Bomberman Generation

"Come for the single-player, stay for the multiplayer!"

Bomberman is one of those titles that come out for almost every system. Eventually, you buy them anyway knowing the quality you can expect with the game. Once again, Bomberman is a blast in Bomberman Generation.

Gameplay: The single-player mode isn't too bad this time around. The gameplay is simple though. You drop bombs to kill enemies, while making sure to not lose all your hearts and lives. As you progress through the game, you get new bombs to add to your regular bombs. The new bombs have different attributes such as ice and wind. Also, an added feature to the single-player mode is charaboms. They are little Pokemon-like creatures that actually help you out in their own little way, such as giving you faster speed or stronger bombs. They also battle other charaboms in a rock, paper, scissors inspired game. There are also 4 minigames to unlock, each interesting in its own way. As a one-player mode, this is fun and could keep you busy for a while... which brings me to the...

Multiplayer mode! This mode is one of the main reasons anyone should buy any Bomberman game. This time around, there are 5 modes. Each mode has their own special rules. First is Standard Battle, which is traditional Bomberman battling. Basically, you try to bomb others. Last one standing wins. With fun powerups, such as stronger flames and line bombs, it always manages to stay interesting no matter how many times you play it. Once you are blown up, you go to the sidelines to get revenge on the other players by throwing bombs from the sidelines. Then there's Coin Battle. Simply enough, blow up treasure chests and grab the coins that fall out. The one that has the most coins wins. A new game is Revenge Battle, where you are actually on the sidelines (hence the name Revenge) trying to blow up moles that appear on the battlefield. You get more points by hitting more moles. Another game is Reversi Battle, where you blow up tiles to match your color. Obviously, The one with the most tiles matching their color wins. Finally, my personal favorite, Dodge Battle is similar to Standard Battle, except that you can't leave bombs. You can only punch and kick bombs that fall onto the battlefield. Thankfully, it leaves circles showing the blast area so you know where to run away from. Playing this with others is a must! If you're alone though, multiplayer mode will still keep you busy. Multiplayer mode alone gives this game a high rating.

Rating: 10/10

Graphics: This is cel-shaded, but it shouldn't really bother anyone. The colors are vibrant and everything moves smoothly. Everything looks nice here, no need to argue there.

Rating: 9/10

Story: Basically, you need to collect the Bomb Elements, which have a special power. However, Mujoe and the Hige Hige Bandits have stolen it and you must get it back from them. The story is pretty ho-hum.

Rating: 6/10

Sound: The traditional ''Boom!'' sounds great. Plus there are also short segments which feature actual voice actors. They're not the best voices, but still pretty good.

Rating: 7/10

Music: The music is very catchy and enjoyable. I found myself humming to the tunes, actually. Some tunes get annoying, but most others turn up the beat and make you excited.

Rating: 9/10

Replayability: The single-player mode will keep you occupied for quite some time. There are about 6 worlds with about 4-6 levels each. Also, there are plenty of mini-bosses and bosses that will actually prove of a hard difficulty to keep you busy trying to beat them. But of course, the multiplayer mode will keep you playing and playing. It's that fun! It is very hard to get bored of it, meaning you can expect this game to last for years.

Rating: 10/10

Rent or Buy?: Personally, I recommend buying it. Of course, not mainly for the story mode, but for the excellent multiplayer modes available. I own a few other Bomberman games myself, but knowing how good the quality would be of another great Bomberman game, I still bought this game. So even if you have other Bombermans like this one, then you should still purchase this. It's a blast!

Final Rating: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/02, Updated 07/31/02