Bust-A-Move Universe is a puzzle game for Nintendo 3DS that’s like a sweet treat.  The eye-popping and colorful 3D effects don’t really impact the gameplay, but are nice eye candy, while the classic “aim-your-bubble-at-others-of-the-same-color” Bust-A-Move gameplay is welcome brain candy.

The basic gameplay in Bust-A-Move involves popping all the colored bubbles on screen in the fastest amount of time.  To pop bubbles, you’ll use the 3DS circle pad to aim and fire one bubble at a time, and if you can make a cluster of three bubbles or more, they will pop and disappear.  There are also a number of special items available which can help clear large amounts of bubbles at the same time.

The game consists of two play modes – Puzzle and Challenge.  In Puzzle mode, the bubbles are arranged in specific patterns, and your goal is to clear them as quickly as possible.  In Challenge mode, new rows of bubbles will continue to appear from the top, pushing bubbles down, and it’s up to you clear them all.

To help out in the early stages of Puzzle mode and in the Easy and Medium versions of Challenge mode, a dotted line will appear that shows the trajectory of the ball you are getting ready to fire.  More skilled players will enjoy having the dotted line turn off.

As far as the utilization of the 3D-capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS, Bust-A-Move Universe is definitely fun and colorful to look at, but the 3D doesn’t really impact gameplay too much.  There is one special ball that can be used that sort of wraps around in front and can hit any other ball, but other than that, the 3D part of Bust-A-Move Universe is just pretty decoration.

Bust-A-Move Universe is great puzzle game that can be played and understood by players of all ages and skill levels.  It’s easy-to-play, very colorful, and is a great addition to any family’s 3DS game collection.  Although the 3D is only recommended for kids 7 and up, kids as young as 5 should have no problem enjoying Bust-A-Move’s simple puzzle action.