Bomberman – Review

The Bomberman series is a genre unto itself. The multiplayer action has been the highlight of many a multiplayer gaming session and even though the single player game is lacking, the multiplayer mode makes Bomberman DS a must have title for the Dual Screen handheld.

First, the bad news. The single player campaign is about as simple and repetitive as it gets. This bare bones gameplay mode starts off with a bang and is quickly stifled into a whimper. A large crystal explodes over Bomberland and ten shards are scattered across ten themed worlds. As Bomberman, it is your duty to blow things up, down, sideways and inside out and, if you have the time, return the crystal shards and restore peace to the land. I’ve made it sound a lot more fun than it is.

The top screen displays the action while the touch screen is used as a menu. Powerups, collected when blocks are destroyed, are added to your inventory and can be stored for later use. Touching the appropriate icon activates them. The touch screen interface seems tacked on and doesn’t really add much tot he gameplay. At the end of ten stages, you face off against a boss. Defeat ten bosses and win the game. Or not. There’s no reason to, no incentive to finish the game and the multiplayer proves too tempting a game mode to pass up.

The good news? Bomberman multiplayer rocks! This is possibly the greatest Bomberman game ever, and definitely the best portable Bomberman title ever released. The sheer number of options is staggering and what’s more, every single option is made available for eight players from one cartridge! If you don’t have friends to play with you can go against up to as many as seven bots.

Gameplay modes range from standard everyman for himself to super powered madness, team battles, catch the crown, and even a domination mode where your bombs change the colour of the floor. Bomberman multiplayer also makes use of the DS’s unique features. The microphone can be used to detonate by bombs by yelling and the touch screen is used to launch bombs at your opponents in revenge mode.

The presentation in Bomberman in simple and minimalist so, while it won’t blow you away with next generation graphics and sound, it will charm you and allow you to focus solely on the intense action at hand. The only voice work in the game comes from excited yells whenever you grab a power up. There’s no voice work and all action can be followed visually without audio cues.

As for the girlgamer angle, aside from the title, there is no reference to gender anywhere within Bomberman. Characters are differentiated solely by the color of their outfit. No exploitative females here. The graphics are cute, the background music boppy and with never a hint of slowdown to hurt the near perfect gameplay. Bomberman DS is the perfect under the radar multiplayer hit.

Bomberman has always been a party favorite and the DS iteration is no exception. If you’ve ever played Bomberman, you should know that this is one of the best Bomberman games ever. If you’ve never played Bomberman, this is the perfect place to start. This deserves to be in your collection.

Review by R J Gaffney