Game Reviews

Alice in Bomberland

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| Alice in Bomberland
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Alice in Bomberland
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| Alice in Bomberland

If you're going to serve up a slice of the crazies, then there can't be many more appropriate settings than the frankly batty Alice in Wonderland.

I might have only sampled the Disney version, but it's fair to say few sights left more of a mark on me when I was growing up.

Fans might well be pleased to hear that Alice in Bomberland doesn't disappoint when it comes to entertaining the truly bizarre, but not just because it dips its toes into the world of Lewis Carroll.

Mr Goodliving's take on Alice's illogical adventures comes sprinkled with nuts aplenty simply because, as a game, it's a little hard to define just what it's trying to do.

Bombs away

In very simple terms, Alice in Bomberland is a game of dodge the bullets. And missiles. And bombs. And pretty much everything else that's flung in your direction.

With the actual staging of the levels changing as often as the wind – the backdrops collectively taking in every little nuance of Alice's world along the way – your job remains the same throughout: guiding Alice around the screen so that she avoids the multitude of explosions popping off left, right, and centre.

The manner in which you do this changes, however. In some levels you float, your only input being to literally snake Alice around the screen out of the path of the ammunition headed your way.

In others, jumping is your tool, with Alice grounded but still able to leap into the air up to three times, helping you to reach pretty much every corner and crevice the level has to offer.

Collect 'em all

It's harder to stay out of trouble than it initially appears, however, given that progress relies on your ability to pick up a number objects that pop up around the screen along the way.

Not only does collecting each item add points to your tally – a certain level of which is needed to unlock the following stage – but they also dole out the odd ability or two.

While invincibility is an obvious bonus, Alice in Bomberland also draws on its subject material here, one particular highlight being the ability to shrink Alice down to size – contact with bombs and bullets naturally less likely as a result.

However, though no-one could claim Alice in Bomberland is anything but a genuine challenge, it essentially plays all its cards early on. One level rolls into the next, with the developer doing nothing more than ramping the difficulty , arguably unfairly.

Bombs that bounce around at random, for instance, give you no clue as to where they're headed. As a result, they happily sap health away, making a near perfect performance from then on the only way through.

It's prime evidence of a catchy idea that's been stretched beyond it means. Alice in Bomberland will likely serve you well for a few levels, but anything beyond that might just drive you nuts.

But then, maybe that's the point?

Alice in Bomberland

A simple an initially addictive idea taken a little too far, Alice in Bomberland is at least as bonkers as its subject material
Score
Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.