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| | Publisher: Strange Flavour  Genre: Arcade | | | Min OS X: Any Version CPU: G3 @ 233 MHz RAM: 32 MB Graphics: 800x600 @ 16-bit |
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I tend to consider myself a fairly hardcore gamer. I enjoy my share of Quake III, Oni, and Myth. I like to see things blown up, beat up and all around destroyed. So it surprises me when I find a game that I can become completely addicted to that doesn’t have any of theses things. The last game that did this for me was Mortal Pongbat. This take on Pong was responsible for many a bad grade during college. I cursed the makers of that game for providing such an appealing way to procrastinate. Well, the guys at Strange Flavour might be getting a call from me pretty soon. See they made this little game called AirBurst. I have been playing it for the last week. That is all I am playing. I can’t stop. This cute bubble popping game is so darn addictive I want to be playing it now instead of writing this review. Aaron and Adam Fothergill are the guys behind Strange Flavour and therefore deserve the blame for my addiction. Strange Flavor’s last game was Bushfire, a very fun side-scrolling helicopter game. That game was very successful and I predict that AirBurst will join it. Although loosely based on the Atari classic Warlords, this game extends the classic game beyond anything that a Warlords fan can imagine. Bubble Popping Action In AirBurst you control a cute alien athlete from the near future in the only sport whose broadcast rights weren’t sold to a Martian megacorporation. In this sport you float on a balloon 30,000 feet above ground. You are surrounded by a ring of smaller balloons that you try to protect from a spiked ball. You use a bat to defend your balloons from attack of other competitors (either 1-3 other humans or up to 8 computer controlled) and try to burst their bubbles. Throw in a dozen or so power-ups and you have a very interesting game. There are 12 game types that are all very addictive. Here are a few of my favorites.Levels This is the basic game type and is included in the demo version of the game. The goal is to be the last of four players floating at the end of each level. Fail to do so and fall 30,000 feet to the ground and start from the first level. Each level adds new power-ups and progressively skilled opponents. Calling this game type basic really doesn’t do it justice. It is by far the most addicting game type and one of the most fun to play with friends.DM This is a great take on the Death Match concept. Take 8 players, put them 30,000 feet in the air with precious few shield balloons and let chaos begin. The first player to knock 5 opponents off their balloons wins. Sound simples, isn’t simple.Thief A very similar game to levels, except when you burst an opponents shield balloon you get to keep it for yourself.CTF No, this isn’t a Capture the Flag game. It is Capture the Frog. Two teams try to capture a frog by bursting the other teams bubble. The team left floating with the frog at the end of the match wins. Simple concept, fun game.Dogs This is a great last man standing game. 8 players all have a special kind of bat called a Sticky Bat. This allows you to catch the ball and then throw it where you wish. This is a great powerup in a normal game, but in Dogs it just leads to utter chaos and fun. If you are lucky enough to be the last player, you win.
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