact appears on screen. The
camera shifts to a scene of a burgeoning crowd which includes
exotic individuals such as a
vampire, a wolf man, a Chun-Li look-alike, a skeleton,
and others. The lead protagonist is also in the crowd and
is determined to find out more about the treasure while everyone
else muscles for rank. A total of 12 characters are
featured in the game to provide competitive foil.
» Upon starting the game, four characters are
selectable to be used as the hero - 2 boys and 2
gals. The hero is a guy who wears a red headband of
some sort that holds up his spiky hair. He carries a boogie board. The
other male character dresses up like he's Sherlock
Holmes. The first girl has a hat with mad furls that
fall from both sides and a matronly dress. The
second girl is tomboyish with a rose that
holds up her waist sash, a pair of bracelets, and
a trucker hat.
» The screen is split into two sides with the
player's character on the left side of the screen and
the COM-player or second player on the right side. Before each puzzle battle, the characters have a
bit of interaction which features voice actors and
text bubbles. A scale that's supported by a pulley system of some sort
serves as the platform for each player. The pulley
raises and lowers the platform throughout the match
as blocks and spheres pile up and vanish. For
example, if you're faltering and unable to create
color combos, the weight of the clutter on your side
will push the scale down and raise your opponent up.
If you create combos and send ordnance over to the
opponent, his or her platform will go lower due to
the newly added weight. However, if your
opponent pulls off masterful color combos, he'll
also dump chunks of objects onto your scale to fill
it up and weigh it down. Once an obstruction causes
a piece to halt at the top of the screen, the battle
is lost.
» The game consists of falling circles, squares, and
crosses that descend
from the top of the screen. It's possible to change
the color of every falling object by pressing either
the SQUARE or X buttons. The aim is to match at
least three objects of the same color in a
contiguous group. Players may opt for horizontal,
diagonal or L-shaped contact of the objects to fade
them from the screen. When a group of items is
removed from the screen, they'll affect the objects
that they were touching before the fade and change
their color. Every object has two color dualities.
For example, if you group three red spheres together
that were once touching purple squares, the squares
will change color to yellow afterwards. By planning
careful arrangements of colors and stacks, one can
create chain combos. Creating a chain combo throws a
layer of blocks onto the opponent's side which have a
countdown value. For example, when they first fall
down, they are null and count down from 5 to 0
before they change into colored objects. Before the
change, they cannot be color-matched against and
provide ample inconvenience during a fast-paced game
where the stacks are rising to the top of the
screen.
» Plus Plum 2 Again pits players against members from the
crowd that appeared in the intro to the game. The third opponent
is a skeleton guy with a sombrero and a cross
necklace.
» In addition to winning matches by beating the
other opponent the conventional way, it's also
possible to launch special attacks against the
opponent by pressing the "TRIANGLE" button as long
as you've accumulated the attacks by creating color
matches. If you launch three special attacks
against a foe in sequence that sends weights to drag
his/her platform down and he's unable to counter
with a color combo to raise his scale within a
3-second countdown, you'll automatically beat him
and send him scurrying away.
» The various characters in the game have different
special attacks and defense skills to counter the
opposition. The characters also have different taunts
to ridicule a player.
» Game Modes include the default Rally Mode, a VS
Mode against a second player that may be human or AI
controlled, a Tournament Mode, and a Practice Mode to learn the ropes
of the game. A Victory Mode and a Battle Mode may be
unlocked after meeting certain conditions.
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This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc.
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