Balloon Sucker is an arcade styled Windows Phone game where you are challenged to match colored balloons that are rising from the ground with the matching colored cloud. The concept sounds easy but the balloons are not always cooperative.
Available for low-memory Windows Phones, Balloon Sucker has potential and may only be held back by an annoying full-screen ad. We were tipped on the game and after playing it over the past few days, Balloon Sucker comes across as a decent Windows Phone game.
Your main menu for Balloon Sucker isn't very complicated. You have a mute button sitting in the upper right corner with options to visit the developer's Facebook or Twitter pages in the lower left corner. The main options include jumping into game play, rating the game in the Windows Phone Store and exiting the game.
Don't be shocked when you launch the game you are greeted by a full-screen advertisement that has to be closed before you can get to the main menu. The game would have a lot more appeal if the developer changed the full-screen ad with a discreet ad banner running along the bottom of the menu page.
Game play sounds simple with the goal of Balloon Sucker calling on you to match the rising colored balloons with the matching colored cloud. You move the row of clouds that line the top of the screen by swiping left or right at the game screen.
Balloons will have a slight variety in their flight patterns. Some will rise straight up, some will rise erratically and some will change colors. This variety gives the game a good bit of challenge. At the bottom left corner of the gaming screen you will your string of consecutive matches, which will result in scoring multipliers.
The game affords you ten lives and each mis-match will cost you a life. Some clouds have bonus lives and when properly matched, it will restore or build up your overall life count.
Overall Impression
Balloon Sucker is a fun Windows Phone game to pass the time with but it may be an acquired taste. I see the game falling into the category of games that are fun to pick up every now and then. While I liked Balloon Sucker, I just don't see it having that addictive quality that keeps you pulled into the game for days on end.
I did run into stability issues that locked the game up when you jumped into game play. It wasn't frequent enough to make the game a bust but it was noticeable. The full-screen ads are far more annoying.
At last check, Balloon Sucker is pulling down a 4.5 star rating in the Windows Phone Store. Personally, I see that a bit on the high side but your views may differ. If you take Balloon Sucker out for a spin, let us know in the comments below what you think of the Windows Phone game.
