 |
| OVERALL RATING |
3.0 |
| Presentation |
 |
3.0 |
| Control |
 |
3.5 |
| Gameplay |
|
3.0 |
| Fun factor |
 |
2.5 |
| User Rating |
 |
2.5 |
 |
Posted: June 12, 2007
Bust-a-Move is the first “Match” game I remember playing as a lad and I was completely hooked by it. If I wasn’t playing it at the pizza place I was at home playing it on my SNES. I just couldn’t get enough of it so when I got my hands on this wireless version I was taken back down memory lane, though this time it proved to be bittersweet.
The game has been copied a number of times by other titles so if you haven’t played this one before, chances are you’ve already experienced the type of play it provides. In short, you control a launcher at the bottom of the screen and point it left or right to shoot colored bubbles at those hanging above. If you successfully match three or more, they burst and disappear from the playfield. Depending on what mode you choose to play, the objective is slightly different.
Round mode is a series of 50 preset layouts where you must clear all of the bubbles in order to complete the stage and move on. As time passes by, the bubbles move downward and if they reach the red line just above the launcher before all are cleared, the game is over. Any cleared levels can be played once again after they have already been completed.
Challenge mode provides a never-ending wall of bubbles to clear that is constantly approaching the red line. As you continue to clear bubbles, new ones appear, some of which introduce new colors to make the patterns more difficult.
Only these two modes are available in the game which is unfortunate since I believe the heart of the game was found in the VS CPU mode that isn’t present here but in others. The game also seemed a little delayed in some instances but one of the main issues is that the launcher arrow looks too small, and results in some erroneous shots. Either that or just my eyesight is going bad.
However fun Bust-a-Move has been in the past, it inevitably has been surpassed in game play by more modern titles and it therefore feels like something extra could have been done to make this one more enjoyable.
