Bomberman 64

"It must have taken a lot of effort, but hudson have managed to ruin bomberman."

Back in the SNES years, I used to LOVE the original bomberman, before they tried to make it some kind of adventure with the sequels, but even those were worth buying because they retained the legendary multiplayer mode. Now, however, hudson have decided that everything that made their SNES games so popular should instantly be eradicated for the 64-bit version. The simpleness of the blasting puzzles in the one player game, the ease of aiming and throwing/laying/kicking bombs and the fantastic multiplayer. Hudson HAVE added a multiplayer, albeit out of spite but there's one there anyway. But it would be unfair to just compare the two games, so let's see what bomberman 64 is like as an individual game.

The nicest way I can describe the graphics is 'pleasant', the most honest way I can describe them is 'mundane'. There are four different game worlds to get through, all of them very big and often difficult in places. Not only have Hudson gone for the most depressingly stereotypical platform worlds (Grass, ice, fire etc) But they have made the worlds look so bland and shockingly devoid of any detail whatsoever. The snow level consists of bluish-white hills.... and that's it. The character animation does what it needs to and not a thing more, the characters are blocky and look like bomberman, what else can I say? Occasionally a hilariously under-animated enemy will float across the screen, only for you to randomly throw bombs in it's direction and hope for the best.

And there's the first major fault of the game, throwing the bombs. This is a crucial part of the game, so you'd think the developers would at least try to make it easy, they could have opted for an aiming cross-hair system, much like the one 'Rocket: Robot on wheels' has, but instead you might throw several bombs in several directions before you finally hit what you want, this will NOT improve with practice, either you will become more patient or you will stop playing altogether, which is a shame (a VERY small one mind you) because later in the game better challenges open up and you will have a LITTLE bit more fun.

Essentially, the old bomberman games were puzzlers, and they could be very compelling at times, and the adventure game played in two player was extremely enjoyable, offering a nice diversion from the main deathmatch multiplayer. Bomberman 64, however, is trying to be a fully fledged platformer, but it refuses to let go of some of it's puzzle elements, like jumping, you can't do it in this game, there are places begging for some jumping action, but you must stay rooted firmly to the ugly ground, this is a shame as it would have improved the playability.

Also the camera, it sticks up top much like the puzzlers, although not quite as high. This can make things very difficult, sometimes you are asked to go somewhere the camera cannot see because it is too busy giving views of treetops, this doesn't occur too often, but when it does, it's near impossible to put up with, and is inexcusable. All of this makes for an uneasy mix with the new platforming elements, the levels are very big and there are wide open spaces to explore, but these only serve as means for losing your bearings and constantly going the wrong direction, this game is basically a linear corridor platformer with pointless places to get lost in the middle. The 'puzzles' in the game are laughable, it's basically blow up all the trees to get powerups and blow up what's in your way, occasionally Hudson may 'treat' you with a thin ledge to stumble across and fall of the edge countless times, or it may even provide a boss battle, which basically entails running around until the boss has finished attacking, and then wildly throwing bombs in all directions hoping it will hit the thing, which it rarely does.

The game length isn't bad, there may be frustration all the way, but there is occasionally a little incentive to go a little bit further, reaching the end of a level for instance, after all your hard work, this event is very rewarding, and occasionally you will be rewarding for experimenting with things, push that box over there blow that up etc, doing things like this can earn you gold cards, and if you collect enough of these there is a secret world to open up. So the game does provide a few rewarding features, but not NEARLY enough to keep people going throughout the whole game. Theres nothing particularly wrong with the game mechanics, the length of the game (It will take well over a week to beat, even for experienced gamers) and there are some secrets to uncover, but ultimately this is just a big empty disappointment in which you repeat the same strategy over and OVER again, those who persevere will find mild satisfaction, but will have to play through hours of dross to get to it.

I'll finish my review by badmouthing, uh I mean 'giving my opinion' on the multiplayer. It's a complete and utter travesty, the aforementioned problem with throwing bombs is demonstrated fully here and the arenas have far too many 'hidden' bits which your character can disappear out of sight in, there's no strategy involved whatsoever, it's just a tiresome random throwing of bombs and falling off stupidly thin ledges, they should have just stayed with the original a flat course with blocks scattered around and a few quirks like warp holes. And because of this unspeakably bad multiplayer, the game is forced to rely on a below average one player adventure. There is nothing worth your time here, so don't even bother renting it, it will only ruin old memories of the GOOD bomberman games.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/28/01, Updated 05/28/01