Tumblepop

Tumblepop isn’t very clear with its storyline but as far as I can gather some mad scientist is trying to take over the world with his hordes of monsters and robots. Not that it really matters anyway since it’s all just a big excuse to travel the world and have some fun. 

If you’ve played games like Bubble Bobble and Snowbros you should know what to expect but instead of bubbles and snow the heroes of Tumblepop use vacuum cleaners to dispose of their foes. That’s right you simple hold in your fire button to suck up everyone around you and then release it to shoot them out and hopefully hit a few of their friends. The more you nail at one time the better the power-ups they’ll produce but beware since hesitating too long gives them a chance to bust out and kill you.

Tumblepop is actually a very simple idea but Data East has spiced it up with some excellent graphics. Stages take place all over the globe before heading off into space and each level has its own theme and enemies. You will be battling mummies in Egypt, ghosts in Japan and snowmen in Antarctica amongst others. Each foe looks excellent and you’ll spot quite a few familiar faces from other Data East titles. The game is also very colorful and overall the visual presentation is top notch. Each world can be anything from five to ten levels big and you’ll also have to battle a huge boss at the end so don’t worry about completing this one in a hurry. To help you out there is a wide range of power-ups like the usual speed and range but collect all the letters to spell “Tumblepop” and you’re whisked off to a bonus stage where the aim is to grab all the goodies before the time runs out. Quite fun especially in two player mode as you race to beat your friend to the good stuff.

Tumblepop doesn’t disappoint in the audio department either and features one of those soundtracks that will stick in your head for days. It’s horrible catchy and you’ll probably catch yourself humming it in the shower. Some cool sound effects also round off the package. The controls are a breeze and your character can actually crouch which can get you out of some tight spots but only if you remember that you can actually do it.

Overall I had a blast with this game and can heartily recommend it to all fans of the genre. Data East has really done a nice job and this game deserves to be played. Like all titles in this genre it can get a bit repetitive and once completed there’s little to come back to but it’s definitely entertaining and will keep you challenged for a while