This page was last modified 2008-08-16 01:44:37 by Puchu.Net user Choco. (Show history)

Save the duckies in Super Rub-A-Dub, a motion-controlled game that is simple to play.

Go to: [ Game Mechanics and Controls | Good | Bad | Notes ]

Developer	Sumo Digital
Web site	http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Games/Super_Rub_a_Dub
Platform	Playstation 3
Cost	$4.99
ESRB Rating	EVERYONE.

Great distraction for babies and 10 to 15 minutes of a few quick games. There isn't anything that stands out as extremely weak or impressive. With relatively low expectations I thought the game is charming and $5 is a fair price to pay.

Game Mechanics and Controls

• Tilt controller to affect orientation of bath tub with water and duckies. The rubber ducky will move accordingly.
• Burst bubbles with little duckies and lead them to the exit drain. The level finishes when there are no more little duckies left in the tub.
• Quickly shake controller to jump/launch duckie or flip sharks.

Excellent Ideas

• Simple and intuitive controls.
• Clear objectives and short time requirement, perfect for a few quick games.
• Relatively inexpensive, downloads and installs quickly. From the demo to being able to play the game the experience is very smooth and positive.
• Nice water ripple and splash effects. Not the most impressive but they add subtle hints to help players relate controls and the duck's actions.

Annoyance

• Motion control isn't terribly precise, and it is difficult to predict where the duck will land. Here lies what I think is a major problem for this game, that its difficulty is solely caused by the control scheme, kind of like Super Monkey Ball. But whereas Monkey Ball has a puzzle aspect that augments the game play, that extra something is missing in Super Rub-A-Dub. The ducks do not make as many annoying sounds though.
• Attempting to break high scores usually involves many retries without finishing a stage... missed the first duckie? Reset! Do this enough times and it is frustrating. This game is probably a lot more fun without a competitive mindset.

Other Notes

• Seeing world-wide high score is nice, but being able to download and see the technique will be even better.
• Something about seeing little duckies flushed down the drain is a little disturbing and entertaining at the same time.