I loved Zuma Deluxe and I love several of the other marble-popper games. There's always something a little different in each one. Aqua Pearls is very cute and very entertaining. Thanks GGOTD!

What a great web site,
If you dont like the give aways dont down load them,
And dont moan.

#29: You mean FREE? Can't beat the price!

Hi i have read a few of the comments today Sorry that someone decided to take their frustrations in life out on you Whiterabbit. I think that some of the people in here that are so negative don't have anyone in real life to vent their frustrations so they come and attack someone that is well liked to get our hate messages back so they can feel worse then they already do. I will pray for you msmythbuster as i feel you really need our prayers to make your life more pleasureable this is a great community here and we love everyone the same *HUGS*

Thanks GGOTDD and Realore. I love Zuma type games - liked the cuteness of this one, even the Oh No when I say that I am quitting the game!

I am new to this site, this is only my second download. I wait till the evening to read all about the game. I really appreciate being able to read the reviews before I decide to download. Many thanks for this free site and many thanks for the thorough reviews.

Thank you to GAOTD and Realore for this adorable game! The download and setup took under four minutes on my Windows XP system and plays without any problems. This game does play like a few others, but with the various game modes, easy to hard, and endless-play, a kid of all ages can and would enjoy this game. The little dude grows on you and is even sad to see you leave. Thanks for another great game from Realore, to be played along side Turtle Odyssey 1 and 2.

Thanks Stephen for your wonderful review of today's offer. As aways, I'll be looking forward to your new game review tomorrow.

Nice little shooter, similar to Inca Ball offered a few weeks back although not as complex. Resolution is so-so (800 x 600) with no option to change.

Crashed when I tried to turn off Full Screen
Worked in Vista Home (Adventure), but then crashed...reason unknown. Info on crash:

Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: pearls.exe
Application Version: 0.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 43eaf438
Fault Module Name: pearls.exe
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 43eaf438
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 0005a007
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 8d13
Additional Information 2: cdca9b1d21d12b77d84f02df48e34311
Additional Information 3: 8d13
Additional Information 4: cdca9b1d21d12b77d84f02df48e34311

Just love this game "ThanX a lot for this" :)

Only tested Adventure mode so far and have enjoyed it....Really hard
though when you get up the levels but hey it is an challenge and
so it will stay on my hard drive for quite some time I believe.

Only one little problem that I found is that if your mouse cursor get
outside the full screen and you click the game will stop and be
minimized to the tool bar (but no big problem though) as one just
click then to get it back up and running and one do get used to
keep the cursor near the middle.

Many games been made in this bubble play but I must say that this
is the best one I played so far.

This game has the usual Realore issues switching video modes under Windows Vista, particularly if you're running the Aero interface.

To run the game in windowed mode, browse to C:\Program Files\Realore\Aqua Pearls and double-click on the game.ini file you'll find there. It will open in Notepad. Make the following changes:

FullScreen=0

and

xs=800
ys=600

Exit Notepad, saving your changes when prompted. Now the game will run in a window with no problem.

This works on a number of different Realore games, although unfortunately not all of them.

Well, I was unexpectedly busy today, and I don't have the time to write a review before I and my family go out for the evening, so there will be no review from me today. I apologize for the excessive delays after I got back from vacation, but I'll try to get one done tomorrow. Sorry.

>Donald

"This game is like “Magic Tea”, “Dragon”, “Arabica”, and literally dozens of other games that have been proffered here. Those games are great fun, but there are only so many times one can stomach minor variations on the same blueprint day after day after day. Can GameGiveaway look into some other concepts perhaps?"

