Underwater Zuma

I honestly believe that the computer game market gained half of its current consumers when Zuma came out. That game turned a lot of heads of people that wouldn't normally notice a new computer game, and for those of us who were already avid players, it made our heads do complete 360s. It was revolutionary, to say the least. And as with everything that is great in this world of PC games, everyone attempted to jump on the bandwagon.

However, while there were quite a bit of stinkers, not all of the the results were bad. Bubblefish Bob is a great example of a game that took a tired premise, pumped new life into it, and made it its own. And no, I don't just mean because it's underwater!

Poppin' Bubbles

Forget about mystical orbs or anything even remotely like that; in this game you'll just be popping bubbles. I think that alone gives it a more accessible feeling to it. I grow weary of all of the mysticism used in puzzle games as a cheap way to string everything together and make it make sense. I don't need all of my games to make sense in the real world. If I'm a fish that shoots bubbles, than that's more than good enough for me!

I'm sure that 98% of the people that read this will be familiar with the type of gameplay here. You must shoot bubbles at an oncoming line of multicolored bubbles in order to make them pop and go away. You must completely destroy the line before it reaches the fish at the end, who will promptly make a snack of all the bubbles.

The Power is Yours

As if you need me to tell you, you'll get your hands on the obligatory power-ups. What's neat, however, is that they're all underwater-themed. A pointy seashell can be shot in a straight line to simply plow through all of the bubbles in its path, immediately destroying a good portion of the line. You can shoot torpedos as well, and then will blow up all of the bubbles in a small radius.

However, not all of the power-ups are good; certain ones will spell your doom if you catch them, so be sure to keep a watchful eye out! In fact, if you get the skull power-up (if power-up is even the right word), you'll immediately lose the level and have to start over!

Buried Treasure

If you collect three different pieces of treasure, you'll rewarded with a treasure bonus. This doesn't have to be done in one level, either. Treasure will stay at the bottom of the screen, so they can be collected over a series of levels. It's nothing huge, but it adds a little more excitement to the action.

A Fun Package

Bubblefish Bob isn't the best game in the world. However, it's fun enough that I feel confident recommending it, especially to players who are already fans of this genre. It's easy to get into to and you'll find yourself getting some solid entertainment out of it.