"Your head will 'splode (read it please)"

For many years now, Bomberman has been a game of good games. This all ends here. Ha, I bet I scared you. Anyway, on to the review.

Graphex and Visual Affex (8/10)
For those of you thinking WTF1! ROFLCHOPTER!!1. Bomberman has nice smooth classical graphics with nothing ugly to the eyes at all. Very smooth and clean. Just because a game graphics engine doesn't use the full power, doesn't mean it doesn't look good. Every world on single player has a unique and cool look. The same setting kind of gets old after 10 levels, but it still looks very nice. Very good, but nothing memorable, except those bomb blasts that cover the whole screen.

Sound affex and Musical spex (8/10)
The music usually fits the scene. Some good tracks. I mean, it sounds like Bomberman. The bomb explosions sound a little better than previous handhelds, but they couldn't get much better. You also hear Bomberman's voice every time you pick up a power-up. It sounds pretty neat too. When you use said power-up he'll say the name of the power-up. All other sounds are pretty nice too. Like the bomb dropping, getting clunked on the head by someone throwing a bomb, and other things as well.

Control (10/10)
Of course this column just enhances the score, because on most games controls are 10/10, but anyway, you move up down left and right with the D-pad of course. You lay bombs with A, and with special power-ups you use B for detonation. You use the stylus for flipping up bombs in revenge mode, but I'll go over that in the multiplayer. On single player, you tap things on the bottom screen to put your power-ups into affect. Overall, very well working simple controls that my 4 year old little brother can handle. But then again, he plays Halo.

The Gameplay in Single Player Play (7/10)
Now, the reason I put graphics and sound before gameplay is so you have a basic idea of how it looks when you play. BOMBMERMAN! You basically blow up blocks and such around you that clear pathways and give out power-ups. You do this while trying to avoid your bombs, enemies, and other enemies. When you grab a power-up in single player you will be able to use it on the bottom screen. You can save as much as you want, making it different than previous Bombermans. So on this game, when you die, you still have a whole bunch of power-ups to use. The power-ups range from bigger explosions to walking through 'splodeable walls. Of course the reason I took off points is the fact that the single player is rather repetitive. It's not for me, but mainly because I make alot of mistakes because I'm in too much of a hurry. If you're like me, you'll end up playing 5 levels over about 4 times in the later levels. I forgot to mention that the saving system works like this. You pass 5 levels, you play a bonus, you can save it if you want. Another 4 levels, boss fight. Rinse and repeat 10 times, and there's you single player. It's fun, but it's all the same matter of fun which after awhile isn't as much fun.

Gameplay in Multiplayer Play(10/10)
Usually I don't make a seperate column for multiplayer, but since multiplayer is at least half of the game here, I shall. This is literally the best handheld multiplayer I've ever played, and I have played multiplayer on Kirby and the Magic Mirror and all those other good handheld multiplayer games. It's basically like single player, but you're facing other Bombermen with same abilities as you. You blow up breakable walls to make paths, but on multiplayer they give out alot more power-ups. As soon as you get a power-up, it goes straight into affect. I've only played it with 1 other person at a time, and it's awesome. The only downside here, is that computers don't really attack each other. They basically go around, blow up walls, avoid bombs, and stay alive as long as possible. It can sometimes get annoying for computers know exactly how big your bomb explosions will be and other bombs as well. There are tons of different game modes. Some are very similar to others, but others are very different than some. Such as, the basic death match. You move between the top and the bottom screen. You get one live, as soon as you die, you appear at the bottom with a scooter type thing in which you can move back and forth. This is called revenge mode. (if you turned it on) In this mode you can flick up bombs with the stylus. If your bomb explosion kills someone (even your own teammate) you come back to life in their place. The last one standing wins. There are tons of other modes that take awhile to explain, but their all pretty much awesome. Like I already mentioned, teams and such. Overall, best handheld multiplayer ever. IT'S A BLAST! (that was expected right?) I also forgot to mention that you can play multiplayer against all computers by yourself if you want, which is also fun.

Replay and Lastibilitay (8/10)
If you have just one friend with a DS, this game will last you pretty much forever. The single player isn't much to brag about, but I suppose after you pass it, you can try to beat your time. I use to do that on the old SNES Donkey Kong games a lot. I could get under 2:10 on DKC 2. That's beside the point, but you get what I'm saying.

Pros*
+ Multiplayer's a BLAST!
+ With about 30 modes of play
+ Just plain old school Bomberman fun
+ Smooth, clean graphics
+ Sounds like Bomberman
+ Ton's of power-ups
+ Will last you a lifetime

Cons^
- Somewhat repetitive single player
- And somewhat frustrating single player

Overall (8/10)
If you have some friends with DSes get this game, unless they have the game. Unless you're into the single player. I like it, but not everyone does. It's a good game, worth the $30.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/26/05