Wake up! We all remember the solid block of match-3s that we got in late 2007, but there's been a lot more variety recently. I do agree that there's been a dearth of decent shoot-em-ups recently, though.

have few other games similar to this, mainly Luxor, Dragon, Pirate Popper, all basically the same

Just realized I'd not uploaded the images I said I was going to do earlier today - well they are now uploaded for those who check them out daily. The meeting was very tiring so crashed out after finishing the update above (comment #22) and forgot to upload the extra images. Sorry about that (again :oops: )

Sorry, but SCORES d'ont work in this game

This game is like "Magic Tea", "Dragon", "Arabica", and literally dozens of other games that have been proffered here. Those games are great fun, but there are only so many times one can stomach minor variations on the same blueprint day after day after day. Can GameGiveaway look into some other concepts perhaps? Classic vertical or horizontal aircraft shooters (like "Jets 'n' Guns"), 2D or 3D platform games, first-person shooters, etc., there are so many alternatives. I have virtually no sense of anticipation coming here anymore, because I know it'll be more of the same swill. And one thing you do need for your website's survival is regular, reliable currents of traffic, regular "clientele" as it were.

Clones? Shmones. If it's a good game with no issues I'll try it once. If it is well done, just plain fun and the levels get really hard - I'll keep it.

Still played by me from the first Giveaway so I gave it another thumbs up :)

>Lockett#27. Hi Lockett... I do agree that Puzz Loop was probably the first computer game of thise sort (and who knows where they got their idea), and the term "zuma-clone" makes me uncomfortable also. To me, a clone is when someone tries to make an exact copy of something, in this case a game. But I guess people related it to Zuma, because Zuma was the first real smash hit of games of this type, and really was the #1 game of it's release year for dozens of sites. (Had never heard of Puzz Loop before Zuma, and it's graphics and style are totally different than Zuma's are.) So I guess it's a whole game genre now, just like there's many versions of match-3s. Zillions! lol. But I still use the term zuma-like (instead of zuma-clone) because people automatically know what you're talking about. (whereas with Puzz Loop the majority wouldn't) So it's actually it's own genre at this point. Wonder what the very, very first match-3 was called. There had to be many before Diamond Mine, yet that was the first big "hit."

When I saw the Bubble Man on the intro picture, I wasn't going to download this, as I did't care for the last one that was offered. (Don't recall the name--Aqua Bubble?) But reading Whiterabbit's excellent review convinced me to try it, and I love it. Installs great, and the terrifc is fun for those of us who enjoy Zuma/Luxor style games.

Thanks, GGOTD, and Stephen for all the great games and reviews!

#16 aubo, Thank You very much for your suggestions :)Did as suggested about the driver, but my PC won't have it for some reason, (which this forum isn't the right place to discuss) so I have downloaded and activated the game, hoping I can find an answer to the problem later.

Also tried reinstalling as well as changing the screen res. all to no avail!

I have put the game on my Laptop, and it plays like a dream on there! I won't let my grandchildren play on my laptop though, hence the wish to put it on 'the old' machine.

Also MY thanks to whiterabbit, always a joy to read your reviews :) My eyebrows still haven't come down from my hairline after reading yesterdays attack on you!!!

Kind regards...

I love Zuma clones when they are this cute, such as Tumblebugs (please GGOTD offer it). It's been about 2 weeks since anything has appealed to me so thanks!

Thanks, Whiterabbit aka Stephen, for your valued review.

I wasn't really interested in keeping the game, but I wanted to at least try it out. I found it installed on my Vista just fine, but it "stopped" when I tried to set the option away from the default Full-Screen.

Any suggestions?

This game is a very good clone. I still prefer Dekovir's Chameleon Gems, which comes at the same price, but it's certainly good enough to warrant a thumbs up.

D/L and install went fine but when I try to open the game I get a Direct-X error message that says you need 8.0 or higher.....I have 9.0 so what's up? I'm too sick to deal with this right now so if anyone else has the problem and figures out a way around it please let me know. I'll check back later today. Thanks

>Ghoti

"I disagree that this is a zuma-clone. Zuma-like, gameplay is the same. However, the path the balls take are different, as are the powerups."

The fact that the gameplay is the same makes it a clone. By your definition, the only clones ever made have come from China. ;)

Oh, and will everyone please stop calling it a clone of Zuma? Zuma was ripped off of a game called Puzz Loop, and the creator of the latter game actually sued PopCap for stealing his idea. Give credit to the original!

