The classic open source Frozen Bubble game has founds its way to S60, and it’s well worth a pop. Puzzle Bobble/Bust a Move, the original 1994 arcade game, could be the most cloned title in the world of videogames so the concept of this one-player GNU version shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
You’re faced with an array of coloured bubbles stuck to the ceiling and have to pop them by shooting them with a bubble of the same colour. If you can clear the screen before the ceiling sinks down, you win.
What might come as a shock is just how polished this freeware game feels. Linux-style penguins controlling the bubble popper are beautifully drawn, the 2D animation and dynamics are smooth and natural, and sound effects are fun without being (too) annoying.
Difficulty progresses nicely, from super-simple introductory levels to puzzles that soon become fiendishly complex, and the fact that you’re basically playing one long game means that you don’t have to slog through the early levels again and again.
Frozen Bubble isn’t a beautifully realised, immersive 3D experience like the latest N-gage blockbusters - but then neither does it cost £8 for a game that you’re going to finish in a few hours. Yes, it would have been nice to have the multiplayer options you get in the desktop Linux versions but this is still one of the best versions of one of the best mobile puzzlers out there. Good clean fun.
Details
Size: 709KB
Price: Free
