I have spent many an hour enjoying some of the incredible games developed by PopCap Games. Their first title Bejewelled, the legendary match-3 game, has recently sold over 50 million units across all platforms. Other games such as Peggle, Zuma’s Revenge, Bookworm and the recent Plants vs Zombies have all received high acclaim from critics and therefore I jumped at the opportunity to play Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown which has recently been released on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. Feeding Frenzy 2 looks to build on the success of the original game, but does it sink to the bottom of the ocean or float amongst PopCap’s greatest titles?

Feeding Frenzy 2 features gameplay identical to its predecessor. You control various fish with the aim of eating the smaller fish and avoiding predators who are seeking their lunch, with you eventually growing yourself and making the hunter become the hunted. Whilst some of the latter levels can become challenging due to the sheer amount of predators on the screen at any one time, the game carries a basic yet fun concept which makes it suitable for both younger and older audiences. Fun facts presented about the fish and the ocean every now and again help to make it an enjoyable experience for children.

PopCap Games have tried to innovative the sequel in the Feeding Frenzy series by introducing power-ups which can aid your quest of becoming the King of the ocean. There are 6 power-ups in total, which each providing a unique gameplay feature if you’re skilful enough to swim and eat them if you seem them floating around the ocean. Power-ups include “Lightning Bolt” which increases the speed of your fish for a short period of time, allowing you to zip around the screen gobbling up your prey and “Shrink Shroom”, a handy power-up that shrinks all of the fish present on the screen smaller than you, therefore turning them into easy prey and often helping you escape tricky situations.

Two new additions to the control system have been incorporated into Feeding Frenzy 2 to help you catch your prey. Pressing the X or A button, depending on which console you’re playing on, will make your fish quickly dash a few metres infront of itself, and this can be handy when trying to catch prey which is just out of reach; however, this could have a detrimental effect if there are predators lurking around and you don’t judge the dash correctly. Holding the Circle or B button allows you to suck up fish for a small amount of time which can be very useful when large amounts of prey are in the vicinity; you’ll have to be careful not to suck predators towards you however or you’ll soon meet your death, and therefore tactics have to be implemented on when to use these two new control features.

The campaign mode consists of 60 levels, with the environment and the fish you control regularly changing which helps keep the game fresh. Above water challenges pop up every now and then which require you to jump out of the water to eat bugs and insects that are floating above the waters surface. Levels called “Midnight Zones” are featured on rare occasions, and this is where you have to pick-up bulb icon power-ups in order to illuminate some of the screen that has been darkened.

The Feeding Frenzy 2 campaign can be played with upto 3 friends in 4-player co-op which is a nice addition to the game. Unfortunately this can only be done on the same console and not over Xbox Live or the Playstation Network which is a big shame. Mini-games are also available to play with upto 3 friends and these add good variety to the game. The mini-games include “Tailbite Tag” where you must try and bite the other players’ tails, “Munch-a-thon” where you have to eat as many fish as possible in a certain amount of time, and “Gold Rush” which challenges you to eat 10 Golden Herring fish which zip around the screen, whilst at the same time avoid the numerous predators and poisonous fish which are out to hamper your chances. These multiplayer games are a welcome addition to Feeding Frenzy 2 but unfortunately can only be played with friends on the same console and not over the internet.

Graphically, Feeding Frenzy 2 is the King of the ocean and looks fantastic. Varied fish and locations keep the game looking fresh and the environments and fish themselves are well detailed. Beautiful animations such as water ripples as you swim away add a nice touch to the game. The audio doesn’t stand-out but fortunately won’t annoy you or discourage you from playing

Feeding Frenzy 2 is best played in short bursts while the game still feels fresh and fun. PopCap have tried to implement innovative new features to stop the gameplay from becoming boring, but essentially the same task of eating smaller fish and rising the food chain is seen in every level and this can make long playing sessions a chore rather than fun. However, Feeding Frenzy 2 can still be an enjoyable game and is suitable for both young and older audiences and I recommend giving the game a try.