Taito has announced that the classic Puzzle Bobble (known in some circles as Bust-a-Move) is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, with some new features not seen in the original.

The updated version, called New Puzzle Bobble, features a new way to fling bubbles in an attempt to match 3. Joining the regular Tap Shot and Sling Shot is the Jump Shot, which is new to the series. The Jump Shot offers the ability to launch a bubble over interposing obstacles, landing at a point chosen by the player.

Another new feature is the Game Over Countdown. While in previous editions of PUZZLE BOBBLE, bubbles reaching the bottom of the play field instantly led to a Game Over result, NEW PUZZLE BOBBLE offers a three-second countdown, allowing quick-witted players to save themselves from defeat. Particularly helpful for newcomers to the series, the Game Over Countdown adds an additional dimension to play that can also be appreciated by veteran players.

New Puzzle Bobble comes with 80 Story Mode stages and 55 unlockable Achievements, and is available from the iTunes Store for $6.49. You can order the game here.

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MumboJumbo has announced the release of Chainz Galaxy HD and Luxor HD for the iPad. Chainz Galaxy HD is a match three game where players try to build up a colorful linked world. Luxor HD is a marble popper game where players have to match three of the same color marbles to clear them off the board.

Chainz Galaxy HD takes advantage of the iPad’s multi-touch feature, allowing players to touch multiple links at a time. The faster players can make matches the better power ups they receive. There are four different play modes including Classic, Arcade, Puzzle, and Strategy modes.

Luxor HD is a popular marble shooter for the PC, but has been redesigned to bring the fun to the iPad. Players have to shoot marbles at a moving line of marbles in an attempt to match three of the same color marbles. The marbles that are matched will clear from the board. The goal is to clear all of the marbles off the board. The iPad version has 88 levels of shooting madness with four different play modes.

If you own an iPad are a Luxor fan or enjoy match three style games, head over to Apple’s App store and pick up a copy of Luxor HD or Chainz Galaxy HD.

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Bejeweled has been the face of casual games for a long time, much less of the “match 3″ subgenre. It and its imitators can be found everywhere, from Puzzle Quest to World of Warcraft mini-apps.

One of the challenges of a Bejeweled 3 is that there is very little to the formula you can actually add or change. Bejeweled Twist (review) managed to add some life by adding a new selection mechanic, but otherwise, a vanilla sequel would need much more. Bejeweled 3 accomplishes this by adding fresh new game modes.

Of course, it includes the base game, in which you match 3 gems to score. Four gems matched creates an explosive Flame gem. Matching five gems creates the Hypercube which can be matched with another gem to eliminate all gems of that color. Two holdovers from Bejeweled Twist can be found in 3: the Star gem and the Supernova gem. The Star gem is created when a T or L shape is matched with gems – when ignited, the Star gem shoots lasers in four directions and destroys the gems in their paths. The Supernova gem is even more difficult to create: matching six or more gems in a row, which can only be done in a complicated string of explosions. When a Supernova gem explodes, it does the same as the Star gem, only with three rows in four directions. The game ends when there’s no more matches to be made. One of the new twists is that if two Hypercubes are matched, they remove all of the gems from the board, save themselves.

That’s fine, but a slight rehash of Bejeweled 2 isn’t enough to justify a sequel. That’s why Bejeweled 3 comes with a bunch of variations of the concept.

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Bejeweled 2 is free today from Popcap. Just head over to this link for the freebie. Act fast.

Polarbit and Fabrication Games announced the release of Long John Silver for Android, iPhone and Palm devices. The goal of the game is to match three or more of one kind as fast as possible. The game is fast paced, but easy to learn.

Long John Silver is a cross platform release and contains a high scoreboard across all platforms. Players have to score as many points as possible and they have to compete against all of the platforms the game is available on. Long John Silver is the first of a few games to be released by these developers through out the fall season. If you enjoy match three style games, check out Long John Silver on the device you own market place.

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