Bust-a-Move DS

Instead of the usual firing mechanism used in previous games in the series, a slingshot system is used to fire bubbles.

It was featured in publisher Majesco Entertainment's Electronic Entertainment Expo presentation in 2005.[1]

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 75/100[2] Review scores Publication Score Eurogamer 6/10[3] G4 [4] GameSpot 7.4/10[5] IGN 7.5/10[6] Nintendo Life 5/10[7] Pocket Gamer 6/10[8]

In their preview, Carrie Gouskos of GameSpot noted that the touchscreen controls took some getting used to and lacked precision.[9] Nix of IGN felt that the touchscreen controls were cool, feeling that the multiplayer component would make it a worthwhile purchase when released.[10]

Bust-a-Move DS has received a score of 75/100 on Metacritic based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[2] Matthew Kumar of Eurogamer 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. They 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.[3] 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.[5] Tom Orry of Video Gamer called its gameplay "fiendishly addictive," though they lamented that the gameplay was "more of the same." They also noted that the touchscreen option allows for more precision than the directional pad controls.[11] 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.[6] Jon Jordan of Pocket Gamer praised it as simple but with "strategic depth," though felt the lack of extra modes held it back.[12] The X-Play review also wished there was more new to it, though 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.[4]