First Encounter

I admit it. When I was first asked to take a look atUltra Bust-A-Move, I recognized the name of a venerable franchise, but I was pretty sure it was some kind of dancing/puzzle game. Clearly, I was ignorant, but judging by the looks of confusion my colleagues sported, I wasn’t alone. Those familiar with the franchise will rejoice at its appearance on the Xbox®, and specifically its use of Xbox Live™. For those of you in the dark, I suggest you give it a try, as I have, and appreciate the Bust-A-Move franchise for what it is: A pure, unadulterated, grade-A joy that possesses scary addictive qualities. Not since Tetris have I had so much trouble pulling myself away from a puzzle game.

So … much … color.

Of course, heaping praise upon praise on a worthy game doesn’t help on the edification front. Let us see, then, if I can break down the basic mechanics and premise of Ultra Bust-A-Move.

Whether you’re playing alone or with buddies, the basic mechanic stays the same. The upper portion of your screen is filled with colorful little bubbles. There are white ones, black ones, red ones, orange ones, blue ones, and green ones, and they only like their own kind. Your job is to clear them off the board by shooting yet more bubbles into their midst. Also, as time goes by, the bubbles on the board creep closer and closer to the bottom. Once they reach the bottom, you lose.

Every time three or more like-colored bubbles connect with each other, they fall off the board. Also, you can see what bubble is “on deck”, so you’ll know what you’ll be shooting next. It seems innocuous at first, but this bit of information becomes absurdly useful in the mind of a puzzle strategist. Oh, and there are also specialty bubbles as well. There is the bomb bubble which will explode wherever it lands, taking nearby bubbles with it. These are great for getting yourself out of self-made jams. Then there is the rainbow bubble which only disappears if you chain a color it’s connected to. These and other special bubbles increase the frantic, strategy-on-the-fly nature of the game.

My holmes on the right is in trouble.

Also, the first time you play you are greeted with a “guide” line that shows your aim and how a bubble you shoot will travel. It’s easy as pie to set up a bank shot if you know exactly how the bubble will travel, but as soon as you pass the first round the “guide” line disappears, making the skill of lining up the shot just as important as your bubble-popping strategy. This is true in both single-player and multi-player games.

Like all great puzzle games, the premise is simple, easy to grasp, and easy to perform. Also like any great puzzle game, the difficulty and potential skill level is never-ending.

It takes only a few minutes to get used to seeing the patterns of the bubbles and sending new bubbles flying to connect with their mates. You soon realize, though, the potential number of combinations, where you deliberately place like-colored bubbles all around each other, but make sure there are not three in a row. Then, when the time is right (hopefully with different colored bubbles below, which will also drop when those above them go), you toss up the one bubble that will chain them all together. These combinations can greatly increase the complexity of the game, but can also create huge drops of bubbles, clearing much of the board instantaneously.

This is going to be … interesting.

There are also several different modes of play. You can try going through a challenge mode that sets up different boards and situations and asks you to clear the level of all bubbles. There’s a seesaw game that makes the board tilt to the side with the most bubbles on it. Too many bubbles on one side will flip the board over, causing you to lose. There's also a multitude of multi-player games. Some are head-to-head affairs as one player tries to outlast the other with more and more bubbles filling the screen. Others are “hot seat” games where each player takes a turn shooting (usually with a specific goal in mind). There are so many modes, in fact, that we’re dedicating a whole article to covering them.

Ultra Bust-A-Move rises above the “puzzle” genre and fully embraces the moniker of “party game” as well. Many shouts of frustration, cries of glee, angry epithets at the competition or the filthy rainbow bubbles that are blocking your way will erupt when playing this game. Gales of laughter will be heard and controllers may even be thrown. Trust me, after only a couple hours with the game, I witnessed all of these things. Only great games can elicit such passionate responses, so don’t let the seeming simplicity steer you away from this one.

By Alex McLain