I will review this game when I have the time today(it could be very soon, actually!).

I disagree that this is a zuma-clone. Zuma-like, gameplay is the same. However, the path the balls take are different, as are the powerups. Count me as one that will be getting this, I love this style of game.

Installed easily and when I played I was very happy with the game. Its fun and very enjoyable and I love these type of games. I know we need to post in the forums game suggestions and I have but alas never did receive and news, replies or feed of any kind. I would love to be able to get Butterfly Escape again. It was given to us before and I keep hoping for a repeat. I loved that game so much. Anyway I will keep checking daily and still hope it does come back again. I lost mine due to comp failure. Again, todays game is great and thank you so very much. I have never been disappointed in all the downloads I have from this site. Thanks a bunch GGAOTD and also thanks Realore.

Oh my gracious! This is so CUTE! I have Zuma and clones of Zuma, but I have never graphically enjoyed a Zuma clone so much! Even on the menu screen where you choose what action you want to take the graphics with the little bubble creature are amazingly cute. When I moused over the list the creature held up wrenches for options, a question mark for help, and scowled at me for exit! And when I did exit, the creature and the fish waved tissues and said goodbye! I love this game! Having the bubble creature sit in a clam shell in a chair with that big gun and shoot the balls, the action of pulling back on the gun, and the fish zipping around into the finish shell when you win a level... this is amazingly well done! The background is awesome. I am so very impressed. Realore has made a very entertaining game and I could not be happier to have the opportunity to download and play it. 10 out of 10 for me! A BIG thumbs up! What a gift!

(Can ya tell I am happy?)

Thank you Realore Studios for your generosity. Thank you GOTD for finding this game for the giveaway. Way to go, Team! :-D I will be placing a long distance phone call to a friend to let her know this game is a definite must have.

White Rabbit... I appreciate you and your reviews. I appreciate hearing about how you are doing and I keep you in my thoughts. Physical problems suck. Keep up the reviews as you are able. It is ALWAYS good to hear from you. Blessings...

I have nothing to add to the positive reviews here, really. Just casting my vote. I downloaded this game last time around and was delighted with it. Still have it- still play and enjoy it.

Addendum to my review:

I didn’t really explain the differences between each of the four modes in my review posted earlier this morning, partly because I needed to get some sleep as we had an important meeting with my solicitor today; so I rushed the review a little. It wasn’t until Goodtwin pointed out the differences that I realized my oversight, so rtesolved to add to the review once the meeting had taken place, which was thankfully a home visit by my solicitor. I’ve updated the screen captures to include a couple of end of level stats pages, which you get with the puzzle and strategy games and a levels map with the adventure mode as well as a screen capture of the bonus updates. There’s also an image that shows how the boards get a little more challenging with double rows of pearls rather than the single ones you usually get. The following is a summary of each of the modes - which I should have included earlier – sorry about that :oops:

Adventure mode:

Once stars start to appear which is from level 2 onwards you should catch as many as you can as these go towards upgrading your bonus items. When a bonus item appears you need to capture it relatively quickly as it only stays in place for a short period before moving on to another position. There are forty levels in this mode which are divided up into four stages. At the end of each tenth level you will meet an end of level boss which according to Game Seeker (from the first time it was given away) creates havoc by randomly adding more pearls to the string you’re trying to destroy. The bosses you’ll meet on this journey are a crab, angler fish octopus and a shark. I presume these also relate to the four stings of pearls that were stolen; however I can’t be sure as I’ve not played the adventure mode to the end of the first 10 levels yet.

Strategy mode:

I found this one relatively easy, though I could just have been lucky, having completed the first two levels in less than 40 seconds each and the third in under 2 minutes. The aim here is to clear away the fish from the arena by removing three or more pearls when they are adjacent to the fish. The strategy mode gradually gets harder as the number of fish is increased. The first two levels had four fish to remove and then this number increased to five fish. You can change the pearl skins or change the difficulty settings anytime in between levels and it will not affect your saves which are automatically done when you leave the game each time.

