""The Little Things in Life...""

Bubble Puzzle 97- This is a nifty little old game. It is one of those classic arcade games you will see when you walk into an arcade place in an ice rink or a roller hockey rink, one of those dime games you will see at the mall. However, this does not take away from the emptiness of the game. There has been a long chain of Bubble Games, and though this one is by far the best, it is still hardly different. Still, it does not take away from the fact that this game is normally free, at the most a buck or two at a pawn shop or Software Etc.

GamePlay (6/10): It is quite a challenge, but still not exciting. The point of the game is to hit colored bubbles with your own bubbles. You want to get three of the same color connected so they disintegrate. Once you disintegrate the whole field, you move to the next level. The game presents challenges such as having to knock the top bubble off to get them all, bouncing your bubble off of a wall to get the correct angle, and having to hit your bubble through two bubbles without getting it connected to one of them. You lose if the bubbles, which slowly move down, hit the bottom line before you can destroy them all. That is what makes the game strangely addicting. It, unlike most games, if a game of hand eye coordination; a game of math, a game of accuracy, and a game of speed.

Graphics (5/10): I want to say the graphics are poor, but they are not; they are just very simple, very VERY unimpressive. There were not pixels, the graphics were just lines, like they were ten years ago; but they were not fuzzy, so I guess that is good.

Sound (10/10): Yeah, there is firing and exploding sound effects. Yes, they are quite good. You can also here the latching of each bubble on to another bubble.

Controls (10/10): It cannot get any more simple than it already is. You aim with the mouse, you fire with left click. Comfortable, fast, perfect.

Replay (10/10): The one good thing about arcade like games; they don’t wear off. You can keep trying to beat the high scores, and master the speed you complete the levels in.

Overall (9/10) Small Things boost this game up. Go buy it for a dime. It is really fun.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/03, Updated 06/01/03