Bomberman DS Review
Introduction
Ahh Bomberman, that quirky little bomb planting dude. His are probably some of the most fun Multiplayer games to come out of the 80s. Its been 20 years since he burst onto the video game scene in Japan all those years ago (heres a bit of trivia for you, did you know Bomberman is based on an old Hudson Soft game called Eric and the Floaters), & since that time not much has changed really. Sure you can now get all these really cool upgrades for your bombs now (like my fav Remote Bombs), but the idea has more or less stayed the same, place bomb here, move away from bomb, bomb destroys wall/monster/yourself/or a friend in multiplayer mode. Yet it still works and even more so in Multiplayer games. So now the time has come for our little friend to debut on the Nintendo DS, how does his first DS outing compare to all the other Bomberman games (which there are many).
Graphics
The Graphics are nothing to write home about, more or less look like the same graphics we had back in the SNES Bomberman games, maybe a little better here and there but nothing special. Having said that, they really dont need to be all that crash hot. Hudson Soft where going to make this game with 3d polygons, but later decided to go back to the tried and true 2d Bomberman games. The graphics work fine within the game, they dont hinder you at all, and it is very easy to tell stuff apart. All in all while it would have been nice to get some nice crisp 3d polygons in this game, they really didnt need them and Im not disappointed at all.
Sound
As With the Graphics, not much has changed in the sound department since the SNES days, and again they really didnt need to change anything, it all works fine. The Bombs sound just like the should, the music sounds just the same way it has always sounded, all in all its more or less the same sounds you would of heard if you have ever played a Bomberman game before.
Gameplay
As before the gameplay remains for the most part more or less the same as every other game in the Bomberman series, place bomb here, blow something up, & all of your fav Bomberman power ups are present, everything from Fire Up, Bomb Up, Speed Up, Remote Bombs etc etc. The single play mode more or less just plays through as it always has, several different areas each with its own style and enemies and a Boss at the end of each. In Single player mode when ever you collect a power up it goes straight to the bottom screen, where you have to touch the icon to use it. This is a great way of storing up items for when you need to use them, trust me it sucks having an uber Bomberman of Death and then to lose all of your power-ups cause of one misplaced Bombs. Also there is a feature in this game where you can control bomb detonation with your mic, which if done while playing an 8-way multi player game is very humorous. Its the classic Bomberman style of gameplay thats makes this game so fun, if it aint broke why fix it.
Value/Lastability
So now we come to the best part of the game, Multiplayer. This has always been the main selling point for any of the Bomberman games. Bomberman DS features single Card Multiplayer (YAY), and has plenty of little features to toy around with in battle mode. From different areas to amount of wins needed, theres plenty there to keep you entertained for a while. And if you dont have any friends around to play with, you can always computer controlled Bombermen to practise on. This game will keep you going for a while, and if you play Multiplayer DS a fair bit then it is a must.
Overall
While this game may look like more of the same, thats not really a bad thing. However for $50 you really cant complain. Just for the multi-player feature alone this game is worth, and while it may not take full advantage of some of the DSs features, it still is worth buying for your DS, the awesome multiplayer mode is probably the best feature of this game and as I said before if you play a lot of multiplayer on your DS then this is a must. All in all a nice solid game, well worth the $50, and it should keep you going till the next version of Bomberman DS due out in the future, which will feature online play.
