BOMBERMAN LIVE
4/5
4/5
Pros:
-Memorable characters and graphics
-Addictive gameplay
-Online play is a blast (Get it?)
-Bomberman is customizable
Cons:
-Online play suffers from lag
When I was a kid, I remember one of my favorite games was Bomberman. It was so easy to play, and yet so hard to master. It does shame me slightly to say that Bomberman 64 was among my favorite Nintendo 64 games, but maybe i didn't have good taste back then. Whatever the case, all I can say is this: I love Bomberman.
I was as shocked as anybody when I saw Hudson's new-looking Bomberman years ago, and it's very negative reviews didn't surprise me. That's why I am extremely relieved that their newest offering, Bomberman LIVE, returns to the classic Bomberman look and feel. The cartoony, cute graphics can make anybody love these characters.
The game uses the same formula that makes Bomberman so great. Two to eight players run around a stage, trying to trap each other using bombs. In order to reach your opponents, however, you have to first blast away groups of boxes. These boxes may contain power-ups that upgrade you or your bombs. Power-ups are a key part of the game, and often you will find that the player with the best power-ups wins.
That's it, really. The concept is so easy, a six year old can pick it up and play. In fact, this game is great to play with your kids. The game allows four people to play locally, with up to four slots for computer players. The game is also fun to play by yourself, however, allowing you to play with up to seven bots. Your opponents AI is somewhat lacking towards the easier levels. Occasionally they will drop a bomb, then instantly get distracted by something shiny and blow themselves up. However, you can change the difficulty of the bots, and although I've never been brave enough to play on Hard, it seems like something that would clear up on harder difficulties.
Another fine point of Bomberman LIVE is the customizability of your Bomberman. The base game has 60 "costumes" to unlock; 20 headgear, 20 hair styles, and 20 clothes. You can buy even more for 200 MSP (along with new maps to play on) from the XBox Marketplace. Costumes are unlocked in the form of "Costume Balls". These balls (actually more of a diamond) appear in single player games after one minute. You will usually find yourself making a mad dash for each ball as soon as it appears, as computer players can pick them up too. Changing Bomberman's appearance is great fun, especially when you find the combination that is just right.
But the main attraction to this game is the online multiplayer, and Hudson has made it a blast. Bad puns aside, you can play with up to seven other people in a multi-round game match, with all the features available in the single player. Friends can also join in the fun locally, and you can have four people on one console playing online.
Unfortunately, the online multiplayer suffers from a lot of lag. Sometimes bombs will appear out of nowhere, or people will teleport from one place to another. The game becomes unplayable if this happens. However, this is the game's only strong letdown. It makes the game less than perfect, but it's still fun.
It is also worth mentioning some other random points. There are four different game modes: Normal, Bombing Run, Paint, and Zombie, all of which are available online. Bombing Run makes everyone run faster. In Paint mode, the object is to "paint" the ground by bombing it, and the player with the most tiles painted wins. Zombie mode is identical to Paint mode, except you can't die, and instead you lose all your tiles when you are hit. You also have the choice to play with "Revenge carts", where you ride around the edge of the map when you die and attempt to bomb the people who are still alive. There are also different maps that each have a different gimmick, but you will usually find yourself playing on the default Classic map.
Overall, Bomberman LIVE is a great game that is nearly perfect. But it's the imperfections that set the game back, so I give this game a 4 out of 5. Simply put, Bomberman LIVE is the bomb. Yes, I'm going to burn for that.
Picture Source: Hudson Entertainment
-Memorable characters and graphics
-Addictive gameplay
-Online play is a blast (Get it?)
-Bomberman is customizable
Cons:
-Online play suffers from lag
When I was a kid, I remember one of my favorite games was Bomberman. It was so easy to play, and yet so hard to master. It does shame me slightly to say that Bomberman 64 was among my favorite Nintendo 64 games, but maybe i didn't have good taste back then. Whatever the case, all I can say is this: I love Bomberman.
I was as shocked as anybody when I saw Hudson's new-looking Bomberman years ago, and it's very negative reviews didn't surprise me. That's why I am extremely relieved that their newest offering, Bomberman LIVE, returns to the classic Bomberman look and feel. The cartoony, cute graphics can make anybody love these characters.
The game uses the same formula that makes Bomberman so great. Two to eight players run around a stage, trying to trap each other using bombs. In order to reach your opponents, however, you have to first blast away groups of boxes. These boxes may contain power-ups that upgrade you or your bombs. Power-ups are a key part of the game, and often you will find that the player with the best power-ups wins.
That's it, really. The concept is so easy, a six year old can pick it up and play. In fact, this game is great to play with your kids. The game allows four people to play locally, with up to four slots for computer players. The game is also fun to play by yourself, however, allowing you to play with up to seven bots. Your opponents AI is somewhat lacking towards the easier levels. Occasionally they will drop a bomb, then instantly get distracted by something shiny and blow themselves up. However, you can change the difficulty of the bots, and although I've never been brave enough to play on Hard, it seems like something that would clear up on harder difficulties.
Another fine point of Bomberman LIVE is the customizability of your Bomberman. The base game has 60 "costumes" to unlock; 20 headgear, 20 hair styles, and 20 clothes. You can buy even more for 200 MSP (along with new maps to play on) from the XBox Marketplace. Costumes are unlocked in the form of "Costume Balls". These balls (actually more of a diamond) appear in single player games after one minute. You will usually find yourself making a mad dash for each ball as soon as it appears, as computer players can pick them up too. Changing Bomberman's appearance is great fun, especially when you find the combination that is just right.
But the main attraction to this game is the online multiplayer, and Hudson has made it a blast. Bad puns aside, you can play with up to seven other people in a multi-round game match, with all the features available in the single player. Friends can also join in the fun locally, and you can have four people on one console playing online.
Unfortunately, the online multiplayer suffers from a lot of lag. Sometimes bombs will appear out of nowhere, or people will teleport from one place to another. The game becomes unplayable if this happens. However, this is the game's only strong letdown. It makes the game less than perfect, but it's still fun.
It is also worth mentioning some other random points. There are four different game modes: Normal, Bombing Run, Paint, and Zombie, all of which are available online. Bombing Run makes everyone run faster. In Paint mode, the object is to "paint" the ground by bombing it, and the player with the most tiles painted wins. Zombie mode is identical to Paint mode, except you can't die, and instead you lose all your tiles when you are hit. You also have the choice to play with "Revenge carts", where you ride around the edge of the map when you die and attempt to bomb the people who are still alive. There are also different maps that each have a different gimmick, but you will usually find yourself playing on the default Classic map.
Overall, Bomberman LIVE is a great game that is nearly perfect. But it's the imperfections that set the game back, so I give this game a 4 out of 5. Simply put, Bomberman LIVE is the bomb. Yes, I'm going to burn for that.
Picture Source: Hudson Entertainment
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