"BOOM!"

Bomberman...the strange, little guy that has won the hearts of thousands of gamers. It's a pretty unique concept. You play as Bomberman, a guy wearing a suit and a mask who uses bombs to blow up walls and enemies. Sure, it sounds cool, doesn't it? However, the game is frustrating and gets repetitive after a while.

STORY: 1

Why does this seem familiar? There ain't no story for this game. It's just Bomberman...blowing up his enemies and getting through the game. The ending reveals a bit of the tale, but it really does suck, coming from a veteran gamer like me.

GRAPHICS: 7

You might wonder why I've given the game such a high score in this category. Well, it is an 8-bit game, and being on a system like the NES, you can't really blame this game for the graphics. However, they could be improved, looking at classics like Super Mario Brothers 3 and Kirby's Adventure.

SOUND: 3

The sound is just simply horrible. The same music is used throughout the entire game (with some exceptions), and the only good sound effects you hear are the bombs.

CONTROL: 8

There's nothing wrong with the control, except that Bomberman's somewhat sluggish when he's walking. You can easily lay bombs just by pushing the A button.

GAMEPLAY: 5

In Bomberman, your objective is to destroy the enemies (with bombs) and find the gateway to the next level. This wouldn't be so bad except that the bombs are very useless and are difficult to use unless if you have the detonator. In addition to that, you also have a time-limit, which makes things a lot harder. There are power-ups, but they're rare to come by and don't help a lot.

DIFFICULTY: 10

This game is extremely difficult. Most of the time, your bombs will miss the enemies, and you'll have to try again and again in order to get it right. It really isn't worth your time.

REPLAY VALUE: 1

There really is no reason to play the game again. You should only replay it if you really enjoy it, but I don't think you will.

CONCLUSION

Story - 1
Graphics - 7
Sound - 3
Control - 8
Gameplay - 5
Difficulty - 10
Replay Value - 1
Overall Score - 5

BUY OR RENT? You really shouldn't buy this game unless if you're a die-hard fan. The game's way too difficult, and it hardly has any replay value. Rent it if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you want to experience true Bomberman, then play his SNES sequels. The Gamecube version is also pretty good.

Or, just play a different game. The Final Fantasy series are pretty good, and so is Super Mario Bros. and Chrono Trigger.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/04