Bust-a-Move DS
North American box art
Developer(s)Happy Happening
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • NA: December 6, 2005
  • JP: February 2, 2006
  • PAL: February 3, 2006
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Bust-a-Move DS, known as Pullback!! Puzzle Bobble (ひっぱって!!パズルボブル, Hippatte!! Pazuru Boburu) in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Happy Happening and published by Majesco Entertainment for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console.

The game received mixed reaction due to the game lacking new features apart from the new slingshot system.

Gameplay

Instead of the usual firing mechanism used in previous games in the series, a slingshot system is used to fire bubbles, controlled by the stylus and the touch screen. There are 500 levels in all, divided evenly across two campaigns[1] and grouped into 50 sets of 10 levels; players must finish a set's 10 levels in one sitting to progress.

Release

It was featured in publisher Majesco Entertainment's Electronic Entertainment Expo presentation in 2005.[2]

Reception

In her preview, Carrie Gouskos of GameSpot noted that the touchscreen controls took some getting used to and lacked precision.[13] Marc Nix of IGN felt that the touchscreen controls were cool, feeling that the multiplayer component would make it a worthwhile purchase when released.[14]

Bust-a-Move DS received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of three sevens and one six for a total of 27 out of 40.[6]

Mathew Kumar of Eurogamer felt that the touchscreen slingshot controls were interesting and mechanically satisfying, but found them useless on later levels due to how much longer it takes to use them, making it more difficult to beat these levels. He found the use of the two screens to be good, and praised the multiplayer experience, though noting that the lack of online makes it harder to enjoy it.[5] Meanwhile, Ryan Davis of GameSpot found the touchscreen support to be solid, praising the multiplayer and number of levels to play, while expressing disappointment over its "weak AI" and difficulty aiming with the Nintendo DS' directional pad.[1] Tom Orry of VideoGamer.com called its gameplay "fiendishly addictive," though he lamented that the gameplay was "more of the same." He also noted that the touchscreen option allows for more precision than the directional pad controls.[11] Craig Harris of IGN similarly found the touchscreen controls valuable to a "classic" game, though he wished there were more new things added to the game.[7] Jon Jordan of Pocket Gamer praised it as simple but with "strategic depth," though he felt the lack of extra modes held it back.[10] The X-Play review also wished there was more new to it, though it noted that it was "still one of the best on-the-go puzzle games" and that the game made good use of both the touchscreen and the dual screens.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c Davis, Ryan (January 12, 2006). "Bust-A-Move DS Review [date mislabeled as "January 18, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on January 27, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Adams, David (May 11, 2005). "Pre-E3 2005: Majesco Reveals Lineup". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Bust-A-Move DS for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Kautz, Paul (April 11, 2008). "Test: Bust-A-Move DS". 4Players (in German). 4Players GmbH. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Kumar, Mathew (February 13, 2006). "Bust-A-Move DS". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Gantayat, Anoop (February 6, 2006). "Now Playing in Japan". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Harris, Craig (December 15, 2005). "Bust-a-Move DS". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  8. ^ Romendil (March 17, 2006). "Test: Bust-A-Move DS". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  9. ^ "Bust-A-Move DS". Nintendo Power. Vol. 200. Nintendo of America. February 2006. p. 99.
  10. ^ a b Jordan, Jon (April 17, 2006). "Bust-A-Move DS". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Orry, Tom (March 9, 2006). "Bust A Move DS Review". VideoGamer.com. Resero Network. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  12. ^ a b D'Aprile, Jason (April 4, 2006). "Bust-a-Move DS review". X-Play. G4TV. Archived from the original on May 3, 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  13. ^ Gouskos, Carrie (November 4, 2005). "Bust-A-Move DS Hands-On [date mislabeled as "November 17, 2005"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  14. ^ Nix, Marc (November 7, 2005). "Bust-A-Move DS Hands-On". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 28, 2020.

External links


Bubble Bobble series
Categories