Bomberman 64

Summary

Genre: Platform / Puzzle
Number of players: 1-4
Rumble Pak: No
Controller Pak: Yes
Expansion Pak: Not used

Review

The Bomberman series has featured on most major consoles. Who could resist a cute little chap who runs around flinging explosives to immolate his enemies? Not me, anyway. However, this particular Bomberman is a definite departure from the usual 2D 'run around a maze and blow things up' format, instead becoming a 3D 'run around a large level and blow things up' game. Is this a blast, or does it backfire? Sorry.


Gameplay: The single-player mode is an interesting mix of platform and puzzle styles. You control the eponymous Bomberman, whose task it is to make his way through four worlds by cleverly using your bombs and brains to get to the end of each level. Each world consists of two standard levels, a mini-boss and a major boss.

The standard levels are actually very enjoyable and original. Rather than your standard platform fare, what makes the Bomberman levels unique is the often devilish problems which you must solve, usually solely by clever placement of bombs. Bomberman lacks the ability to jump or climb, and this, far from detracting from the experience, actually adds to it immensely, once you get over the frustration this causes. For instance, sometimes you need to place bombs so they serve as bounce platforms for subsequent thrown bombs; gaps in a wall can have bombs kicked into them so you can cross them; and, later, you need to construct elaborate 'staircases' of bomb towers which you can bounce across and up. Suffice to say that the designers make full use of all tactical possibilities the premise can support, and do so very well.

A number of power-ups are also available in the levels, having the same effect as in multiplayer, which I'll talk about below. You can collect extra bombs, which allow you to have more and more bombs out at once; items which increase the blast range of your bombs; super bombs, which are much more powerful than standard ones; and remote bombs, which allow you to detonate your bombs when you see fit. Also available is the ability to 'pump' your bombs while holding them, increasing their size and power. All of these various power-ups have their various uses, and are often essential to complete a level. The remote bombs, in particular, are usually essential, especially later on when you need your bombs to stay intact to create a pathway using them.

Besides the standard levels, there are two boss levels in each world. The first boss is a human-like person, not much larger than Bomberman himself, who you basically have to keep kicking bombs at in the hope they go off before he/she runs out of range. These fights are really not that much fun; it's often down to luck that they get caught in the blast rather than much use of skill on your part.

The main boss fights are different. Usually, they consist of a giant robot or creature, who you must defeat by careful and well-timed use of remote bombs, as well as locating and exploiting any weak spot. These fights are definitely more down to skill than luck, and finally bringing them down is highly satisfying. Still, the game does seem more suited to the standard levels than the boss battles, but they offer a change of pace, at least.

In short, the single-player game is most enjoyable, although far less action-orientated than the usual Bomberman game.


Challenge: The main game is challenging, too. Quite apart from having to solve all the necessary puzzles in each level and defeat all the bosses, there is a fifth entire world to tackle once you've completed the first four. Then your challenge is to go back over every single level and collect all five 'gold cards' from each. Some of these cards can be found inside blocks, often well-concealed ones; some by defeating a set number of enemies; and some by finishing the level inside a tight time limit. Gold cards are even tougher to get in the boss levels, where you must get all five during one play. To get the cards in the boss levels, you must do things like finishing within a time limit; bouncing a bomb off certain parts of the boss, or blowing off bits of the boss. Having to do all five things, plus defeating the boss without dying too, is often a huge challenge.

Once all 100 gold cards have been found, another entire world opens up, with 20 of its own gold cards to collect, plus puzzles that are a lot more challenging, to boot. Finishing this world, and then collecting all the gold cards from it, is another really tough challenge. Suffice to say that completing the game will take a very long time indeed. Plus there's another challenge, namely to find and collect all of the 'custom parts' in each standard level, which can be hidden just as cunningly as gold cards. These parts can be used to customise your multiplayer character, who can be saved to a controller pak. Yippee.


Graphics: The graphics aren't anything really special, but everything looks solid and attractive enough. There's enough variety on characters, levels and objects to keep the graphics perfectly fine, and it's colourful and bright without being garish. Good stuff.


Sounds: The music is fine, with a nice blend of soft background tunes, innocent catchy melodies, and more atmospheric and tense music too. Sound effects are all appropriate and clear, and basically the sounds department can't really be faulted.


Multiplayer: The multiplayer mode moves away from the standard Bomberman multiplayer mode by placing up to four players, with computer supplements if there are less than four humans, into 3D arenas, with a number of regenerating blocks holding most of the power-ups from the main game, and a fair few traps, pits and obstacles. A time limit is optional, and if selected, the final minute introduces a new complication, such as a sea slowly rising to cover the level; fireballs falling from the sky; or the level's walls closing in. Another optional feature is for dead players to return as ghosts, who can't lay bombs, but can kick them or pick them up and throw them, and who can also grab hold of living players and run them around until thrown off.

The action is quite high, with explosions going off left, right and centre, although it has to be said that actually killing another player can be a bit of a hit and miss affair. The openness of the 3D levels, together with the rather small blast radii of the bombs, means that it's rather hard to finish off an opponent, even though one bomb blast will kill them. You can stun your opponents by kicking a bomb into them, but the stun lasts only a second or two if the opponent rotates the control stick several times. Nonetheless, the mode is still quite a lot of fun.

Another multiplay mode is the 'team' mode. In this mode, players automatically regenerate soon after being killed, but the goal of the game is for each team to destroy not the other players, but rather the specific coloured jewel of the other team. The first team to destroy five of the opponents' jewels wins. This mode is also plenty of fun, plus it's a little easier to take out the jewels, which remain stationary unless picked up and moved around than it is to hit a moving opponent. But whichever mode you play, multiplayer Bomberman is fun, if perhaps not brilliant.


Summing up: The single-player mode is surprisingly taxing, yet very cleverly-designed. The game is perfectly competent in the graphics and sounds areas, too, and if you fancy a unique and absorbing platform-cum-puzzle challenge, you'll probably enjoy it. The multiplayer mode is okay, although the computer opponents aren't nearly as challenging as they should have been, and it can be quite tough to kill an opponent. All up, a nice package, which many people will find right up their alley. But not everyone.


Gamesmark: 83%


Reviewer: Maverik



Tangycheese's opinion: Bomberman is actually quite a good game - which did come as a bit of a surprise. At first glance I had thought it looked a bit boring and simplistic. But no - I was wrong. The single player is absolutely full of taxing puzzles, and useful powerups, and the multiplay is just manic! You really can't stand still for a second, or you'll be blown up. Good fun.