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Horrors! the evil Witch Makeeba has trapped your little friends in bubbles and it is up to you, Cindy the fairy, to set them free by bursting their floating prisons. BubbleWorld, according to Bibo Games, is an irresistible and addictive game for the whole family. That may be a bit of an overstatement. This matching game is unlikely to appeal to the adults in the family and even young boys will balk at its cute, girlish graphics.

"Cute" is the overall theme of BubbleWorld. The graphics are not bad, the backgrounds are attractive and the bubble-encased creatures are appealing, if a bit redundant in design. In fact, as they proliferate in higher levels, it is hard to tell one from another or even see some of them against the vivid background screen.

BubbleWorld may appeal to younger children in its first few levels. Matching up and bursting the bubbles of Cindy's trapped friends might even be good for hand/eye coordination. However, the higher levels quickly become frustrating for them. As the levels progress, younger children have a difficult time bursting all the bubbles before the time runs out. A point in the game's favor is that failing to complete a level doesn't result in a loss of "lives" but simply means they return to that level over and over until they master it.

In reviewing the game I enlisted the services of an 8-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. I assumed the younger child would find the game more appealing than the elder but I was mistaken. In only a few moments he was bored with the matching game theme and refused to play anymore. The older girl thought it might be educational for pre-schoolers but didn't find it interesting after having given it a decent amount of time to impress her. Interestingly, neither of them showed the same distress as I did over missing the flashing bubble of a trapped friend about to burst into oblivion. The score screen showing the number of "death bubbles" on my turn disturbed me. Who wants to be responsible for the death of a tiny woodland creature?

Overall, I think the simplistic concept is a complete mismatch with the increasing difficulty and lack of a clear "win" for the player. The game boast 70 levels but I can't imagine even the most avid game player sticking it out past 10 levels at best.

Score for BubbleWorld by BiboGames:

GRAPHICS 3/5 - The woodland scenes are well-drawn and worthy of a Disney animation, however Cindy's trapped friends are more like comic strip characters and hard to distinguish one from another when they become more numerous in higher levels.

AUDIO 3/5 - The music is unobtrusive but sounds like elevator disco. It neither helps nor hinders enjoyment of the game.

GAME PLAY 1/5 - The constant matching quickly becomes boring and there are no other elements added upon reaching higher levels.

CREATIVITY/INNOVATION 1/5 - There is nothing new in a matching game and the developers of this game didn't even try to add any other elements to jazz it up.

REPLAY VALUE 1/5 - None of the players who tried this game wanted to play it again. Ever.

OVERALL SCORE: 2/5 The game is overpriced in comparison to its appeal and replay value. It may be a good game for very young children who can't read or play more complicated games but you should download the free trial first to see if they will enjoy it before shelling out the $19.95 for the full version.

Learn more about this author, A. Jacobina Poulsen.
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