Super Bust a Move
Review of Super Bust a Move
When I first looked at the case and saw a baby wearing sunglasses and blowing a red bubble, the first thing I thought was thats different. For those that may not have played this game before, youll think the same thing too. In this case, different is good!
The graphics in the game are very colorful, giving the game a bit of a kiddified look. They match up well with the lighthearted nature of the game, but barely break a sweat on the PS2s graphic ability. The supporting cast of characters has several animations, and some are quite unusual. A good number of the backgrounds in the game are animated as well, maybe proving to be a slight distraction when trying to line up that crucial shot.
The Bust-A-Move games have always been one of the easiest to pick up and play, thanks to the very simple control scheme: the D-Pad to aim, the L1 and R1 buttons to fine tune your shot, and the X button to fire. While the gameplay may seem too easy, one or two misplaced bubbles may have you scrambling to clean up the resulting mess.
There are 3 one-player games available: a Training Mode for honing your skills; a 1-player Puzzle Mode, where you work your way through 5-puzzle levels sorted by alphabet to reach the last levels; and a Vs. CPU Battle Mode, where you pit your bubble busting skills against the computer in an effort to defeat all the characters. While the training mode is good for those that may not have played any of the Bust-A-Move games, most gamers will likely jump straight to the Puzzle Mode first.
In Puzzle Mode, you have a choice of ‘Classic’ (featuring puzzles from previous releases) and ‘Normal’ (which adds several features to the puzzles, like conveyor belt walls, special mini bubbles and other specially powered bubbles).
Either way works as follows: starting at ‘A’, complete each round of 5 puzzles to move on to your choice of two more rounds, eventually making your way to the top. While this makes for a somewhat lengthy game, the difficulty of making it to the top is pretty much negated with unlimited continues, plus it keeps your points from the last attempt.
The Battle Modes are where the most fun is to be had: In one player, you pick a character, then battle the other characters in an attempt to defeat them all in one round sudden death. Each character has his/her own special attack of bubble combinations, which may vary depending on the opponent. There are two skill levels (Normal and Expert) to test your skills. The only real differences are a slightly higher difficulty and the use of the special bubbles in Expert mode, which does help to spice things up.
The two-player Battle Mode has 3 variations as well: ‘Normal’ (using regular bubbles only), ‘Expert’ (which includes some of the features in the normal 1 Player Puzzle) and ‘Chain Reaction’ (busting bubbles may result in a chain reaction, causing more to be wiped out). Each of these can provide an intense and fast paced 2 player game.
The music in the game is upbeat and adds to the lighthearted nature of the game. Theyre not exactly tunes youll find yourself humming while working, so some gamers will likely want to turn them down and put a CD in the stereo. The sound effects are pretty basic too and havent changed much from its PSOne predecessors. Also, the Japanese voices that are used for the characters can get annoying rather quickly. Thankfully they can be turned down as well.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'Super Bust a Move' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Lyndon Macleod © Absolute PlayStation
Click here to view our 7 Super Bust a Move in-game screenshot slideshow
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