Ever since ‘Dynablaster’ on the 8-bit systems little bomberman has been laying bombs and blowing up blocks for all he's worth. But after such a bright start with the exceptional Super Nintendo outings the little chap has seemingly lost his way in the gaming world. So then can his latest adventure redress the balance?
Bomberman Generation represents an almost complete overhaul
of the original format -we are now presented with something resembling a
cell-shaded version of the first the Game Boy Advance Title. A sort of
Bomberman role-play game if you will.
The single player game is set across six different
environments, each consisting of six stages. And it all looks truly lovely. The
change to the new cell shaded look certainly benefits the series and seems to
suit the style of the game very well. The purpose of the single player game is
to guide Bomberman through the six worlds in search of missing bomb fragments.
On the way you can create new types of bombs and most intriguingly capture sort
of Pokemon type things called Charabom’s. These Charabom’s then help to raise
Bomberman’s ability in areas such as kicking bombs and how much damage is taken
from enemies.
At both the middle and end stages of each world you have to
take on a boss creature. This can prove frustrating as each villain has a weak
spot, which is the only way that they can be damaged and you are given no clue where the weak spot is. It all moves along nicely with responsive controls
and though your character appears to be very slow when you start the game you'll pick up a a few ‘speed up’ icons tand it stops being problem.
However, thought the game plays well, looks beautiful and
generally hits all the right spots. There is a problem. It’s just that the
single player game is just a bit dull. After you have wondered through to about
the third world you don’t feel like you're seeing anything new. This problem
is caused by the puzzle solving aspect of the game. All of which revolves
around bombs, unsurprisingly. Now I appreciate there is not a great deal of
variety available in solving puzzles with bombs. You can blow down walls and
poles to make more platforms, or you can kick bombs to… well blow down walls
and poles to make platforms. This coupled with the fact that the bombs take too long to
explode can cause frustration.
Furthermore, you’re not looking at a game that’s going to
last you a long time. (Not in the single player mode anyway). Each world takes
about an hour to get through and unless you want to make sure you have got all
the Pokemon things, or want to play the truly dull mini-games, when you have
finished it I cant see anyone having the urge to go back to it.
Multi-player is where any good Bomberman game should excel
and I am glad to report that this version of the game has all the magic of
previous outings. The controls work perfectly, meaning you don’t get stuck on
corners, a problem very apparent in some versions on the game. Basically, here
you have the multi-player from the Super Nintendo outing updated with the new
visuals.
Coupled to the basic game mode is a selection of new options to try and allow you to blow people up in a whole new way. New modes include a game where exploding bombs change the colour of the panels on the floor to that of your player. Thus creating a sort of Othello with bombs type of thing. Pure genius. A game where you have to bomb moles is also included. It all looks great and works perfectly. For this reason alone Bomberman deserves to be returned to the high acclaim it once received in the good old days of retro gaming.
Coupled to the basic game mode is a selection of new options to try and allow you to blow people up in a whole new way. New modes include a game where exploding bombs change the colour of the panels on the floor to that of your player. Thus creating a sort of Othello with bombs type of thing. Pure genius. A game where you have to bomb moles is also included. It all looks great and works perfectly. For this reason alone Bomberman deserves to be returned to the high acclaim it once received in the good old days of retro gaming.
To sum up, Bomberman Generation is a good game. The
multiplayer mode is as excellent as ever, and even though the single player
mode lacks the magic of the multiplayer it isn’t that bad really. In small
doses it can be fun, especially when involved in one of the battles with the
Charabom's. Anyway, who buys a Bomberman game for the single player game? No one
that’s who.
Overall - 7/10
