Classic Bomberman with online multiplayer!

Introduction

A feature-packed Bomberman title named Bomberman Blast arrives on the WiiWare platform. This game invites you to play the action-filled puzzler known as Bomberman with your Mii characters, and exciting multiplayer options for up to eight people at the same time. Just bomb, bomb, bomb away!

The Game

The concept of the game is a very simple one. You play as Bomberman with other Bombermen in an enclosed arena. Your goal is to defeat the other Bombermen by placing bombs around and trying to catch them in the blast radius. There is a wide variety of power ups that can increase the strength of the bombs, enable you to relocate set bombs, increase running speed and place mines etc. The last man standing is the winner of the round, and the winner of the game is typically determined on a best of three basis.

Bomberman Blast is promising much; The intense and beloved Bomberman gameplay is a rock solid concept in itself, and with extensive online features there’s bound to be some appetite amongst both fans and newbies to the series.

Content

Starting up the game gives you the option to create a data file – this is used to record your progress and win / loss ratio, and is fundamental to the rest of the game. It’s nice to see that they are very generous in that they allow you to create eight such accounts. That means that you’re able to easily compare your scores with your family and friends.

If you haven’t played Bomberman before, the this game would be a great starting point. As a matter of fact, this game would make a perfect entrance into the competitive world of Bomberman. If you are already into Bomberman but haven’t played it online, then this game is also for you. If you are a veteran to the series, you won’t find many news here, but seeing the rich feature list and options in the game is sure to please anyone. There’s tons of replay value here.

The different game-modes include Normal Mode, which is your standard free for all Bomberman game. Then there’s Countdown Mode which is a time based game where survival is key. You can also play Teams and make team vs. team games.
The other more experimental modes are King, which means that there’s a king’s crown on the map that can be picked up by any player. When picked up, that player becomes the king, and if he dies he will drop the crown, allowing for someone else to pick it up. The one who is the king at the end of the game is the winner. There’s also the Air Raid mode which basically is just an empty arena that is constantly bombarded with bombs from the sky – your goal is to avoid the blasts and be the last man standing.

Consider that all these modes can be played both locally with friends and online with up to eight players or with CPU controlled foes. CPU controlled foes can be set to three different difficulty levels – and the hardest one is inhuman to say the least. You can even play online with friends as guests – that means you only need one Wii to play online with your friends, and that’s an awesome feature for sure.

The normal battle modes can be played on ten different maps. Each map has their own quirks which you should learn before competing on them. For example there’s the UFO map that has a flying saucer flying around that can teleport your Bomberman. You can also play on the zombie level, where undead zombies are clawing at you from underground making you lose power ups if they hit. There’s also the classic speed way level where running speeds are maxed out. To sum it up, there’s some welcomed variation to the different maps – and to make things more exciting there’s the special Surprise Mode that randomly sets the rules for each game.

On all game modes there’s certain options you can set to make the game better suit your tastes. For example you can set the amount of wins needed to end the game, you can adjust the match time, you can make power ups breakable and you can set a bunch of different handicaps to each individual player.

You can also customize text messages you can shout out in the game, and you can select an emote you can execute with the press of a button. These emotes are typically used as taunts towards the other players.

There are a few new items here that haven’t appeared in other Bomberman games – you can get rare items such as a shield that withstands explosions, and you can avoid dangerous situations by escaping with a jet-pack. You can also gain the ability to disguise yourself as a bomb. These items are used by shaking the Wii Remote. Not very logical, but will require you to act fast. Switching between shaking your control and playing with it as normal isn’t entirely easy in stressful situations!

When playing online you can select if you want to play with friends on your friend-list, or with people from your continent, or from people from around the world. I have noticed that the game randomly freezes up the Wii sometimes when playing with people from around the world. It’s a killjoy and it ain’t pretty.

Graphics

The graphics are adorable, colorful and bright. The Bombermen are cute as always, and the overall design of the game is very stylish, vivid and clear – it’s a pleasure to navigate the menus too. It all fits well with the hysterical theme of Bomberman.

Sound

The music and sound disappoints though. The music is okay, but it is very generic and not as catchy as in other Bomberman games. There certainly could have been more Bomberman voices, and there is no voice that tells you what power up you picked up. There are, however sounds coming from the Wii Remote that indicates those pick-up sounds and it also plays a sound when you place a bomb. When it comes to the Wii Remote there’s also some vibration functions, but they don’t add much to the game.

Summary

The Bomberman franchise is an essential part of video game history and culture. This game is a pretty good addition to the series even though it only offers a few new features. It does however look more beautiful than ever, and has heaps of replay value.
This game doesn’t break any records content wise, but it has enough to do to keep our thirst for Bomberman-action quenched for some time!

Developed By: Hudson Soft
Published By: Hudson Soft
Version Reviewed: Wii
Genre: Maze / Strategy / Puzzle
Players: 1-8
Released: 2008-09-12