Burst the Bubble from developer Not Only But Also is an addictive and satisfying pleasure. The game takes the color matching puzzle genre and puts it in a format that is perfect for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Games with a similar concept would be Bejeweled, Collapse, and a host of others. Burst the Bubble is the only one that can only work its magic on this platform.
The concept is simple enough. You are presented with a round playing field that has two openings on opposite ends. Small bubbles form at these openings one at a time. They are released and float towards the center of the circle. The player twists the device and the accelerometer moves the entire playing field, allowing the gamer to control where the bubbles float. Bubbles of the same color in groups of two or more can be burst by clicking the first and last bubble in the group. The longer a bubble remains on screen, the larger it grows. If a bubble touches the edge of the screen it will pop. Burst too many bubbles on the edge and it is Game Over. As the game continues and you reach higher levels, more colors are introduced and the bubbles are added at a faster pace.
This game really sucks the player into the action. There is no pause between levels, simply an announcement that you have reached the next level and an increase in difficulty. You barrel through as long as possible, attempting to achieve a new high score. The scores are tracked for the device as well as across a worldwide leaderboard that seems to refresh every day. This is cool because everyone has a shot at being a hero for a day. The desire to inch your score onward and upward will keep you coming back to this fast paced game. Luckily, at any time you can exit the game and your progress is automatically saved.
Not Only But Also’s game is colorful and playful. There is no music, just the soft plops of the bubbles releasing and the satisfying pop when bubbles are burst. A “how to play” section is included with simple instructions and appropriate design. It is always obvious when an app is dominated by developer on the team and not a designer. We always appreciate consistent, good quality design throughout an app.
We would like to see access to the leaderboard from the main screen. The only way to check scores is to complete a game and submit your score. The competitive aspect in this game keeps a player coming back, so easy access to high scores would be nice. This is a small critique, however. Some players might also enjoy having the ability to play music from their library during the game. It would be a nice addition for a future release. For us though, the simple sound effects are part of this game’s charm.
We really can’t find anything to dislike with this game. It has become a favorite mini-diversion. We only hope that Not Only But Also puts out more simple pleasures like this game. Burst the Bubble easily floats above the competition with a 5-Dimple rating.
Burst the Bubble gets our AppSmile 5-Dimple rating:
