''Bust-a-Move DS'', known as in Japan, is a

puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are differe ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by Happy Happening and published by

Majesco Entertainment Majesco Games Corporation (formerly Majesco Sales Inc. and Majesco Entertainment Company) is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, an ...

for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

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 A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to En ...

and the

touch screen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...

. There are 500 levels in all, divided evenly across two campaigns 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

Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo) was an annual Trade fair, trade event for the video game industry organized and presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It was held principally in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2019, wit ...

presentation in 2005.

Reception

In her preview, Carrie Gouskos of ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' noted that the touchscreen controls took some getting used to and lacked precision. Marc Nix of ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' felt that the touchscreen controls were cool, feeling that the multiplayer component would make it a worthwhile purchase when released. ''Bust-a-Move DS'' received "generally favorable reviews" according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' gave it a score of three sevens and one six for a total of 27 out of 40. Mathew Kumar of ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'' 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. 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. 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. 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. Jon Jordan of ''

Pocket Gamer ''Pocket Gamer'' is a video game website and former print magazine that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. It was launched in 2005 by Steel Media Limited. The publication covers portable and mobile gaming formats, including iPhone, ...

'' praised it as simple but with "strategic depth," though he felt the lack of extra modes held it back. The ''

X-Play ''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'', ''Extended Play'', and ''X-Play'') was a television program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States and has aired on '' G4 Canada'' in Canada ...

'' 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.

References

External links

* 2005 video games 505 Games games Bubble Bobble Majesco Entertainment games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo DS games Nintendo DS-only games Puzzle video games Taito games Video games developed in Japan {{Puzzle-videogame-stub