Puzzle mode:

In this mode you are given a limited number of shots that can be added to by collecting stars from within the string of pearls. Every time you collect a star you get an additional shot. The level ends in three ways. You complete the level and remove all pearls, you run out of stars, which you can see via an indicator to the top middle right of the playing arena, or if your string of pearls arrives at the clam shell.

Endless:

This is exactly as the name implies, endless. The aim is to score as high a score as you can. This is the only mode where you don’t save your progress because you can choose any of the fifteen levels whenever you boot up the game.




If you’re not that familiar with Zuma style games and enjoyed today’s giveaway let me recommend two that are must haves of this sub genre of match three games. Any one of the Luxor games though Luxor III I would highly recommend and also Atlantis Sky Patrol. Both are fabulous and in my opinion are probably the best of this genre. If I had to choose between the two I’d go for Luxor II, but only just as I thoroughly enjoyed playing Atlantis sky patrol despite it not having the scope that Luxor II has. You can download demos of both these games from the links below:

Luxor 3:

http://realore.com/luxor3/

Atlantis Sky Patrol:

http://www.tucows.com/preview/507360

interesting ... I installed it and on first run it says "Error: The program needs video hardware supported DirectX 8.0 or higher version" ... that's verbatim.

And there is some odd graphic wierdness while this box is up. It goes away when I close the box.

DXDiag reports DirectX 9.0c installed. I'm running XP SP 2. Not sure what gives.

i really think i would enjoy the game it looked fun

This is wonderful! The music, the graphics, the gameplay, everything is just about perfect. I've installed this on my work computer, watch my productivity take a nose-dive. ;-)

I also had the problem with it crashing in Vista when trying to put it into windowed mode, but it worked fine in XP.

With higher resolution monitors becoming so popular, maybe it would be a good idea for something like this to default to windowed mode in it's options, versus forcing a resolution change upon initial startup. Because of that, it looked rough in full screen on a "standard" LCD with 1280x1024 native resolution, but was terrible when it was distorted into full screen on a widescreen notebook with 1920x1200 native resolution. Once I put it into windowed mode on the XP system it looked very nice & professionally made.

As to playability, it worked well & was well worth the time to download it. If the default to full screen was fixed I would seriously consider buying the company's other products.... clone or not.

Heh - still have this one from last time. 0.0

It is a well made clone of the original - which is something that is seemingly a rather rare occurrence in the already rarefied environs of well made and thought out games in the first place.

And LisaFla I could never has put it as eloquently, or nicely as you have. When I logged in yesterday that particular dollop of bile was the last post at the time and I, for the better, decided to zip my cyber lip so to say. =D WR, just keep doing what you have been doing.

I also like Jem's suggestion ... maybe a daily poll section as opposed to the up/down thumb thing? Rate 1-10 & NotMyGame/Played/NeverMind

#11
Habina, it looks like a problem with video card driver. Right click your desktop, select Properties and then Settings and you should see the manufacturer and type. Try downloading and installing newer driver.

Or maybe the instalation was corrupted, try reinstalling the game.
(But it's probably not the cause)

You don't have to "kill your machine" to stop unresponsive program. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. Windows task manager should appear. Select the program that does not respond in Applications or Processes tab and click End Task.

zuma clone,boring. I'll pass

Eek! I went computer-less for 2+ days and was distressed to have missed those Giveaways. I felt much better after seeing today's offerings [love today's Backup Program on GOTD, too, btw.]

I wouldn't have bothered downloading today's game had I not read Stephen aka WhiteRabbit's comprehensive and well-sourced review.
I rarely make a decision to D/L a game or not, until I have read Stephen's reviews as well as a sampling of other opinions.

I don't mean to step on MsMB's already tender toes, but.... No, that's not true. I was hoping to step on MsMB's toes, if only to get her attention and remind her of her manners.

