Last issue we reviewed The Rainbow Collection from Ocean's new Addicted To Fun label. Our conclusion? That if there are better ways of spending £19.99 then on this Rainbow Islands/New Zealand Story/Bubble Bobble combo we haven't thought of them yet. If (and it's quite a big if) you're one of those rare people who don't already own at least one of these three excellent cutsie games, that is. For most of us it may well be a better idea to pick up the ones you haven't got individually at £7.99 - New Zealand Story is already available. Rainbow Islands can't be far off, and this month you can get your hands on Bubble Bobble, the first of the Bub 'n Bob series that reached its zenith in Rainbow Islands and is set to conclude (perhaps - let's hope not) in Parasol Stars.
But what's it like? Well, on first loading the game disappoints - very blocky, almost PD quality in some of the graphics, and the gameplay looks deceptively simple. You play one of two cute dinosaurs (boringly transformed into people for the later games in the series) set in a series of single-screen platform worlds - you've got to clear each screen of baddies by trapping them in bubbles, then jumping on them to turn them into collectable fruit, before moving on to the next one.
Simple, yes - not unlike the recent Rodland in gameplay in fact - but for me a much better game. Far from looking primitive, the colourful graphics seem ideally suited to their task, the dino-versions of Bub 'n Bob have to be the most appealing central characters ever, while the high speed and variety of the gameplay should be an object lesson to others.
This is one of those games that adds new baddies and gameplay elements every couple of levels, pacing the difficulty curve perfectly. At 100 levels there's plenty there too - though unfortunately the secret levels of the coin-op haven't been reproduced in the home computer version.
Still, it's one of the most fiendishly addictive games ever and appealing to almost anybody (it's one of the few games the girls in the office ever sit down and play).
Quite simply, if you don't already own this buy it now. A perfect £7.99 game - its only weakness is that it's so much better in two player mode than one.