"I'm forever blowing bubbles..." But enough about Michael Jackson, let's talk about Columns. Whoops, sorry, we mean Magic Bubble. Easy mistake to make, though, for verily this is a Columns clone - albeit one that's played upside down and has cute little bubbles with cute little arms and legs instead of jewels.

The rather tenuous storyline involves you as the master of the deep trying to save all the underwater sea life from death by suffocation by persuading the bubbles to yield forth their precious bodily oxygen. The cantankerous little sods will only do this though if they're linked up in lines of four which produces a huge four-fold fart, releasing the oxygen.

Alone or with a mate, there are three playing options to Magic Bubble - in normal accrue as many points as possible by keeping your bubbles down; something similar to Flash Columns where a specific bubble needs knocking out; and a head-to-head against the computer. Build up your opponent's side by keeping yours down and, if things get tough, use your Magic to help you out.

Ho-hum. Yep, ths may indeed be a novel slant on the Columns/Tetris/Hatris/Whatevertris theme, but its action hardly gets the pulse racing. Positioning the fishes neatly and accurately requires more skill than Columns, but the assorted guppies move down so slowly there's never any danger of things mounting up out of all control. As puzzle games go, this is okay. But that's as far as it goes.

Being a massive Columns fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this game. There's no doubting that it's unashamedly a rip off but since it's played from a different perspective, is actually much harder in head-to-head and is a hell of a lot cheaper than most of its type, I have no qualms in recommending that fans of this genre should give it go.

Graphics 70%
Brightly coloured with cute bubble animations.

Sound 74%
A variety of tunes which add to the atmosphere.

Playability 76%
Easy to get into and control.

Lastability 77%
A good range of playing options and a heap of tough levels.

Value For Money 83%
A nice change from Columns at a greatly reduced price.

Overall 76%
An unashamed Columns clone, but fun and cheap nonetheless.