DS GAME REVIEW
Rainbow Islands RevolutionThere's no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow – only a burst bubble |
When Paul Simon was working on his seminal mid-'80s album Graceland, little did he know that 20 years later it would be the inspiration for Rainbow Islands Revolution. The big question though isn't why the gamemakers seemingly picked up on Simon's lyrics about the 'Boy in Bubble', but rather why they also appear to have subconsciously absorbed its Frankensteinian follow-on, 'and the Baby with the Baboon's heart'. Because while it starts out with some nice ideas, frankly Rainbow Islands Revolution is something of a perversion against gaming nature.
Still, let's set the scene. For reasons best left lost in the mists of arcade history (research Bubble Bobble for details), brothers Bubby and Bobby inhabit Rainbow Islands. Like most game environments, it's a place populated with nasty critters, from insects to miniature armies, robots, dragons and other such baddies, and you'd be well-advised to avoid contact with any of them if you want to make it through to the end of the level.
Perhaps that's why Bobby and Bubby have taken to inhabiting bubbles for Rainbow Islands Revolution (although the bubble actually offers pretty scant protection). Taking control of one or the other brother – one's weak and fast, the other strong and slow – you move their bubble upwards and downwards through the various island stages by using your stylus to direct the drifting bubble's path, working against the clock since the levels are slowly falling into the sea, and avoiding indigenous lifeforms as you go.
That's hard to do though, as the bubble seems to act as a magnet, drawing everything towards it the longer it's left stationary. But you do have a weapon against such assaults – rainbows, which you draw using your stylus on the touchscreen. (The DS' upper screen simply shows you what's coming up next above.) These rainbows transform any lifeforms they hit into bonus items, which if you're quick you can guide Bub (or Bob) to pick up, gaining valuable points.
Vanquished enemies sometimes transform into stars, which on contact with your bubble explode into fragments, wiping out everything in their path. With enough points, you can also power up your rainbow meter (you only have a certain amount of rainbow power available to you at any point), in which case drawing a star, circle or triangle will smart bomb your enemies into various oblivions.
However, doing any of these actions requires you to relinquish control of the bubble. And bereft of your stylus' touch, the bubble haplessly drifts around in the air currents, maybe crashing into spikes or getting whacked by some sneaky enemy approach from off-screen.
Thus the typical player's dilemma is set: focus on the bubble, or on the environment. It seems like a game mechanic that could work, but in the case of Rainbow Islands Revolution, there's just too much going on.
You can't leave your bubble alone for long enough to destroy the enemies ahead – they'll just respawn. And even if you could, you just don't get enough rainbow power to protect the bubble from the hordes that attack it. There's even a problem with the responsiveness of the DS touchscreen compared to the speed at which the enemies move.
The bottom line is there's just too much going on for you to even begin to build up the required rhythm of move, hide and attack. The best you can hope for is, move, move, move, attack, panic, bubble popped, frustration... switch off.
Rainbow Islands Revolution |
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Undermined by poor game design and clumsy implementation of the DS' features, Rainbow Islands Revolution is the last game you'd take to a solitary desert hideaway
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