There are a handful of games that just totter on the brink of timeless. The first one must be Tetris - a simple, elegant, unassuming hugely addictive game. Next, perhaps, Bomberman. Pang even? Maybe, maybe not. Lemmings? - sure. Pac-man then? Again maybe - maybe not.
There is a simple trick to these games. Not in the playing but in the execution. In the design. The beauty with these games is first in drawing you in. 'This is simple' you cry as the first few levels zip by. You feel safe. Warm. Relaxed. It's taxing but no where near impossible. The following levels test you more. Crucially you still win. Yeah, sure - The pressure mounted. It was on the edge - but you prevailed. Right? Easy.
Surely the game cannot beat you now?
Like a fish watching an anglers lure dancing in the stream, mesmerized by the sparkling shapes you are lulled into a false sense of security. The danger mounts. The pressure builds. The sumptuous, delicious, addictive next level draws you on. I can have it. I can have it. I can win. I just need to aim right... You hold your breath as the bubble sinks perfectly into place.
Then you're dead. You've lost. Bub and Bob cry.
You jab away at the buttons. It was a mistake right? A simple error. It was marginally off-target. If it had been real coloured bubbles you were firing from a dinosaur manned cannon - well things would have been different. The angles were funny. It'll be different next time. No - the time after that. Well, err, the next time. The next time? Time... Time.
Time - kiss it good-bye.
Bust-a-move is in the same league as Tetris. It is a game that tests human weakness - and we all fail. Time and time and time and time again.
Rare as squirrel eggs that roll down the western side of the hill.
3DO Kid.
Gotta love the puzzle bobble. The only game that my wife can beat me at... mainly due to the fact that she insists on playing for hours and i lose interest after 15 min.