Day 157, Game 157 - Germinator

Arcades are becoming a thing of the past. When I say arcades, I of course am talking about the old school type of arcades, with game cabinets lined up all over, quarters being the only currency used and the glow of machines being the guiding light through the establishment. Now days, "arcades" mean something different - with every game centering around winning tickets and no real skill being involved, but rather luck. Gone are the wall to wall arcade video game cabinets, replaced my gaudy monstrosities of "games." 

The reason I bring this is up, is because whenever I find myself in a tried and true arcade, the first game I always hunt down - and I mean always - is Bust-A-Move. For you youngsters out there, Bust-A-Move is not a type of Dance Dance Revolution game or anything of that nature, so get that out of your head right now. No, Bust-A-Move is a bubble popping game, where you must shoot different colored bubbles at stacks of colored bubbles, matching up colors in order to create a  bubble explosion. Once all the bubbles are gone, the level is over. 

So again, every time I visit an arcade (which sadly isn't very often anymore), I hunt down a Bust-A-Move machine, if they have one. And let me tell you something, if they do, watch out! I will need to be dragged away from that machine, only after I dump a fistful of quarters into it. Over the years, I have probably spent more money on just that game than any other game I've bought EASILY, including DLC and season passes and all that. And that's just quarter by quarter, remember. Needless to say, I love those types of games for reasons I can't fully explain. It's just my thing.


Imagine my surprise when I downloaded a free game (thanks to PS Plus) on my Vita the other morning, only to just discover today that it is a bubble popping game! Talk about an unexpected but very, very great surprise.

Germinator isn't exactly your dad's bubble popping game, however. They introduce a new twist on the genre to set it apart from the rest. Instead of bubbles stacking up, when two of the same color come in contact, they merge into one big one. Add another one, it gets even larger. Add a fourth, and POP! This is all made possible by the fact that the bubbles are not bubbles at all, but rather germs. As if a game in this niche genre needed any sort of explanation. 

Another cool aspect is how the different color germs react when blowing up, and the introduction of a special meter to charge up shots with special powers that do different damage depending on the color. Because of my old school ways, I found it challenging to actually remember to use the special powers, but when I did, it was awesome. 

Thankfully, this was a free game. Not because it was horrible, but because if it was in an arcade, my wallet would be tapping out quicker than if it was fighting a Steam sale on a payday. Also, because it is on my Vita, I can take it with me while waiting in line to be next on Dance Dance Revolution ... or not. 

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