Review: Resco Bubbles

Score:
84%

Author: Resco

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Resco are a big name in PDA circles, and while they haven't had a huge profile on Symbian OS (they had a World Cup client alongside the Resco Photo Viewer in their portfolio), they've been making everyone happy on other platforms for many years. Unfortunately, once you've got to grips with their latest gaming title, Resco Bubbles, you'll be cursing the day you ever heard of them.

And this is a good thing, okay!

Resco Bubble is one of the most horribly frustrating games I've played in a long time, but this single part of frustration is more than balanced by one part of well thought out game-play, one part of excellent level design, and three lines of addiction. In other words, a pretty good mix – if it was a cocktail I'd call it the Vesper the Vexed.

Using the accelerometer (tilt sensor) on those S60 devices that support it, your goal is to roll a small marble (“you”) around a playing field the size of the screen, picking up bubbles. Clear the screen and you get to proceed to the next level. Moving yourself around the screen is a simple matter of tilting the phone so the marble rolls 'downhill'. There is no key input outside the menu system – this is a simple interface, but handles very accurately.

As always, there is a catch, and in Resco Bubbles you are forced to roll over the bubbles in numeric order. Touch bubble '7' when you're trying to get bubble '3' and it's game over – back to the start of the level for you. Thankfully you are only sent back to the level you are on, but you'll be stating from bubble 1 again, which can get very frustrating if you got it wrong when trying to pick up bubble 49.

Hitting a skull will kill you - and note the different surfaces, some are more slippy than others

There is no limit to the number of times you can attempt a level. There is no arbitrary 'go back and do levels 1-5 again so you can have three lives to try level 6'. This is key in a mobile game, you can get straight to the level you were stuck on and be challenging it in a few moments. While the pure gamer in me (who still appreciates the really hard games from the 80s golden age) thinks this is an utter travesty of good game design, the mobile is a different platform with changed rules. Getting straight to where you left off is one of them, and Resco are to be congratulated for potentially shortening the playing time of the title in order to provide a better gaming experience.

In a nice touch, your best time for a level is always displayed next to a ticking clock for your current time, tempting you to challenge for speed – that's probably going to come out and increase the replay value, but not affect you as you first work through the 60 levels.

Ice is particularly fast, and some bubbles push you away. Level 20 (right) is very much a steady as you go...

It is doubtful that you'll complete them in a short space of time, While a successful completion of the early levels is achieved in under 30 seconds, later levels require more finesse and a very gentle touch as you roll within a pixel or two of a much higher number to get to the bubble you need.

This is a slick game, the concept is solid, the graphics are good, the learning curve is pretty much perfect... if you're looking for a mobile game that delivers great gameplay in a good package for ten dollars, then Resco Bubbles is a perfect choice. Definitely recommended.

-- Ewan Spence, Jan 2009.

 

Reviewed by Ewan Spence at 13:54 UTC, January 15th 2009