Likely inspiring the question "There was a Plus Plumb 1?" among many observers, Japanese developer Takuyo today announced plans for Plus Plumb 2. A curious twist on the blob-dropping puzzle concept, Plus Plumb 2 is coming to the Xbox (and Xbox Live) in Japan December 18.

The first game in the series (well, it's a series now, anyway) was released for the Dreamcast in 1999. The basic mechanics of the game are similar to Puyo Puyo -- blobs fall from the sky, linking like-colored blobs makes them pop and disappear -- but the two players' stacks of blobs pile up on the two arms of a scale. The more blobs you stack up, the heavier your side of the scale is, which pushes an opponent's stack closer to the top of the screen. Thus, there's a balance to be struck between clearing your own blobs and building a big stack to outweigh your opponent's.

The sequel includes a single-player game with four hero characters and more than 50 cartoonish opponents to battle, as well as one-on-one multiplayer battles in split-screen mode or via Xbox Live. Solo action is also available in a nonstop survival mode and a simple practice mode.

Copyright © 2003 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in 1UP.