There are somewhere around a billion games available for the iPhone, so when a recognizable name shows up it's worth paying attention to. Recently, Taito has ported over its puzzler, Bust-a-Move, to the device, hoping to grab some of that iPhone money while it's hot. Bust-a-Move has a simple premise: colored balls slowly drop move down the screen, and they need to be destroyed before they reach the bottom. Matching three together takes out all attached, and dislodges any that relied on them as a foundation. As the game goes on, difficulty is turned up as the combination on the top of the screen become less forgiving, and the balls given are infrequently the ones needed. It's a simple mechanic that has since given birth to Snood, Luxor, and dozens of other knock-offs. 

The iPhone version provides a similar experience to other editions of the game that have been released, albeit with a slight change-up at the hands (or, rather, fingers) of the iPhone's multitouch interface. The two control methods provide much different experiences. One turns the bottom of the touch screen into a slingshot, and asks the player to shoot objects by pulling the ball back and letting it fly. The second is a much easier method of controlling the trajectory, and instead works like a cannon, and will fire wherever the player touches. While it might be more challenging to allow yourself to be whisked away by the slingshot controls, using the cannon ends up being much more fun in the end, since mistakes can't be blamed on anything besides poor planning, instead of poor aim.

                                                

A few different modes are available, including a fairly minimalist story mode. The real crux of the Bust-a-Move experience, however, is challenge mode, which is sadly flawed. It contains the same gameplay as the rest of the game with one startling omission: an inability to save. In a game based around attempting to attain a high score, not being able to save simply doesn't mesh with the formula, especially considering that it's on the iPhone. Multiplayer capabilities, while appreciated, do little to make up for this problem. The game is also severely lacking a difficulty curve, and whenever things get rough the game usually supplies the player with an item to make things go back to normal again, stretching on the level... which can't be saved. In other words, not being able to save during Challenge Mode is more than a little issue.

Other problems include issues discerning colors and the fact that the game, for some reason, overrides the iPhone's vibrate feature, blaring music even when the volume is supposed to be off. Neither of these are really too bothering, especially when held up against the other negative aspects of the game. They both just go to prove what might already be apparent: Bust-a-Move on the iPhone is a fun, albeit flawed game. It's simply not polished, and has a slew of problems that should, and hopefully will, be addressed in future updates. Even if you're in the market for a new iPhone puzzler, it's likely worth waiting for said patches, since there is likely a Bust-a-Move knock-off that does it better, without all of the problems.