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Have Audiogenic come up with the ultimate Amiga platform game? Or is it just another old formula yawn? Tony Dillon gets a taste of Bubble and Squeak.
There have been numerous successful double acts in the past: Abbot and Costello, Morecomb and Wise, Little and Large etc. All have been funny (with the exception of Little and Large perhaps, unless you happen to like Deputy Dawg impersonations ten years after their program has ceased being broadcast), yet this double act scenario has never really been as popular in the games market as it has on TV.

Of course there have been partnerships in the past – Mario and Luigi, or Bub and Bob for instance – but the sad thing is that these characters have always been pairs, not partners. It is one of the golden rules of comedy that if you are going to have two people interacting, one of them has to be the straight man. Two wacky and amusing characters just don't work. And this is perhaps the key to Bubble & Squeak's appeal. Not only are the characters interesting and fun to watch, you'll also find that they are, in fact, a true comedy double act. Add that to the fact that it's also an immensely playable game, with tons of puzzles and extra curriculum platform fare and you've got something special.

But before I tell you any more, let me introduce you to the two heroes of the show: Bubble is a small boy, who looks a bit like Charlie Brown and seems quite normal in every respect, apart from the fact that he's premature bald and has a pet monster called Squeak. Squeak is a mini dinosaur/dragon in the Flintstones 'Dino' mould – very loyal, but not quite as mad (or smart) as Fred and Wilma's 'little' pet.
However, the big question is, how does it all work? On the back of the box (always a good place to start) the game describes itself as a combination of platform game, puzzler and shoot 'em up, all rolled in one, and I'd have to agree with them.

Even though there are two main characters, Bubble and Squeak isn't actually a two-player game. Instead, you control Bubble as he runs around the thirty enormous levels, while he, in turn, controls Squeak. Confused? Don't worry, it will all become clear in a moment.

Squeak, who has his own individual personality, follows Bubble around the screen, helping out wherever possible. However, he can't run as fast or jump as high as his master, so you'll have to let him catch up and find ways around various high obstacles. This is where the puzzle element of the game comes into play.

To be fair to Squeak, he does have a few tricks up his sleeve that make him more than just a useful friend. For a start, if you stand in front of him and push up, he will grab you under the armpits and throw you high in the air – at least twice as high as you can normally jump. Or, stand next to him and give him a kick, and he will roll into a ball and fly around the screen like Sonic The Hedgehog until he hits a wall.

Then there's bubble gum mode. The name comes from the bubble gum machines that are scattered around each level. When you get close to one of these, Squeak starts getting excited. If you drop a coin in the slot (coins are collected by shooting bad guys, as usual), then step back and kick the machine, a gum ball flies through the air into the greedy clutches of Squeak, who then bends over, allowing you to jump on his back. From this point on, you can run faster than normal, jump higher than ever and fire bubbles at the enemy, which are faster than the stars that Bubble normally fires across the screen.

Travelling around on Squeak's back is not only a very useful way to get around the various screens, it is also the only way you are going to be able to solve many of the puzzles the game throws at you.
Bubble and Squeak is a real treat to watch, with some of the most eyecatching and crisp sprites ever seen in an Amiga game. As mentioned earlier these sprites make for a funny comedy duo combination, with expressive faces and cute in-depth detail.
Developed for the AGA chipset, the game is only available on A1200 at the moment, with a CD32 version coming soon. And, believe me, the graphic artists have made extremely good use of the 256 colour chipset.

Glorious backdrops and smooth animation obviously can't be clearly illustrated in still screenshots, but you have to admit, the game sure does have a lot of character.
This flows over into the aural side of Bubble and Squeak too. Some simple but effective tunes play along behind the amusing sound effects, which include some wonderful samples of Bubble ordering Squeak around: "Wait here", he cries, "Come on", he shouts impatiently.

This is a very, very playable game. The controls, even on a three button pad, are logically worked out, and you'll have no trouble at all completing a couple of levels on your first attempt. Things get pretty hard as the game goes on, but you will be having so much fun you won't even notice. Bubble & Squeak is one of the most playable and original platform games to ever hit the Amiga. If you're an A1200 owner and you don't buy this, then you probably just don't like games, do you?

Title Bubble & Squeak
Publisher Audiogenic (1994)
Game Type Platform
Players 1
HD Installable No
Compatibility A1200, CD32
Submission Emanuele Rodolà

Review
The evil Kat O'Nine Tails has kidnapped every animal on earth and
brainwashed them. Squeak the doggy and Bubble the master face the evil cat
in an attempt to liberate the animals and bring the bad feline alien to
justice.

You play the part of Bubble, a little boy with puffy cheeks and smiling
face, followed by his always loyal canine, Squeak. With a simple joystick
flick you can choose whether to be followed by Squeak, and use him as a
lift to gain access to higher locations, or as a kind of landmark to
prevent you losing your bearings. Levels are populated with
baseball-playing ducks, caterpillars, and other cute monstrosities as well
as gems and coins for you to collect. What's more, coins can be used with
bubblegum machines to make your mutt more obedient and piggyback you
around the place, running faster and jumping higher. Pretty funny, and
very playable as well. Levels are well-structured and of the standard
type, with a start-point and a finish-point. There is no savegame or
checkpoints throughout the levels (that is, you have to start the level
from the beginning if you lose all your lives), but you are given
passwords each time you complete a stage. Of course, to get a stage
completed, both Bubble and Squeak must get to the escape door alive.

But Bubble & Squeak is more than a hit-and-run platform game. You have to
think of the least painful way to do the thing, and do it quickly. In each
level you'll have to face different tricky puzzles, and not all of them
are that easy to solve. I had to struggle around and blindly hit the walls
(unsuccessfully) in search of a way out of the level more than once, before I
found out what the right move was; it was actually very logical.
Pressure to the game is given by the ever-rising water which chases you
upwards within the level; in fact, the game stages are mostly of the
vertical type, but often the escape-point is not at the upper level, but
instead in the middle, or worse, at the very bottom; and there are 30 of
them, and up to 5 extra levels and bonus stages here and there.

Sound effects are well produced and Bubble's cute voice fits in
beautifully with the inspired soundtrack by Allister Brimble, very
recognizeable in his cheesy pop style and reminding me of certain other
successful game-scores such as Superfrog; the background music works very
well with the game. Regarding the graphics, all is very cute-looking
and polished, sometimes resembling James Pond's level design and colouring,
but all in all fitting very well with the music, the sound effects and the
neat playability of the title.

All of this should keep the longevity above the just-one-day-of-play
limit, together with the right amount of challenge for the average player.
But unfortunately, this (often over-rated) platformer is not all roses &
flowers. Stages are fairly short and can be frustrating at times,
especially as you proceed further into the game; even though arcade and
logic are well-balacned, longer stages and slower water filling up would
have certainly hit the spot. The game can be hard at times, with
the need for pinpoint accurate jumps and quick reflexes, and it may
require a lot of patience to complete something which would otherwise be
fairly simple. An annoying example is represented by the fact that when
you die you have to go through the intro sequence again, wait for the menu
to appear again, then enter the password and finally be ready to play the
stage which brought you here dozens of times already.

All in all, Bubble & Squeak is a nice platformer with sparse bits of
logic, nice graphics, great music and some hours of fun ensured. A good
and fun timekiller for your afternoons, but it can be a real challenge; I
would suggest to have a run at the demo version first, or make for
Superfrog instead.