Bust-A-Move, also known as Puzzle Bobble, is a puzzle game where you have to shoot different colored bubbles from the bottom of the screen to match three bubbles of the same color, which then removes the bubbles from the board. The game has always been fun. There's a good deal of strategy involved as you can bounce the bubbles off of the walls, and you slowly earn special shots that give you the ability to blow up bubbles or change their colors.

Bust-A-Move Universe features two modes: Puzzle and Challenge. Puzzle mode features eight stages of ten levels each, complete with a boss fight at the end. Challenge mode is the more standard high score-chasing timed/endless mode. Both feature differences that make them separate, such as Challenge mode's gimmick bubbles and Puzzle mode's special shots.

It's entertaining, but as a retail release, it feels very lacking. It has a feature set on par with DSiWare versions of games such as Dr. Mario and Puzzle League, and the added 3D seems pointless. Aside from that, it doesn't make use of any other new aspect of the 3DS. Also, the interface is clunky, and at times, the controls feel sluggish. There are no touch controls.

Bust-A-Move Universe is a great puzzle game, but unless you're a big fan of the series or a die-hard puzzle fanatic, this is a senseless purchase. You can find similar games online for free or, inevitably, for much cheaper on the 3DS download platforms (when they launch). Still, you can't deny the fact that Bust-A-Move is fun. I just wish that this didn't feel like such a cheap cash-in.