Bomberman is a game of brick-breaking and bomb-making. It starts with a robot toiling away in an underground complex until he hears rumors that robots who reach the surface become human.
Power-ups help speed things up and allow some level of clever play, but the process of making progress in a stage remains slow and bland without any excitement waiting around the corner to motivate the player.
Gameplay
Bomberman games are always a lot of fun, and they can be even more so when you play them with a friend. Unlike many other games of its day, Bomberman lets up to 5 players play from the same computer using keyboards or joysticks (the keys can be redefined in the options menu).
As the eponymous outerworldly hero, your goal is to drop bombs into enemy locations in order to destroy enemies and block segments, and find extras that can increase your fire range, number of bombs placed at once, or movement speed. You also need to watch out for a group of five dastardly villains known as the Bad Bombers, which will try to knock you off your game.
While the game offers a few power-ups to help make things a bit easier, they aren’t as necessary as in later games, as the level layouts and enemy behavior can often provide enough variety to keep things interesting. Even so, the game struggles to engage with its players in the way that it should based on its basic gameplay formula, relying on mix-ups instead of letting the player develop their skills over the course of the game.
Despite its low score, this version of Bomberman is an excellent choice for those looking to experience the original in its entirety, or who simply haven’t had a chance to do so before. Its uniqueness, however, is its greatest asset – while other games of the time were all about re-trying, this one is different in that if you lose all your lives it is game over.
Graphics
Bomberman is a popular computer and video game franchise that was first published in 1983. The series has since spawned over 60 different games and continues to be published to this day. It is considered to be one of the first multiplayer games.
In addition to its multiplayer capabilities, Bomberman also has a unique gameplay style that distinguishes it from other similar games of the time. The game is played on a non-scrolling screen and takes place in a two-dimensional world. The player controls the character using a joystick or keyboard. He must place bombs to destroy enemies and walls, and can move horizontally and vertically within the confines of the screen.
The NES version of the game uses a simple graphics engine and has few special effects. The player moves the robot around a room that resembles an underground complex, and he can access doors to enter new rooms. Enemies are found throughout the maze, and the game has power-ups that allow the player to use stronger bombs and survive longer.
In the 1990s, the independent game developing scene started to thrive on the PC’s. Many different Bomberman clones were created for this platform, but few of them are worth considering. These include Nitro! from PLBM Games, Pyromania from Software 32, and a work-in-progress game called BOoM! by ichigobankai and Vingazole.
Sound
The game’s music is a simple marching beat with an underlying theme of war. The sound effects are also pretty basic, as is the voice acting. Occasionally, the player can unlock or collect power-ups that speed up the game or allow for new strategies like trap setting, but even these aren’t enough to keep things interesting.
The first game in the Bomberman series. It features the classic gameplay of knocking out soft blocks and using them to create a path through enemies. The character can pick up and use various power-ups to assist him, including an invincibility timer that decreases the number of lives required to complete a level.
This game features two modes, Normal and Battle. In Normal Mode, the player must bomb his way through 48 stages to free Diamond City from Mr. Karat and his gold goons. In Battle Mode, the action is frantic and more fun. The player can pick up a wider variety of power-ups, and the player can play with a friend by sharing a single PSP over local wireless Wi-Fi.
Despite its dated graphics, this game is still enjoyable. A lot of the power-ups give it a broader appeal and make it more appealing to casual gamers. It is a bare bones game that lacks the creativity and variety of later games, but it is a good starting point for the franchise.
Controls
Bomberman is a top-down maze chaser in the Pacman mold. The player controls a little guy with an infinite supply of bombs and the objective is to blow up all the enemies, while keeping oneself alive, on a gridded game screen. The gameplay is simple, but it demands fast reaction times.
The character is limited to placing only a single bomb at a time, and the range of its lethal explosion only covers a couple of squares of space on the gridded game screen. Adding to the difficulty are foes that can move right through walls, requiring that you lay bombs in advance to block their route. Also, enemies can drop bombs on you at random, forcing you to be cautious of where you place your explosives.
Fortunately, the controls can be re-configured to work with keyboards or gamepads, and up to three players may play from the same PC using the keyboard. This multiplayer mode is one of the game’s biggest draws, and it can make the game more enjoyable for those without a dedicated gamepad.
While Bomberman is a fun game in its own right, it’s clear that the series is rooted in its archaic beginnings. The lack of innovation and creativity on the part of its designers is evident as soon as you start playing the game.
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