Bubsy: Paws on Fire!

This is not a full review, but a rundown of the game along with suggestions that can help the developers for future Bubsy projects. Review: Bubsy Paws on Fire is an auto running game similar to Bit Trip Runner 3 where you jump, attack, and leap to victory. You play as one of four playable characters: Bubsy (of course), Virgile, Woolie, and Arnold. While most characters do the auto running levels ,in their own special ways of course , Arnold is the only one playing the tube running levels which can only be unlocked by collecting three Arnold pieces from each character of a running level. Pros: Most of the character's designs transitioned smoothly to 3D, The gameplay is simple enough where the character skills aren't overwhelming. The woolie was tough to control at first due to snappy movement, but I was able to slow it down by holding the fire button, making it easier to control. The melodies are Cons: While the game was overall, easy to play, there ares still some flaws that keeps is from an excellent experience. The most noticeable flaw is the lack of personality. There are only three worlds with ten levels each and it's not much to look at. This was the same issue for Bubsy The Woolies Strikes Back where there are only three worlds and the worlds are not as exciting. The levels are not as memorable because of how repetitive they are with no world gimmicks like Sonic or Rayman. It's not the end of the world, but the lack of level gimmicks is what constantly slows the experience as a whole. Summary: Overall, Bubsy Paws on Fire is not a bad game when compared to Bubsy 1, 2, and 3D, but it's clear that the devs are missing something that can make Bubsy a good game. Tips This is where I come in and give a few suggestions for the next bubsy game. First off, try making more worlds to explore. Bring the carnival, a train, a mountain, a castle, have 5 levels for each world for variety. Take parts of the first bubsy game and make it better. Take the sewer pipe hazard and turn it into a secret room for wool collectables, Turn the roller coaster into a Donkey Kong mine kart level, add seesaws in a tech world as a way for trying new things, maybe make Bubsy ramble about what hazards to expect in a level. It's not impossible and the bubsy team have the potential to make a good game, just add world gimmicks with little punishments so that players can have a good time with the game. I'm not a Bubsy fan, but I can see that Atari is not giving him up anytime soon; so, might as well try to learn from the mistakes and make something new or improved. I do hope that Bubsy will become actually good.