Puzzle Bobble Universe

Overview

Puzzle Bobble 3D, now known as Bust-A-Move Universe is a puzzle game that continues from the lucrative franchise started as a 1994 arcade game. The game is essentially a "bubble shooter"; where you need to match three connecting bubbles to get rid of all of them. Two game modes are available in the game. The main objective of the game is to save the world by destroying all bubbles in the planets and the bosses that harness them with the player's bubble shooter.

Gameplay

The main objective Bust-A-Move Universe is to get rid of all the bubbles on the screen before time runs out. This is done by using a bubble shooter, which shoots out bubbles of assorted colors. Each bubble will only disappear if it is matched with two or more bubbles of a similar color. Once this happens, the bubbles will fall into the earth below. This is where the 3D comes in. Combos can be achieved by connecting more than three bubbles to make them fall or connecting bubbles in such a way that bubbles being supported by other bubbles disappear also, along with the original bubbles. Special bubbles will also appear; Bomb bubbles will have a blast radius when shot that will burst any bubbles within range, Rescue bubbles, will push bubbles up before they reach the bottom and end the game, and Rainbow bubbles bursts the first eight bubbles that it touches, then it falls to the bottom of the stage, bursting any bubbles in its path.

Game Modes

There are two game modes available for Bust- A-Move Universe , and they are as follows:

Puzzle Mode

This game mode is more the "story mode" of the game, and it has you solving increasingly difficult puzzles to progress through the story with the end objective being to "save your friends across the world". Puzzle mode features eight different planets, with ten levels in every planet and a boss fight required to complete in order to reach the next planet. Each planet features a number of unlockable keys that can only be obtained by shooting adjacent bubbles at the right moment. Once a player has unlocked all keys in a world, the player can use those keys to free a captive dragon, which in turn will give the player a special bubble shooting ability in return. In order to defeat the boss and the level, the player must shoot matching color bombs in that in turn will damage the boss. Each level in Puzzle mode features a high score leaderboard that keeps anonymity and is offline.

Challenge Mode

This game mode has you trying to burst as many bubbles as possible for a high score within a specified time limit. Player can choose between three difficulty settings: easy, medium, or hard. The player can also choose the time limit to be 100 seconds, five minutes, or nonstop unlimited play, and players can also choose whether or not the guideline is present when shooting bubbles, which shows the projection of the bubble after it has been shot.

Reception

Bust-A-Move Universe has received largely negative reviews from consumers and critics alike. Gamespot has given the game a score of 5/10, or a "mediocre" score, stating that the game was "bare bones" in terms of content and was a "cakewalk", or too easy. IGN has given the game a score of 6/10 or "okay" stating that the game's only challenge was finding keys, and stating the lack of multiplayer in the game. Metacritic has given the game an aggregate score of 49/100, with most reviews being "negative".

Release

Bust-A-Move Universe has been released in Japan on February 26, 2011, was released alongside the 3DS in North America on March 27, 2011, and will be released in Europe on April 22, 2011.