Bomberman 64

"Bomberman backwards is namrebmoB"

The Bomberman series has been on every gaming system known to man, the franchise stretching back till God knows when. When Bomberman entered the 3D world, it wasn't exactly lavished with praise and affection like Mario 64 or Zelda. Nay, it was thought to be of a boring single player mode, and a ruined multiplayer mode. I didn't grow up with the previous Bomberman games, so this was my first encounter with the series. Personally, I find the multiplayer mode one of the greatest on the system, but I agree on the single player mode; it's pretty plop.

Bomberman isn't pushing the 64 to its limits, and it shows. The game has shoddy graphics, which true to various 64 games are all blocky and blurry. Naturally, most of the environments feature bright, striking colours, which did wonders for the systems image as a children's machine. The main characters all look the same, and there is little stylistic variety between them. The various enemies you encounter during your travels are reflective of your surroundings, yet they still appear drab and lifeless.

Games of this variety also don't push the orchestral limits soundwise. Every song on here are little bleeps and blops and strange Japanese Techno Keys. Not I'm 100% against strange Japanese Techno Keys, its just Bomberman's tunes aren't worth remembering. If you try and recall one, chances are you'll find yourself humming along to another strange game. However, the tunes selected reflect their environments, and they succeed in this regard.

Story? What Story? Platformers should never even try to give the players motivation for jumping on things, or in this case blowing stuff up. Besides this, Hudson choose to include a story about some guy, stealing some thing, destroying some place, but that doesn't matter because YOUR BOMBERMAN!!!!!! Chances are your going to blow that dude up anyway. The point is, the story is irrelevant.

The 1-player game mode is shoddy. Pure badness. Because of the utter lackness of a competent story, you have no motivation to progress, except for the addition of a FUNKY CUSTOM SUIT!!!!! Basically, to finish this game you need to get from one side of the level to the other, like a side-scroller. This mode feels like one anyway, so It won't take even the most inexperienced players to finish this game in no time, even if they loss the will to play during. The Boss Fights are also awful, concerning the player with dodging a few attacks, and then relentlessly throwing bombs at it. Can I get to the multiplayer now?

My oh my, this is some fun stuff. I don't really know why this mode got so relentlessly murdered by reviewers, because In my opinion, with 3 other people, Its extremely fun. The team battle game is very dissappointing however. What's the fun in destroying blue and red crystals? Wouldn't you rather throw your enemies off a pryamid into a pool of water, or blow them up with a freaking huge bomb? With three other people, this game can become the cause of broken friendships, smashed controllers, and some very loud noises.

The game has many items on offer, like Remote Bombs, Red Bombs (Really Huge Bombs), Evil faces (Does various things, like creating a tornado inside the arena), and Skulls (which make you sick, you perverted thing you.) These items lend another generous helping of chaos to the proceedings, which is greatly appreciated. There are several stages on offer, from a pyramid, to a field of overgrown grass. The choice of level can decide how crazy the game will get in the final minute, where the game tells you to "Hurry up", by raising the water level, or making the walls close in on you, or even by dropping fireballs on top of you. This is the highlight of the game, not doubt.

Yes, this review has been overall quite bad, but so is this game. The only reason I am giving this game a score of 7, is because of the delightful multiplayer mode. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it will change your life. If you still own a 64, this is worth checking out if you have any friends, just steer clear of the One-Player Game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/06