The first thing you’ll notice about Bomberman Online is that the world and its characters are now cel-shaded. While the cel-shading fad has been shoved onto some games for fad’s sake, the technique actually fits the Bomberman world and its traditionally cartoon cast of characters. The arenas even have a painted look to make its overlaying items and characters stand out.

There are tons of new play modes in Bomberman and all of them are instant classics. The first is the traditional survival mode where players bomb till they explode. New modes are Hyper Bomber, Submarine, Panel Paint, and Ring Match. In Hyper Bomber players have to find three target panels hidden in the level blocks and enter the center gate to win. In Submarine, The screen is split into two sides where you and your opponents will place bombs that slide with the water current. Bombs that hit an opponent’s bomb slide back to you. In Panel Paint, players bomb to flip over floor panels. The bomber with the most panel space wins. In Ring Match, bombers fight in a small area and win based on points – 2 points for blasting an opponent and minus 1 point for being bombed.

All the traditional items found in Bomberman titles are here – extra bombs, fire, speed, punch, etc. All of them are still great to use in battle, and don’t feel cheap. There’s even a new one – the bouncing bomb that bounces randomly until it explodes.

The biggest play mode is, of course, the new online play mode. Players can use their own ISPs or SegaNet to log on and bomb players around the country. The online interface isn’t the easiest to use and a look over the instructions might be needed the first time you log on.

There are lots of different servers, but sadly most of them remained empty. After connecting to a server, players can choose a room to enter or create their own. Bomberman is a lot of fun when you’re bombing against another live person. Unfortunately some cheats have made their way into the game to make a bomber invincible – something that destroys the competition aspect. But when you get the right mix of players with you, it’s nothing but a blast.

Bomberman Online is a high point in the series. There’s plenty of modes to keep the best bomb fans busy and the online play, though somewhat flawed, is a good taste of what we’ll see in the future bomb-fests.