Xbox Live Arcade is home to a number of outstanding puzzle games...and a few duds as well. Boogie Bunnies, the latest puzzler to join the fray, is right in the middle. The game is good for a few hours of enjoyment, but there's not enough to it to keep you coming back for more.
Boogie Bunnies has a lot in common with the classic time waster Snood. The upper part of the screen is filled with several different colors of bunnies, and it's your job to match three colors in a row or in an "L" shape. You do this by launching your bunny from the bottom of the screen upward. Unlike in Snood, however, you move your bunny left and right along the bottom and even up the sides of the screen. You'll probably find yourself sticking to the bottom at first, but eventually you'll find that it's vital to utilize the sides--especially the last row, which often sets off long combo chains.
The game generally moves at a slow pace, but there is a sense of urgency during each level because the bunnies take a collective step closer to the bottom of the screen with every few shots you take. When a bunny falls into the water at the bottom of the screen you lose a large portion of your progress, which is represented by a meter that slowly fills with each group of bunnies you vanish and slowly empties as time passes and you don't get rid of any bunnies. It's good that you're generally not racing against time, because the controls can be a tad imprecise, and one bad shot can put you in a really bad spot.
Boogie Bunnies' biggest drawback is its lack of depth. Ultimately, there's not a whole lot of strategy involved to getting rid of bunnies, so the game gets repetitive rather quickly. There aren't many different ways to play the game, either. You can play arcade, classic, or endless modes, but the gameplay is virtually identical across all three styles. Co-op play via Xbox Live as well as on a single machine is included, though it's not a great fit. Each player controls a bunny and the objective is the same as in single-player, but because the two bunnies can't pass through each other, the game quickly devolves into two people trying to get the other person out of the way. This often involves a lot of yelling, which is probably not what you're looking for when you sit down to play a puzzle game with a friend.
Like its gameplay, Boogie Bunnies' presentation gets the job done and nothing more. The bunnies are pretty cute and even change costumes from area to area, which is a nice touch. However, there are only a few areas in which to play, such as ice, a jungle, a beach, and the Walk of Fame, and you'll play multiple levels in an area before you move on to the next. The audio consists of the bunnies cheering when you get combos and an incredibly repetitive yet somehow catchy (at least until it drives you mad) tune that plays in the background.
At 800 Microsoft points, Boogie Bunnies is a tough sell. Sure, it's entertaining for a bit, but it's just not interesting enough to keep you coming back for more. If you're curious, check out the demo--but know that the full game doesn't offer up much more.