MsMythBuster, I can relate to your pain and frustration; most days I wake up and think to myself: This (life I have) is just so unfair; Is God punishing me for some horrible misdeed; I cannot possibly make it through one more day, it's just too much. Then I go through my day full of envy and spite when I see others who have what I want, or who are doing the things that I would like to do... IF I had the life I expected/want/deserve.

Mr. WhiteRabbit is one of the few persons whose abilities & talent and perseverence & dedication make me rejoice. He inspires me even as he informs all of us. He gives me Hope.

It sounds like you could use some escape from the real world now and then, and I hope that you will stick around. I think you [and all of us regular GGOTD Comment Readers] will feel much better and more comfortable if you will post a simple apology to Stephen, acknowledging your misdirected anger and frustation.

To everyone else, I apologize... I know this is too long and not appropriate for this forum, but my heart hurts for both MsMB and MrWR.

Go out and make someone's day great! It'll do wonders for your own.

Lisa Kay

This game is very nice.
I love the graphics the bubble guy and the music.
I will keep this one It plays realy freely
Thanks GOTD

First of all the game installed easily on Vista, though I couldn't use windowed mode.
I've been coming to this site for well over a year now and even though I try almost everything, I still look forward to whiterabbit's summary. I rarely join in with a opinion because it's painful to type and I save man fingers to play the game.
This place used to be much friendlier! The last time I commented, I also spoke up, because someone belittled another person for spelling errors. Yesterday whiterabbit was attacked. Granted by a lady going by mrs myth buster a detective wanna be!
I read what people write, I want to know if it installs in Vista. I think that companies are interested in knowing that you don't want a free game because if 50 people come here and don't download it, maybe they'll come up with something new!
So if the powers that be forgive me-how about NMYG(not my game) followed by what you'd like. NMYG-rpg would be an example. Let's keep the comments good and bad about the games. There used to be some fun lite hearted kidding which was nice. This is MY escape if I want petty bickering, I have family and friends!
THANKS GGOTD for the good job and whiterabbit my prayers are with you!

Hi there!

I downloaded Aqua Pearls to my XP-Home, it was activated fine, no problem, but AFTER that....I can't read any of the writing, the balls are all cut up, I can just about make out it says 'Get Ready' but the game is unusable as it is! What do I do? If it is something to do with MY system, i.e. missing drivers or such, how will I know where the problem lies?

Hope someone has a suggestion!

PS: I can't turn it off either, hitting the Esc. key just takes me around the game in circles :( so I will have to 'kill' my machine, which I only do reluctantly :((

Kind regards

Thanks Goodtwin.

:lol:

Just like comment #1 said, it is a clone of Zuma Deluxe, except it is underwater. A nice game, installs nice and smooth. Good graphics, nice gameplay. Two thumbs up.

I downloaded this game, and played a few levels, and enjoy it! I think it is cute - the littles pearls that shoot out remind me of paint balls going !splat!, plus the music is 'cute' to listen to while you're playing. I agree with WR's Conclusion - I'm a Zuma clone fan as well, along with Atlantis Quest types (although there are 2 levels of that game I cannot beat, which is the very last one, 8-12); in fact, I like most match-3's. I passed up The Rise of Atlantis (foolishly, I might add), because I 'thought' I wouldn't like it, but after playing it on a free trial, I realized my mistake...:(. I will definitely be keeping this game...:)

Yay! I've been waiting for this one to come round again to download to another machine!

Probably one of my favourite ever downloads and a wonderful waste of time.

There are differences between the four modes: Puzzle you have only a certain number of 'star' bubbles available to fire, if you use them all before getting to the end of the stream you lose, so the aim is to collect more stars by strategic shooting as they appear. Adventure is fairly straightforward shooting until you clear all the bubbles - every 10 levels you have to contend with an 'enemy' who adds and mixes up the bubbles. In Strategy you have fish in bubbles above the stream so need to pop bubbles underneath them, and Endless just keeps going...

thanks for another great game ,i love this game had it befor & lost it,another zuma clone yeah!!!

