Bust-A-Move Pocket

Those cheeky little dinosaur scamps from Bubble Bobble, Bub and Bob, are back in action in this madcap puzzle game from Taito.

The idea of the game, like all good puzzle games, is very simple. Link 3 or more bubbles of the same colour together, once that is done they burst and disappear. To achieve this you have to use your little pointer at the bottom of the screen to aim at the right place, then fire your randomly coloured bubble up. This can be tricky as you can bounce the bubbles off the sides of the playing area. To achieve greater scores, you can perform "combos". Getting rid of more than the standard three bubbles at once performs a combo. This is risky as the closer the bubbles get to the bottom of the screen the closer you get to losing the game. Successful combo's not only multiply your score but, if against an opponent, adds to their remaining bubbles.

Graphically Puzzle Bobble is nothing special, simple sprites for the bubbles and Bub, Bob and the rest of the gang make appearances, but they are very small and simply animated. The thing is, that doesn't matter, the game has never been about flashy graphics, it's about gameplay. It will come as no surprise then, to hear that the sound is "adequate" and the tunes will stay in your head longer than "I'm blue dah ba dee da doo daa.." and annoy even more.

But this is a puzzle game, who cares about graphics and sound? Not me. But even still I hate this game. Ahh I see, eyes rush to the final score, 4.5 you say? For a game I hate? Yes, you see, I hate this game for many reasons, firstly I'm rubbish at it. All my friends give me utter thrashings at it. Secondly, when I play it, time seems to slip by, so many times I have nearly missed my Tube stop due to this game. Thirdly, when my Girlfriend is on it, I lose her for hours at a time, she turns it on, and that's it, she may as well not be in the room. It drives me mad. I hate it, but it's good, you see? Its easy to play, tremendous fun, has several modes of play to keep you busy and an infuriatingly manic 2 player mode. This might be the game that finally convinces you to buy a Link Cable and beg a chum to make a purchase. A great game, just a great game I hate. Buy it and enjoy it. -Bradders