Super Rub a Dub may be one of the weirder gaming experiences to make it Stateside. Armed with your Sixaxis, you tilt bathtubs to steer a Mama Duck around in order to retrieve little ducks while avoiding wind-up sharks and infinity pool edges - all this to send them directly down the drain. Never mind the painfully pared down gameplay, I had serious issues with sending my little ducklings into tub water oblivion.
As you navigate the cerulean waters you pop bubbles containing tiny ducklings to form a chain. You are rewarded for doing this quickly and in one long single file. Bonuses are awarded for keeping a continuous chain, and penalties for losing one of your brood. Your scores are added to an online leader-board, but you only see your ranking upon completion of a level, you can't go back. Lame.
The mazes, if you could even call them that, are really straightforward. They number sixty in all, and the biggest challenge is fighting your nerdy competitive streak. In this way the gameplay is strangely addictive and you will find yourself fighting to claim the number one spot in time trial. Otherwise, Rub a Dub isn't worth fighting over the controller for, it's just not that engaging.
Tubs may become more challenging as they add enemies (wind up sharks), currents and remove the tubs borders. One fun trick is to pop the controller and make the whole thing hop which launches your duck and turns your enemies belly-up for a period of time. Longer puzzles won't frustrate you because of the complexity of the maze, rather because the controls are a mind boggling kind of crazy. For steering a duck around a pool the adjustments are awfully fussy, and - lacking surgical precision - no good can come of this.
Visually the game looks, well, clean. It's 1080p of pretty blue water and saturated colors: very pretty and very simple. "Simple" also applies to the music, which is homogeneous throughout. The water sounds are fun, however, and enhance the environment.
Super Rub a Dub claims the category "multiplayer", but it's the lamest kind: first player goes, second player goes. The end. Granted, it couldn't really function well with cooperative play, but a more versus style could have held up (think shark v. duck!).
In the end, the experience is best described as underdeveloped. While the game is pretty successful in what it does do, it just seems like it should do more. Even as a download, you can't help but feel a little shorted and when you're only shelling out $6.99, and that's no good. Ultimately, Super Rub a Dub functions best as an answer to the Jack Thompsons of the world who think that gaming is all about nurturing a violent streak. Just hope he doesn't ask what happens to all the little duckies that go overboard.
PS3 Attitude: "Ah, Sixaxis. Remember that? Sony pushed this motion-sensing technology in a big way before the launch of the PS3, but then Lair came out and everyone decided it was the worst thing in the world. That said, there are some good uses of the Sixaxis out there, so let’s take some time to remember them; to be honest we initially struggled to get to five, but we got there in the end!"
This list failed to me when it didn't list Warhawk. I won't play it without sixaxis control, and it's also why I didn't buy Starhawk, they took it out. It just doesn't feel the same to me.
Cant open it, does it include Killzone 2? cuz the Sniping was an absolute blast to do with the sixaxis and also to turn the valves and such, very very great
Nice to see Super Rub a Dub on this list! Not that I own that game... of course... honestly...
@Roper316 I agree, while the other games on this list used the Sixaxis, Folklore implemented it in a way that was pure genius. I'd say that Folklore would be number 1, (if this was an ordered list) followed by Flower.
There are some PlayStation 3 exclusives that have slid under the radar, or been critically panned so badly that is boarders on the tragic.
Haven't played those JRPG's but usually like that genre, might have to check 'em out.
Folklore was awesome, as was heavenly sword and who doesn't like the sound of 'supersonic acrobatic rocket-powered battle-cars'. That game ssounds like bit of a laugh...
Folklore was amazing and it had some of the best sixaxis controls on the PS3
Yeah, they were very immersive. Proof that sixaxis can be done well and actually add to a game.
that sometimes exclusives that would have been hyped like crazy on 360 is sometimes under rated on PS3.
Same, I havn't played the first 2-3 JRPGs mentioned.
But all-in-all, I've played 6/10 of these.
And I wasn't awfully disappointed with any of them... sometimes I was pleasantly pleased. (esp. Yakuza)
Not sure if you can consider Yakuza an RPG, its mostly a brawler but yeah the series is underrated outside of Japan.
I plan on getting Atelier Totori, Ar Tonelico Qoga, and White Knight Chronicles II early next year.
Also, Enslaved was a BRILLIANT game. Ninja Theory needs to be recognized more.
For all the shit they're getting for DmC, i think consumers are too stupid to realise gave-development talent when they see it. I loved Heavenly Sword and Enslaved, and will gladly purchase ANY game Ninja Theory makes.
I wish they would make HS2 next, but not sure what the relationship between NT and Sony are like. Would be sad to see Santa Monica take NT's IP.
Agreed. DmC looks incredible. Looks like the best one since the original. Haters gonna hate, I actually LOVE the look of Dante. People either can't accept change, or they can't deal with the fact that Capcom handed it off to developers that aren't afraid to go outside the box. Capcom is getting stale; Ninja Theory isn't.
Solid list. Moe JRPGs aside.
Though I do wish they'd revisit Lair. It real main failing was being hawked for sixaxis. That and important in-games adjectives being yelled in-game among a crowd of other noises.
Here's a very good video (if we do say so ourselves) showing off what I believe to be the 10 best games on the PlayStation Store at the moment. Enjoy!
your joking, i loved Rub a' Dub
it had me occupied longer than Heavenly Sword and it was 15 times cheaper
Hey I swear I was just writing a review for this game and you beat me to it but I actually loved the game so my score will be higher.
sounds funny. Sounds very funny.
i only briefly tried it...i thought it was ok.
But anyways good review. :)