Bomberman DS: - When Old Concepts Never Give Up

There is nary a gamer who hasn't at least heard of the name Bomberman. Even gamers who could become no more casual have at least an incling of a picture of the bomber in their head. This is partly due to the fact that this mascot has hit nearly every console ever created, even the newer ones, save for Microsoft's Xbox console. Well either way, this is a well known franchise, but it's not as highly regarded as you'd expect. Upon hearing that Hudson was in development with a DS version of Bomberman, I first expected a port or remake of Bomberman 64. Well that's no fun, and thankfully Hudson did their best to create a version of the original concept, custom tailored for dual screen action on the Nintendo DS. Is Bomberman starting to get old yet? Read on to find out.

I should probably let you know right away that if you're looking for a game that makes excellent use of all the DS' features, than you should probably look elsewhere. Surprisingly enough, the developers did integrate the features directly into the game, but these take backseat to the core game design. The two screens are both used during multi-player, and the touch screen is used during single player to delve out your power-ups. Talk about a lackluster tactic of taking advantage of the hardware, but Bomberman actually functions quite well on it's own. This game carries all the old quirks of the past bomberman games, and realizing this, you should also note that the game is no fun to play by yourself. Only purchase if you've got plenty of friends to deathmatch with.

Gameplay
Okay we'll start out with the basics. First off, anyone familiar with Bomberman already knows of the bomb dropping techniques. This DS version goes about it in classic + sign explosion style, instead of rounded like the N64 version incorporated. So basically Bomberman has you running around a flat surface from an overhead perspective while you blow up blocks which contain items, and enemies which threaten to destroy you. It's like one giant puzzle, because if you touch a bomb explosion, or are hit by an enemy, you die. This makes things a bit tricky, because of the maze style setup, and so you will need to predict your enemies next move in order to successfully assasinate them. This is classic bomberman stuff, but the DS version manages to bring a few new things to the table.

As with most of the older Bomberman titles, this one features both a single player and a multiplayer mode which are quite separate from each other. Single player mode in Bomberman is actually quite forgettable. There are 100 levels to traverse through, but the repetition is just endless. You'll find yourself rather bored with the destroy all enemies mechanic rather quickly, and I really see no reason why you should spend more than just a couple of minutes with it. When this game really opens up however, is when you get a couple of friends together to play against one another. This is when things get frantic. What is no doubt, the best feature of this game is the fact that you can play up to 8 players, with only one person owning an actual copy of the game. This feature alone warrants a purchase of this title.

If you don't have any friends, or just have less than 7, who own a DS than you're in a little bit of luck. Hudson has opted to include the ability to fill the player slots up with bots, and so you'll be able to play deathmatch irregardless of how many other people you have to play with. Keep in mind though, playing with bots is only about half as fun as playing with real human players, and so if you really and truly don't know anybody who has a DS then you should still pass up on this one. The bots are a nice feature however, and while it does offer more replayablitity and entertainment than the straight out single player adventure, it just isn't as fun or frantic.

Of these new special Nintendo DS features, a couple fit perfectly into the Bomberman universe. Firstly, we have the dual screen support. When playing in single player mode, the lower screen mainly functions as your inventory screen that displays available power-ups for use. You can activate these power-ups by touching them respectively on the touch screen. This means that if you save enough of them up, single player is an absolute cinch to play through. What's cool is that once you start playing multi-player, the top and bottom screens both portray different sections of the battlefield, the upper and lower, making the entire battlefield double it's normal size. Travelling to the other screen is performed by walking through the pipes connecting the two, though battle can get a bit congested near these at times.

What I found is cool is the fact that this game, while playing in multi-player mode, requires constant scanning of both screens. This is because of the fact that after getting enough of the fire power-ups, explosions can actually travel across the two screens. Thus if you aren't aware of what's happening on both the bottom and lower half of the battlefield, you'll be toast against a player who knows how to properly manipulate this feature. Another lesser feature that's used to a small extent is the microphone. In one mode of the game, you actually have to make noises in order to both set and detonate your bombs. This may seem gimmicky, and in fact it is, but it can make things a little more frantic. That's not to say that I'm going to go into public and make noises into my DS, but it's nothing really to complain about because it's not required in the game.

Graphics, Sound, Controls, and Replay Value
Bomberman is strictly a 2 dimensional presentation, with no use of polygons or real fancy effects. Admittedly this game does not take advantage of everything the DS has to offer, but at the same time, it looks pretty nice. If it wasn't for the two screen setup, this game could easily be done on the GBA methinks. Bomberman's best looking attribute is in it's colorful presentation, with nicely animated characters, and decently sized maps to play on, especially in multi-player. Overall, this game is not going to wow you with the powers of the Nintendo DS, but it is still not too shabby for those who haven't sold off 2-D gaming yet.

Music is a bit old, with familiar bleeps and blips thrown together to compose the various musical pieces within the game. These bleeps and blips have more dimensions than the old NES and SNES games, and they certainly sound better, but we all know the DS is capable of much more. The sound effects seem to be a touch above standard Bomberman fare, with clearer explosions, but nothing else here is really noticeable. Bomberman's voice (activated by the pick-up of powerups) is high pitched, and a bit annoying, but is for the most part forgiveable.

Controls are quite easy, and I would be very surprised if they hadn't been crafted this way. Running around is performed by pressing the various directions on the D-pad, while you drop bombs with A. Given a certain power-up, B can be used to detonate bombs. The touch screen mechanics require you to only touch the icon of the power-up you would like to activate, and this is only as good as your own hand eye coordination. Overall controls are easy enough to the point that you can jump right in, with little to no explanation on how to play. This makes the title perfect for younger gamers.

Single player is mildly (and I stress the word) entertaining, but it's not going to last you very long at all. To really get all the money out of this purchase, you're gonna have to dive right into the multi-player. What's awfully convenient though is the fact that you need only one cartridge to play with multiple people. This means that if you know someone else with a DS, than you're good to go. If you plan to play by yourself, then don't even bother.

Final Recommendation
Like I already mentioned a hundred times, get this game for it's multi-player and nothing else; unless you're a complete bomberman single player freak. Though this game doesn't make good use of the DS' features, it's still quite the fun game to play with a couple friends.

Overall Rating: 7.7