Now, normally I wouldn't recommend playing word games underwater because you'll get your puzzle book all soggy. However, with Bubble Babble you can have plenty of fun with words without getting wet.
The object of this brain-bending game is to create words from the letters floating around in the bubbles on screen. If you manage impress your friendly fish host, Wordsworth Smartygills you'll score points and progress through to the next level.
Before you start playing Bubble Babble it's worth having a look at the excellent (if slightly long-winded) animated tutorial, where Wordsworth demonstrates how to play and you get the chance to pull off a few moves. Joining the bubbles together is done simply by dragging them next to each other using the d-pad. It's a rather cumbersome control system and sometimes it doesn't seem to detect when two bubbles are touching and you have to keep trying, which soon becomes annoying.
There are four different game modes to try, each presenting a different kind of puzzle. There's Challenge, where you need to make a certain number of words within a given time; target, in which you must put the separated words back together; Mystery, where you're asked to find the hidden word; and Freeplay, which lets you make words to your heart's content.
I was impressed by Bubble Babble's overall presentation. The graphics and sound are fun and capture the aquatic theme very well. There are plenty of options to tinker around with, and a great Stats feature, which lets you view all manner of details about your performance.
It can get a little repetitive after a while, but if you're a fan of word puzzles Bubble Babble provides a more entertaining way to play than a puzzle book can.
