fullpacracing

The moment you plug Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition into your N64, you're doomed. Seriously. Acclaim and Probe have perfectly ported Taito's arcade hit to N64 -- not that that was a difficult thing to do. After all, the arcade hit has been around for years and now looks dated and sounds dated -- but appearance is not what it's all about.

1. Bust A Move Arcade Game
2. Bust A Move 2 Arcade Edition

I will be purchasing Katamari Damacy and GTA: San Andreas immediately as those are why I will be buying the system in the first place. My question is what other games are worth looking into. (I should say here that I am not a particularly serious gamer who looks for an experience that will envelope me, but.

Bust-A-Move 2 (called Puzzle Bobble in Japan -- not to be confused with Enix's Japanese dancing game) features four modes at three difficulty levels:

• Player vs. Player
• Vs. the Computer
• Puzzle Mode
• Time Attack (one or two players)

The object of the game is simple. You operate a bubble shooting machine that can, well, shoot colored bubbles up toward the top of the screen. The goal is to match up three (or more) bubbles of the same color by controlling the angle of your bubble shot via the analog stick. As an added twist, you can bounce the bubbles off the wall and try to drop as many 'orphans' (single bubbles attached to the cluster you pop) as possible at the same time. If the wall of orbs reaches the bottom, you're dead.

Gameplay
8:42 AM: Arrived at the office. Popped in Bust-A-Move. Started playing the puzzle mode.

9:31 AM: PSMOnline's Jay Boor arrives. Picks up controller. 'Here comes a new challenger.'

Bust A Move Arcade Game

9:32 AM: Vicious two-player battles ensue. Sarcastic remarks fill the air.

10:35 AM: We should really be working. IGN's Julian Rignall, Craig Harris and Leiah Reich line up for 'pad.' Complaints about skipping other players' turns are not uncommon.

11:45 AM: It's virtually impossible to get pad. Too many people. Office crowded. Time to get to work. Matt arrives.

12:35: Lunch.

3:32 PM: Can't... resist... Looking for Bust-A-Move 2 cartridge. It's nowhere to be found. Two art guys are missing, too. Odd.

3:45 PM: Found art guys at second capture station with our copy of Bust-A-Move 2. Lines form again.

Bust A Move 2 Arcade Edition

4:27 PM: Wooah. It's 4:27. Time to write some stories for the site.

Graphics
Yes.

Sound
Yes.

Options
Credits (continues), match points and difficulty can be adjusted (three settings). Music and sound effects volumes (music test/sound test). Screen Saver timing can also be set. The game can be controlled via the analog stick or the D-Pad.