Soul Bubbles [Toys R Us Exclusive] (DS)

“I find it difficult to understand why game developers seem afraid to make mature titles. Not in the sense of mature meaning filled to the brim with partial nudity, foul language, and enough gore to choke a goat. I mean mature in the sense of...”

“I find it difficult to understand why game developers seem afraid to make mature titles. Not in the sense of mature meaning filled to the brim with partial nudity, foul language, and enough gore to choke a goat. I mean mature in the sense of respectful of the player's time and attention.

Soul Bubbles can not be reduced to a single genre. It blends elements of casual games with light exploration and adventure elements. The end result is an innovative DS game that easily outclasses many other titles in terms of design, artistic direction, and gameplay.

Playing as a young (I'm tempted to use the word 'Padawan') apprentice to a mystical shaman, you are tasked with escorting souls to the afterlife through perilous obstacle courses themed after the environments of various shamanistic traditions. Along the way, you must perform various actions on the bubbles you protect your souls with that take full advantage of the physics programming and the various input methods on the DS.

You can combine bubbles, create new ones, cut them in half, shoot projectiles out of them, and fill them with light or heavy gas, all in an effort to avoid or eliminate various predators looking for a little soul food.

The controls are easy to pick up and master. The graphics, considering that they are on the DS and 2-dimensional, are gorgeous. More importantly, however, the game is FUN. It's an original premise, with a unique aesthetic, something highly sought after in the games industry. If you own a DS, then I order you go to your local games retailer and buy Soul Bubbles. Do it. NOW!”