Story mode is a hoot. Check out this "dramatic" confrontation. |
Player versus player is obviously the multiplayer mode, and plays almost exactly like the player versus computer mode. Like in all good puzzle games, it's surprisingly fun and competitive to play against a friend. Especially if you're drunk.
In versus mode, the character you pick (you can play as one of sixteen characters, BTW) actually makes a difference, since this determines what kinds of bubbles are dropped on your opponent's playfield when you score chain reaction or clear a lot of bubbles. And in some modes, like challenge, you get different puzzles depending on which character you play. The characters vary from our old friends Bub and Bob to Kurol, a weirdo baby who comes from a planet where everybody wears costumes to G, an old man who is rumored to like tea.
Finally, there's challenge mode. In challenge mode, you are given five rounds per stage, and will progress to the next stage even if you lose. You play for high score, and "challenge" puzzles tend to be harder than normal puzzles.
The graphics are appropriately all cute and cartoony, which is good. The bubbles looks vibrant and sharp in 640x480, and the animation of the characters really adds to the game's charm.
As far as sound goes, Acclaim didn't bother to translate any of the character's little exclamations of joy or pain, but that was probably a good decision since the original Japanese sounds are really well-done and suitably weird. It should also be noted that the load times are pretty darn short, so you won't spend too much time waiting. The interface is really easy to use and well laid out, although it may take you a minute to figure out how to adjust the in-game options, since you need to pause the game and then hit Y to access them.
There's a neat, easy to use edit mode that allows you to create your own puzzles. Since thousands of puzzles come with the game you'll probably never use this feature because you're bored with the existing ones, but it is a nice little addition and fun to play with. The abundance of options makes the game even more customizable. You can change the game's difficulty, match point, handicap, chain reaction, challenge, and guideline settings along with your standard sound, controller, and memory card options.
Finally, the affordable $29.99 retail price certainly doesn't hurt at all. Cheap is good.
Versus mode is fun, but it's a shame that there's slowdown once things get hot and heavy. |
Like all puzzle games, Bust-A-Move 4 can get a wee bit boring after awhile, since it's so simple. But heck, you could say the same thing about Tetris, so that certainly isn't a serious flaw.
Surprisingly, there's a noticeable amount of graphical slowdown, especially after hitting multiple combos in multiplayer mode. This can sometimes interfere with gameplay, but mostly it's just a distracting little annoyance. Blame this on Windows CE, which the game runs on.
The N64 version had 4-way multiplayer, so it's surprising that wasn't included in this Dreamcast version. Online support might have been nice too. Another minor annoyances involves the music. It's not bad in and of itself, but there don't seem to be many tracks, so it can get repetitive. Lastly, the "next piece" indicator is placed at the bottom of the screen and is kind of hard to view, since it's out of your normal line of sight.
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