| Some
say the games business is the new film business.
Others the new music biz. Whatever the truth, it has picked up
one trait from both - find out what the punters want then flog
it to them again and again in slightly different packaging or
on a new format. Change the name, tart up the graphics, throw
in a few new features… all basically window dressing on
the same framework.
We all knew Space Raiders on the Speccy was
Psion doing Space Invaders. Likewise, Gulpman and Spookyman were
Pacman. Penetrator and Rocket Raid were Scramble…
The thing there though, was that the people
who made the originals didn't generally condescend to put their
masterpieces on the humble home system. When they did it was generally
through licensing it out so if the end result was a bit iffy they
could always wash their hands of it. Today of course the arcade
world has shrunk and they have to be in the home to survive. So
it came as no surprise to see Taito stick the latest version of
their bubble bursting puzzles on the Cube.
This man's name is bubbles apparently
So, where did this game
come from? (MrsB: "you got them both from that shop
in Ipswich that sells games, you know, the one next to the Body
Shop"). I haven't a clue, but I'm guessing it went something
like this:
Some geezer at Taito was looking for inspiration,
looked at the bubble blowing dinosaurs in Bubble Bobble and thought
he could make the bubbles even more important by getting rid of
the platforms. Someone else already had the idea of combining
things of the same colour to make them vanish. The two ideas met
in the of coding equivalent of wild and steamy sex and before
you knew it people were putting coins in slots to burst the bubbles
and see the next level.
And there's the game in a nutshell. You get
a mass of coloured bubbles at the top of the screen and a launcher
at the bottom. A bit of left or right aiming and off you go, sending
your own bubbles upwards to hopefully link up with groups of their
own flavour and make them pop. Points come your way in return.
OK, that soon gets a bit dull so there are a couple of different
ways to play - single player puzzles or two player battles, and
the bubbles slowly but surely come down to meet you (which you
don't want to happen). Pretty simple really. And like most simple
gaming ideas, fiendishly addictive.
I'd seen it in the arcades, I'd played it on
the brother's Dreamcast and could do so again anytime. But I wanted
this game in my house. So a few weeks after buying my PC, when
I saw in one of those oh so worthy magazines; that deigns to have
half a column of games tucked away on page 763; that there was
a PC version and it was now out on a budget label I knew what
I had to do. I went to see the man, and a fiver bought me a big
yellow box and 1p change. I took it home, stuck it in the drive
and three hours later had to prise the joypad away from the wife.
That was four years ago. We still play it three
or four times a week in frenzied two player battles, the need
for which is created simply by one of us saying "wahey"
in a poor imitation of those little bubble blowing monsters. What
more recommendation do you need to buy this?
It's back and it's still great
Well, how about the fact that last week I bought
it again. OK, so as hinted at above Super Bust-a-Move All-Stars
has been tarted up to a high degree. There are characters to choose
from, new puzzles to crack, revised two player mode featuring
bubbles that do more than just pop when you smack them with a
match, a new scrolling bubble shooting game and even a four player
mode. But underneath it all we have the same game as before.
...and we still love it
Maybe I just fancied spending some money to
cheer myself up after a nasty dental experience. Maybe it was
just to be able to extend the madness downstairs on to the big
screen. Maybe I just wanted another reason to use the joyous Wavebird.
Whatever, you can pick this title up for pretty much any piece
of kit you own and it will cost you somewhere between two and
twenty English Pounds. Just get out there, flash the cash and
enjoy it.
RODENT CASH RATING -
£20
 "Aye
it's fookin grand"
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