Subtitled Chain Reaction, the game's labeling plays out in a couple
ways. First, are bombs. Match five pieces in a row and you're given a
bomb that destroys some of the tiles around it when double-clicked, and
even more if strategically swapped with another piece. If you match
more than five, the bomb gets bigger, to the point of taking out a
quarter of the board in a nuclear blast. Moreover, every tenth level is
a bomb-stravaganza, where explosions reach all corners of the screen.

Chain Reaction levels bring another explosive element to the sea.
Swap the right puzzle pieces and you set off a cascade of combos that
will put you on the path to a big score. The more boxes you break in
rapid succession, the larger your "Tiki Totem" (a reward indicator)
grows and the more points you pick up.


Big Kahuna Reef 2 will seem largely familiar to anyone who played the original. There's just a lot more of it:

• A whopping 700 levels, with even more available for download.
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
• Over 40 sea creatures to unlock for your virtual aquarium or screensaver, from scuttling shrimp to humongous humpback whales.
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  

  
  
• An improved, though intimidating, level editor that lets you draw your own line art and create your own levels.

Thankfully, one of the most interesting and fun features of Big Kahuna Reef
has made a return in the sequel. In Mouse Party, you can plug up to
eight mice into your PC for multiplayer mayhem. Here, all players make
matches at the same time, competing to fill the board with their color.
Whoever controls the most territory at the end wins. It's a great
feature.

I've become convinced, after years of evidence, that Reflexive is
actually incapable of creating anything but beautiful games. The
gorgeous backdrops and colorful, naturally-animated fish create as
serene a setting as you could hope for in this title. Turn on the
optional wave-crashing soundtrack and you can get lost for hours, be it
in the game or running in screen-saver mode.

Big Kahuna Reef 2 is, on the surface, a feature-rich
match-three puzzler. But, down in its briny depths are some flaws that
rob the game of its true potential, and a higher score. Many levels
just take too long, filled with metal shields and multi-chains
requiring too many matches to clear. They can't be played in a quick
sitting, and finishing a level becomes more a chore than a pleasure.
Also, the fishing net tool, that removes a piece from play, is
strategically useful, but it isn't always able to rid you of that last
stubborn tile. Maybe if you could use it to swap in any piece of your
choosing, or if you had some extra bombs to lay down, the pace could be
quickened.