The year is 2005, Earth has
been devastated by a nuclear
holocaust and the few remaining
members of the human race
have been forced back into an
old way of life as cavemen.
Life was quiet until the mutant
lobsters turned up.
In Rubble Trouble, you pit
your wits and strength against
ever increasing numbers of these
flesh eating lobsters known as
Krackats.
When the game begins you
are in a maze of boulders which
you can roll about to crush the
crustaceans.
You may be thinking that this
is just another Pengo type game,
and you would be right. But
there is one very clever variation.
Should you push a boulder
towards a Krackat and miss it
you had better be nimble,
because these boulders bounce!
On many occasions an itchy
trigger finger left me chewing
rubble and watching another
little caveman, complete with
halo, floating upwards to that
great gravel pit in the sky.
One by one the rocks
disintegrate. This, along with the
increasing level of radiation,
provides the game with a time
limit, bonus points being
awarded for a quick clearance.
The boulders come in three
types. The first are common or
garden rocks. The second blue in
colour, are worth 150 bonus
points when crushed. Finally
come the flashers, to be avoided
at all costs as any attempt to roll
or crush one results in a nuclear
explosion.
Should you tire of this maze
there are two further options.
First there is the hayfield in
which the maze paths are filled
with illusionary boulders which
can be walked through without
the need to crush them, leaving a
clear path behind.
By disguising the maze layout
in such a way, rolling boulders
and escaping Krackats can be a
very risky business.
Finally comes the invisible
maze, where the rocks are
invisible except when rolling.
Not for the novice.
Excellent graphics and good
use of sound combined with a
well inplemented twist of an
established theme kept me at the
computer until 2am.