Some puzzle games are so powerful that they eventually end up taking the world by storm. Sudoku is one example that has spread from its Japanese homeland across the world. Drop7 could very well be another, even though it makes its home on iDevices instead of pencil and paper.
Drop7 is played on a seven-by-seven grid with plenty of differently colored balls, each labeled with a number from one to seven. The purpose of the game is to drop a numbered ball into or onto a line that will end up having a total number of balls equal to the number on your dropping ball.
For example, if the number three appears, you'll want to send it down to where there are only two other balls either in the column or row. This will bring the total number of balls from two to three, and the ball with the number three on it will disappear to give you points. Once it disappears, depending on how many other balls you've cleared, the entire set of balls onscreen may drop down one row, which can trigger other numbered balls to line up, setting off combos and adding greatly to your score. There are also gray balls, which have to be "ground down" by triggering numbered balls to score next to them. That sounds complicated, but you'll get used to in time. And when that happens, you'll almost certainly be hooked
Drop7 has a number of different play modes, including Normal mode, in which each drop of a ball counts down from a limited set of balls and the level ends when you use up the entire set. Every time you progress to the next level in any mode, a new line of gray spheres rises up from the bottom. The second mode is Hardcore mode, which severely restricts the number of drops you get in each level but gives no gray blocks to drop. The last is Sequence mode--the most challenging (and engrossing) of all.
No matter which mode you play, when the spheres pass the top of the grid, the game ends. You can, then, post your score to the local and global leaderboards, as well as to Facebook Connect. You can see what your friends have scored or post your score to your news feed, which is done in a rather unobtrusive manner. That's not all, though. The game also adds to its distinctive nature with a very stylized look in the gameplay and the menus, invoking indie fonts and modern themes.
Drop7 may not appeal to you if all you want to do is to kill zombies or defend a castle from an onslaught of enemies. But while it may not be flashy, Drop7 will satisfy players looking to get hooked on a challenging and engrossing puzzle experience.
This review was provided by GameSpot mobile content partner SlideToPlay.com.
