I'm going to come right out and say it... I don't normally play games like Sparkle 2. My reflexes aren't what they used to be for one... although some would argue they never really were there in the first place.

Two, I find the repetitive action of popping marbles to be somewhat dull. I might as well go out and blow some bubbles and run around and chase them...

However, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with Sparkle 2 and why on earth it's getting such good reviews.

I really wasn't expecting much. Certainly not any kind of semblance of a story. I mean, come on man, I'm popping colored bubbles... what story could you possible come up with to make that remotely engaging.

Well they proved me right on this note... something about 5 keys are missing, and you have to search for them because they unlock some sort of hidden treasure. Meh... not the best story in the world... but I will admit certainly not the worst... and with marble poppers, I really don't put much emphasis on the story anyhow. So A for effort guys...

I was pleasantly surprised with the graphics of Sparkle 2. I don't know why, but I dug the brightly colored swirl of neon and tie die, a symphony of groovy that had me tripping over splashes of pink and purple shrooms. I felt like I had accidentally opened up a portal to the world of Fantasia and pretty soon I'd see dancing hippos and centaurs leaping across the screen.

To add to this particular whimsy, the music that burst onto the scene was brassy and bold, but with a classical flair. It was a mixture of classic music with notes of Harry Potter thrown in just for fun.

I'll admit, the most unexpected feature of Sparkle 2 was the gameplay. It was surprisingly intense and fast-paced. I caught myself sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to get the right color marble before it was too late. A twist in your classic marble popper game, Sparkle 2 gave you the choice of switching between two marbles at any time.

Tons of bonuses were available when you made multiple combinations, but in order to activate them, you had to throw a marble at it and hope you catch it. Throw again to release whatever bonus you happened upon. They had a lot of variety here from ones that blasted a set of marbles to ones that simply changed them all to the same color.

Before I knew it... I was hooked... how on earth did that happen? I'm not supposed to like games like Sparkle 2! I like games with depth and character... not mindless games that suck up my life... sigh... at least I that's what I thought. But there's just something about Sparkle 2 that mesmerizes me, and I can't seem to pull myself away... maybe it's all the pretty colors...