Atlantis Sky Patrol

I went into this game with an understanding that it was akin to Luxor, Zuma, or Sparkle. To that extent, I was correct, in that it has the same core gameplay of matching different colors of balls using a paddle that also shoots those balls. However, I did notice liberties taken with the basic idea, in that there is not a set number of waves, but instead a series of balls embedded in the background that need to be destroyed to stop more waves from coming. Also, you have no "lives" per se, but instead have to retry the level if the balls make it to the end. As for similarities to games of its ilk, you can get upgrades using coins obtained as random drops or from the bonus stages, which do things like increase your ball shooting speed or give you an aimline. There are also powerups that periodically drop, allowing for ease of handling the waves of balls. While I enjoyed the twists on the standard "marble shooter", these alterations ultimately did not do all that much to hold my interest, and neither did the levels themselves, despite the graphics being decent for the time it was released. After a while, they grew stagnant, as the only things that changed noticeably were the track l…

This game was my whole childhood, so I'm compelled to leave a positive review. The color of the marbles you get depends on the color of the control points you can hit. This mechanic is extremely frustrating in later levels if you don't catch on quick, as the marble chains move very fast. This mechanic means the game forces you to continue to split your effort between the control points and the marble chains, rather than focus on only the marble chains and just clear the control points with bombs.

It's 2026, and they still haven't made an HD remake of the first or this sequal.

Honestly, plays fantastic on the Steam Deck!

Mission Completed!

While functional, stable and immersive, it clearly lacks the polish of many other marble popping games of the modern age. For a game in 2006... fine. But this can no longer compete with the likes of Sparkle 2, Zuma's Revenge or the Luxor series.