Platform: iOS, Android.
Genre(s): Word Puzzle.
Technology: HD, Unity 3D.
Release Date: August 2012.
Publisher(s): On Game Creative
Developer: On Game Creative
ESRB: PEGI 3+
This game is all about making words, as the game asks; a horizontal word puzzle. But what makes it different from the hordes of similar games on the market is the gameplay. Bubblis takes essential inspiration from Tetris and integrates that concept well in HD. Compatible with iOS and Android, this game is practically available on all major mobile platforms.
For starters, the player sees a cloud on top, blowing away letters revolving around it. These letters slowly track their way down encapsulated in a bubble, and the player can put them in one of the seven empty spaces as per the combination required to make the highlighted word. Each sound made accounts for a line or more being dissolved and counted in the score. For example, five lines need to be completed to finish level 1.
Sounds easy! Well, it’s not. This is where the Tetris factor comes in, with letters replacing the shapes. On the right side of the screen, the game has certain multipliers defined (X 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and 21), and each multiplier has a word on it as the player progresses. For example, if “TOP” is written along multiplier 8, then once “TOP” is made with the falling letters, 8 lines will be counted in the score. A beginner starts from level 1 and has to make five lines in six minutes; an advanced user starts from level 16 and has to make 35 lines in six minutes; and an expert user starts from level 31 and has to make 65 lines in eight minutes.
The difficulty of the game increases from level to level through various means. First, the letters around the cloud revolve and fall faster. Second, bubbles filled with smoke, ink mist, bombs, mines, or resonance fall with the letter bubbles; these bubbles function as per their names, with a mine bubble getting rid of a row and a bomb of multiple rows, but these rows are not counted in the score. Ink mist and smoke make life miserable for a player at higher levels because one has to wipe the mist or the smoke off to continue, and that is very fast, or you can try blowing into the microphone, which is much easier. And third, some of the words become longer and more difficult to form.
The trick to scoring high is to create a platform with unusable letters and then try to form the required words on top of the platform. This way, a player can pick the words with a high multiplier. Also, try to use golden letters as much as possible, as there are hidden helpful features in them, like a fan, etc.
Bubblis is available in 44 languages and makes you travel to 15 countries, hence making it a true global game, although we covered only the English part! There is not much to expect from a word puzzle in the graphics department, and Bubblis does full justice to the basic graphics requirements. Also a very entertaining feature are the different background scores; for example, a Scottish tune blended with the in-game mini sounds is an interesting one, making it very playful and entertaining, especially for children. The latest update also brings in social network integration and a player ranking system, making it more competitive among friends.
After playing the game in depth, Illgaming feels that Bubblis is for any age group, with adult gamers playing only for leisure or teaching purposes, as the spellings and words are rather basic. This is an educational game for the young kids and will help them with word processing and building. Although certain features can be modified or added to make the game more attractive, like reducing the number of levels, letting users create their own words, increasing the difficulty sooner, reducing the price, and introducing some freebies and add-ons to hasten up progress in the game, Overall, it is a new concept and a catchy game—a very nice first attempt by in-game creative to come up with something unique.
WHAT’S ILL
- Never before seen word puzzle
- Well designed, unique levels.
- The add-ons make the game very attractive.
WHAT’S NOT
- Very slow difficulty progress through the levels.
- Not available for other platforms like windows 8.
- Unlockables like wallpapers, sounds, themes etc. should be added.
- Cannot create your own legal words.
RATING
- Gameplay Progression: 7/10
- Graphics: 6.5/10
- Sound: 8/10
- Unique Selling Proposition: 7/10
- illFactor: 7/10
Final Score: 7.0 – Strictly Average
