Just one more

Hands up everyone who’s played Tetris.

Hours I spent, flipping blocks round, shuffling them left and right, until my hand would cramp and the buttons of my GameBoy start to wear down. One memorable train journey down to London gave me the opportunity to play for some 6 straight hours and I could hardly move my thumb for days. You should’ve seen the high score though!

Anyway, I’m a bit too busy to play many games these days, and I certainly don’t have the time nor the patience required for something like Tomb Raider. In fact, my game playing has evolved to the point where I much prefer a good “pick up and play” to anything that requires time or devotion (I can place Pro Evolution Soccer in the “pick up and play” category because I’ve been playing it’s first inception —ISSDeluxe on the Megadrive— and know the controls off by heart).

To that end puzzle games are something I try to avoid, knowing full well that a “quick game” soon turns into “IT’S 3AM! TURN THAT BLOODY COMPUTER OFF!!”.

I’ll pause at this point to say that I hate Ben. I hate his games even more. Specifically I hate Bubble Blitz.

Like all the best puzzle games it’s simple to learn, easy to play, and has the ability to bend time to it’s will. It’s pure evil, there’s no other excuse for it.

I downloaded a copy of the game a couple of weeks back but it wasn’t until the weekend that I finally installed it, fired it up and… whoooosh. It’s 3AM. Just like that.

Thankfully I was TRYING to stay up to pick Louise up after a night out but, that aside, it’s a testament to this game, and more specifically it’s addictiveness, that I hardly noticed the time until my mobile buzzed with someone demanding a lift (thankfully it was Louise).

Dammmit. It did it again!!!

I was just firing it up to check something and next thing it’s an hour later!

Where was I?

Ohh yes. The interface is nice and bright and friendly, the sounds can be turned off (but aren’t as bad as some, and yes that includes the original Tetris tune!), and there is just a nice chunky feel to this game. Only annoyance is the continual interruption of the in-game messages —GOOD MOVE, BONUS and so on— but that’s a minor irritation and it didn’t stop me from playing it for about four hours straight.

So, if you DON’T want to lose valuable time playing a game, if you DON’T want to wonder where the past couple of hours went then avoid this game altogether.

On the other hand, it’s wonderfully addictive and hey, we all like a little diversion now and again, right?

Bubble Blitz by Binary Sun ~ an excellent waste of time!