Introduction:
This is a game where you have to shoot colored bubbles from a gun located at the bottom of the playing field and is fixed in the centre. The gun can move on a small arc only. You can swap the loaded bubble for the next one by clicking on the right mouse button. You’ll find three different modes described below.
The Game:
This is a typical bubble shooter game with several (11) power ups such as the bomb, freeze bonus and cluster bombs or the mine, elevation and multicolored ball to name some of them.
You can see menu screenshots and in game images by following the two links below:\
As a Slideshow:
Googled:
http://search.msn.co.uk/images/results.aspx?q=Bubble+Odyssey+game&go=Search+Images&form=QBIR
The options menu is fairly basic with the usual music and sound effects sliders as well as toggles for windowed mode and tips on/off. On starting the game you get to choose between three modes of play:
Arcade, which is the game everyone knows and is described as an avalanche of bubbles. You remove bubbles by firing the bubble from the gun at matches of three or more. Every successful hit you make adds to a progress bar at the top of the screen. The level ends when the bar is full. The game starts off easy, but as you progress, the levels do get harder and the number of different colored bubbles increases. You are introduces to different power ups as you progress through the game. At the end of each level you are given your level stats and news of any new power ups as mentioned above.
Challenge: This has the same game play, but you play against the clock. If you hesitate, the progress bar at the top goes backwards, so it takes longer to win the level.
Puzzle: You have to collect the locked diamonds that are located within various shaped levels. You’ll find the bubbles are laid out patterns as opposed to just blankets of bubbles coming at you, with the diamonds hidden amongst them. I actually managed to complete level 2 with just one shot. (See screen captures)
You can save your progress on in all three modes; though it doesn’t save games you finish mid game.
Conclusion:
This is an okay game if you want to spend several minutes mindlessly firing away at colored bubbles, but in my opinion soon becomes a little tedious. It’s definitely easy enough for the kids to play and it is for this reason that I’ll be keeping this game as I know my daughter loved Phantasia which was given away about a year ago. The cutesy animated figures at the sides of the playing arena will probably be appealing to most children as well. The three modes goes some ways to improving the playability of this game and so it’s probably worth an average 6 out of 10, though if I had the choice of this or Phantasia, which is a similar game I’d choose Phantasia, and more so if it was Phantasia 2 which has an arkanoid hybrid mode included. Going off the way these repeats seem to occur we may just be seeing either of those very soon, which is no bad thing, lol.
Thank you Playrix Entertainment and the Game giveaway team for another game.
