Come on, everybody, we all knew that Poptropolis Games was never really gone forever! Or at least we hoped that it would return sometime earlier than a hundred years. And it looks like we're getting our wish, only, it's not going to be the same as the last time we saw it. (By the way, I still have an account with a Poptropican on Poptropolis Games. I'm going to use it to spy on new developments on the above-ground version of that island, and I'll know if something happens.) The big news: We're going to visit Poptropolis Games. Underwater.

How do I know this, you ask? If only people actually bothered to check the Daily Pop from time to time, I wouldn't need to have a blog here... but that's another story. What do you say to this?!

I'd say that's the head of one of the statues from the Main Street of Poptropolis Games, with some of the ruins in the background, on an underwater-reef theme. Also, there seems to be some other important part to the story idea of this island that gives it some more promise of action: you appear to be competing with the seven other Poptropica tribes to find some sort of treasure from the underwater Poptropolis Games. What makes me think this?

But there seems to be another island on the horizon, which might even come before the revived Poptropolis Games. It seems to be an island... about Poptropica. And it also has something to do with glitches. There are three different images where you see messed-up objects from Poptropica:

Yes, you're saying, but what makes you think the next island is about Poptropica? Patience!

I bring your attention to a few mention-worthy points: this is the first time currency in Poptropica has ever actually had anything to do with Poptropica. They've all been doubloons, or drachmas, or just plain gold nuggets. This signifies a very obvious change. All the others are pretty easy to decode, with the exception of two. The office has a caption saying: "Not the magical wonderland you were expecting, eh?". Now, we know from the Graycom tablet that this island is about creating an island. And we know that the Creators create the islands, so the office picture must be a Creator's office. We know something about those from some pictures on the Creators Blog. And I don't know if this is just me, but does anybody else think that the red spheres in the brown rock with the crowd in the background look like Game Show Island? I wonder what that could mean.

Also, have you noticed that in the picture with the stone blimp, at the far right yu can see an unfinished version of the barbed-wire fence you can see in the mountain-scape in the second-to-last image? This makes you think that the fence in the first image was left unfinished on purpose, so that you, the player, could come and fix it. This, and the caption on the mountain-scape image ("If you build it, they will  play."), emphasize that there is a big creative part, with the player actually building a Poptropica island. And that "creativity" part leads us to a deeper part of this island...

I never much liked poetry, but I have to admit that this is looking extremely interesting. I know this is part of Poptropica Island because the characters in the last image are wearing shirts with the Poptropica "P" and the caption on that image is "DRONES - Replaceable parts. Cogs in the machine." which makes me think of the first image, with Hopes and Dreams in the trash can. I have some crazy idea that this is all in a dairy factory, because of the "the machine" part of the caption of the last image and the fact that the milk truck in the image above is not only next to a factory, but has the same type of mountains in the background as the other images from the same island. *deep breath*. That's it, friends. I think I've exhausted enough thinking for one day. But before I leave... if you look in the Sneak Peeks you'll find pictures of an active volcano, with people actually doing some sort of race in it. And where there are volcanoes rising above the surface of the ocean, there are coral reefs and islands... suffice it to say that Poptropolis Games 2 will have some games after all. Whew! And if you'll excuse me, I'll take a break and listen to Kalimba.

There's been quite a buzz around the newest advertisement on Poptropica, Disney XD.  Usually I don't even enter the ad spaces because I don't agree with Poptropica being invaded by commercials but... I played it today and thought I needed to write some pointers here.

Kickin' It
In this game, you are on the blue bicycle on the right, racing the red one. The indicator at the top shows the distance to finish line. The green triple-arrows are a speed boost, and every other graphic on the track slows you down. The first few times I played this, I lost, because I couldn't get to the boosts faster than I reached the obstacles. Then I realized that I won if I stayed to one side of the track. That way, there is only one way to go -- this increases your concentration.

Lab Rats
This is a classic matching game with a twist: not only is it timed for sixty seconds (and themed in some sort of freakish 'virus cleaning' UI from the nineties), the cards are 'rearranged' every time you make or fail a match... or so the flashy graphics lead you to believe. In truth, this is how it works:

• You click on a card (no, I REFUSE to call it a hexa-tile!), let's call this row ROW 1
• All the cards in ROW 1 are disabled.
• You select a card from the opposite row, ROW 2. (and probably fail)
• NOW, the interesting part: The cards all start flashing. Then you select a starting card from ROW 2.
• ROW 1 is now simply a copy of what ROW 2 was in the first try. This means you can use your memory from that one to make this match work. Continue until all four matches are made.

Sounds complicated? That's why I made a video (see above).

Crash and Bernstein
Do I really need to say anything about this one? Except that it makes me lose faith in my entire generation, and all of humanity, if this is what we accept as entertainment. Disney must be pouring serious money into this campaign!

...for a Steamworks Island Video Playthrough at last! Today I'm revealing my first full-island video guide in a year, for one of my most favorite, classic islands. Also check out my detailed written guide! Here's the video:

I just finished... if you could call it that... playing Poptropica's Beta Carotene Island. And I can only say one thing to sum it all up: it sucks. The only truly strong point is the inspired soundtrack. See for yourself:

• The mouse is a total joke of a glitch. It's supposed to be a crosshairs mouse, like the one in multiplayer rooms, but instead seems to just change to anything it likes, whenever it wants.
• Again with the mouse: it keeps locking in the 'move' mode, so you can run for a little bit, then release the mouse button back to stop... you'll keep going. Move your mouse up, and you'll start jumping. Also, if you stop too suddenly, your character does into 'duck' mode, which means you can't move. At least until you go into the Settings and change the dialogue speed.
• You want to jump straight up? Not gonna happen. Your Poptropican might as well be drunk the whole time; no kind of precise control is possible at all. Speaking of the Poptropican...
  
• Your Poptropican is also another joke of a glitch. Sliding randomly, making weird and out-of-place expressions no matter what you do.
  
• Coming back to control: every single move you try has a ridiculous delay on it. Try the conveyor belt mini-game: no. You'll be squashed five times before you figure out how to compensate for this.
  
• The rabbot ears are unusable. You can't put them on, so how in the world is anyone supposed to beat this stupid game? EDIT: I played the game for the fourth time and finally managed to put the rabbot ears on. This is an unacceptable glitch.

To be fair, there are some very good points that need to be mentioned:

• The soundtrack is simply amazing. The sound effects are a nice try, but need a little work.
  
• The bigger screen makes a huge difference. It is absolutely amazing to play in the larger area, however I can see some Poptropica fight scenes becoming too easy with the extended viewport. Also, the graphics in some buildings, especially the Carrot King Diner, look like they weren't redesigned for the larger screen at all, but just scaled up from their original, making it look slightly annoying and 'fuzzy'. 
  
• The menu's open/close animation is pretty sweet; it actually looks good to see the items 'tumble' out of the basket. I think in the final version, they should use some more of the blank space that's on the menu screen.
  

I know this is supposed to be BETA and therefore not guaranteed to work right, but I don't think they know what beta means. Beta means that it's supposed to work right, but probably will mess up some of the time. This poorly-designed game is so consistent in it's faults that it looks like it isn't even supposed to work right.

In short: Creators -- if this is the future of Poptropica, it is severely disappointing.

We've all probably been awaiting some sort of sound effects in Poptropica for a long time, and there has been no satisfaction yet (except for that one scene in Ghost Story). But a whole island? Unheard of... until we heard of 24 Carrot Island's Beta Carotene release. You're thinking, what??? Take a look at this trailer:

It's only for Members (not to mention, not actually released yet :), but I'll post a review as soon as I can play it. Happy end-of-school-year!