VIB RIBBON (PSX)
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A DJ rabbit, a dorky frog and a worm

By JAMES ANTHONY

Hmmmm. First up you think is that somebody has had just a little too much sake for their own good. Then you think … hmmmm, maybe they've used something stronger. Then you think, hmmmm I'm getting in to this - what the heck am I on?

And that's how it is with Vib Ribbon, probably the most original Playstation game since Parappa the Rapper.

It is a seriously strange game and is basically a line character moving along a single thread.

Your start-off character is like a spaced-out line drawing of a toddler Bugs Bunny. As your strength drops you change into a frog and then finally into a fat-headed worm.

The aim of Vib Rribbon is to make your character perform moves as it wanders along and comes up to various line symbols. There are door-like blocks to hop over, v-shaped holes to cross, sharp-line barriers to get through and various loop-the-loops to navigate.

There are only four buttons you need to control and while this may be easy (initially) the tempo soon picks up and you find yourself frantically operating the controller to keep your chappie going for as long as you can.

As you make mistakes and fail to follow the trail you are penalised in strength and also face the prospect of the lines becoming exceedingly jerky, making it harder to follow and easier to make another error on. Still, a bit of practice does wonders and within a short time you'll be hooning along having a wow of a time.

Now, take a couple of minutes to familiarise yourself with the buttons as this makes life a lot easier. Being a don't-read-the-rules sort I had to put up with the laughter of the darned rabbit having scored a world-record low of 8. Things got better with a bit of fiddling on the controls and 40 was next. The third attempt was a lucky 263 but, after watching the how-to-play advice, a confidence-restoring 495 was achieved with one arm tied behind my back. (Almost.)

The music in Vib Ribbon is like a cross between techno pop and the chipmunks but after a while, or a couple of strong coffees, becomes rather interesting. In fact, it is downright good and as the pace picks up you cannot help but really getting in to it.

There is the stock-standard music provided with the game but you can put your own CDs in to give the game a different feel and look, as certain aspects of the game are affected by the music - cool eh? I can say that Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance does zany things to the shapes on offer.

Vib-ribbon is truly an experience and you can be guaranteed to have an excellent time with kids, teens or even adults at parties. Mind you, that damned wascally wabbit does get on your goat and there were a few occasions when a shotgun, or a vial of myxomatosis pellets, would have gone down a treat.

Brilliant stuff!

ORIGINALITY 100%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 70%
PLAYABILITY 95%
ADDICTION 80%
ENJOYMENT 80%