Very Unique!
Bubba 'n' Stix is a game where you(Bubba) and your stick (Stix) are sent off on a grand adventure across 6 tough levels. I loved parts of it and hated others, but all in all, I can't wait to play it some more. It is a game that wants to be a platformer, with lots of jumping, climbing, and fighting, but unfortunately those are the worst parts. You will die. And you will die a lot!! Sound frustrating? It can be, but fortunately it lets you continue back at the beginning of a level- usually a good thing, right?- except that now you have to replay the entire level just to get to the place you messed up, and then hopefully do better= The game gives a password at the end of each level, but it saves the number of lives you had left, as well, so if you just barely squeaked through the last level with one gasping breath, that is how you will start the next level- on your last life- a serious design flaw seemed only to add play time and difficulty. I ended up going back to each level trying for that elusive perfect run so that I could save with as many lives left as possible. So the game plays like this- you scroll through a level, each time making it farther and farther, figuring out the best way to tackle each enemy/situation as it confronts you- whether using Stix as a step up a cliff, or dislodging boulders, shooting rocks like pool balls, or by attacking/killing any enemies that come your way. In addition to using Stix like a sword to fight close battles, you can also throw him to clear out distant enemies and trigger switches, and he will return to you like a boomerang. So the game is a series of puzzles, whether it be figuring out how to climb a cliff, or trigger a switch that you just can't seem to reach, or coming upon an item that you have no clue of it's use, and then trying inventive ways to use it. Levels are sometimes a series of single rooms, where you must figure a way out of each, before maddeningly being thrown into another. Once out of those rooms, the levels themselves are often long and mazelike, often requiring good strategy and memory skills to overcome their many multiple paths. Again, if you only had to solve everything once it would be great, but multiple times through can play different each time, so a lot of times its tough just getting back to where you were when you last died. So this puzzle aspect and the level layout are great- very, very clever- the best part of the game in fact, and i would have loved the game had it just stuck with this. But they have to add the annoying fighting to it all and a lot of times you end up dying cheap deaths over and over. OK- so some design elements definately suck! The game is legendary in it's difficulty, but quite surprisingly, is quite playable. It has an addictive quality that makes you say- I'm not going to bed- I'm figuring out how to BEAT THIS STUPID LEVEL!! Its a game that demands your A-Game- don't even bother playing it if you're not bringing your thinking cap, some quick reflexes, and a plate of patience. But if your game is ready, it is quite do-able, quite fun, and quite challenging. Pay attention to the clues that the game provides you and nothing should stump you for long. Is this the type of game for you? Are you a diehard gamer?-who would probably like it-or a newbie who hasn't yet figured out how to meld 2-D brain, brawn, and patience into his gameplaying? (And will probably go crying home to mommy by mid-first level!) Pick it up for cheap on E-Bay and find out!!Read full review