Thanks for the review, Stephen... I downloaded this one right away. Had it before and lost it. A good zuma-type game, and boy do I love that little aqua guy. Lot's of fun! for the young and young-at-heart.

Any changes/improvements to the game compared to the previous GGATD release?

hurrah! i have missed my little bubble guy! i do like this game..i think endless mode is my new favorite! thank-you for a fun game ;) (downloaded and installed fine on windows 2000 pro )

Introduction

Today’s giveaway received a positive 83% of 221 votes the last time it was given away and also had 79 comments which you can read by following the link below:

http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/aqua-pearls/

In particular see comments #48 by Swan, #52 & 54 by Game Seeker, #69 & 70 by Brandy and comment #77 Bonnie


The Game


The game installs perfectly, and plays like a dream. My daughter loves these games, this particular one is perfect for her as it has a pleasant underwater theme with a likable character and playing on easy it’s not too fast for her to cope. There are two other difficulty settings Medium and Hard. Changing the difficulty settings controls the speed at which the string of pearls travels along a predetermined path. My children couldn’t cope with anything other than easy.

Apart from requiring the keyboard to set up your profile at the beginning of the game It’s fully mouse controlled. From the options menu you can change the pearls skin from a solid to a semi translucent skin which reminds me of sweets for some inexplicable reason. You can also choose to play the game in windowed mode. There are four different modes, Puzzle, adventure, strategy and endless; though I couldn’t see much difference between the four. You can check what each mode entails from the help menu. (you can see these by following the link to the screen captures) You can also adjust the sound and music volume. The intro music is almost classical in form, and very pleasant to listen to. The playing music is okay, but after a while I found it a little monotonous. Nice game for children and adults alike.

To help you win levels you get 11 different power ups ranging from score multipliers to bombs and other bonuses that affect the movement of the string of pearls as well as some more unusual ones such as the earthquake bonus. You can see all the different bonuses on pages 5 & 6 of the help menu or by following the link to the in game screen captures I’ve posted to my photobucket account. As you progress through the levels you collect stars which can be used to upgrade your bonuses to make them more powerful.


Images – All on one page

http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/Whiterabbit_01/gaotd/Aqua%20Pearls/


Images – As a slideshow

http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/Whiterabbit_01/gaotd/Aqua%20Pearls/?albumview=slideshow


Googled


http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Aqua+pearls&btnG=Search+Images


Conclusion


This is a straightforward Zuma clone that is ideal for the family as there’s enough difference between the difficulty settings to make it a challenge for the kids and adults alike. It also got the added bonus of being able to upgrade power ups through the stars that are collected. This is always a welcome attribute in a game (IMO) and in my opinion adds to the games enjoyment. There’s plenty of re-playability in this game. If you don’t have too many clones of this game or if you are a family I would recommend this game as a keeper and in my estimation is worth a reasonable 7 out of 10. I have all of the Luxor games (4) as well as Atlantis Sky Patrol, and several others but would still keep this one because it’s well made and playable; besides I’m a sucker for remakes of the original so long as it’s not exactly the same.












Notes and unrelated stuff

Here’s a free Zuma clone called Azteca which is actually the commercial game Inca ball; and is another decent Zuma clone worth having. As always with Gametop games I must warn you that you do get your browser opened, but nothing untoward is downloaded to your computer, and closing the browser down is simple, with no come back once it’s closed.

http://www.gametop.com/download-free-games/azteca-download/

There’s another Zuma clone from the same distributor as Azteca is called Aqua Pop and can be downloaded from the following link:

http://www.gametop.com/download-free-games/aqua-pop-download/











Yesterdays strange comment

I’d like to thank those who showed support after a particular community member posted an attack directed against my character for no apparent reason. I’d considered replying to the post, but decided just to let it go

it's clone of zuma deluxe.