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DEVELOPER
Hudson
PUBLISHER
Nintendo
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
Four
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 veryone
knows how much fun Bomberman is, especially when played with a bunch of
friends. It's appeared on nearly every video game system to date, and now
it has made its way onto the N64. One would think the N64 would be the
perfect system for a Bomberman game since the system has 4 controller ports
built in. What's ironic about Bomberman 64 is that the one player mode
is actually more exciting than the rest of the game.
Bomberman, for those of you unfamiliar with the series, has always been
an extremely simple game to play. You move around the screen with the control
stick and lay bombs, which can destroy certain blocks and do damage to
enemies. There are a few power-ups you can obtain to help you along on
your journey. Flame icons will extend the range of your bomb's blast and
bomb icons will allow you to lay more bombs at once. On some levels you
will find the timer, which allows you to lay bombs and then explode them
at a touch of a button. In past games you had to find power-ups to kick
and pick up the bombs, but in Bomberman 64 these techniques are given.
While holding the bomb you can pump it up into a super-sized bomb that
not only is much stronger, but also has a bigger range. The one player
mode has a story, which makes absolutely no difference to the actual game
so you'll probably forget about it ten minutes into the game. There are
4 basic worlds to explore, each consisting of several stages. Your goal
in most of the levels is to reclaim the diamond that has been stolen and
to free each world from some evil dude.
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This area seems more traditional...
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As in past games, you play the game in a ¾ overhead view. Staying
true to current trends, Hudson Soft has made Bomberman 64 somewhat of a
3D adventure. At first glance it looks very similar to Mario 64, except
your view is always above your character. All of the characters in the
game are extraordinarily cute and look quite good for being polygons. Pressing
one of the four "C" buttons can rotate the view. It's necessary
to become accustomed to changing views since the 3D objects often block
the action. While the graphics do look good overall, I can't help but think
the game would have played better if it had remained true to its roots.
The 3D terrain doesn't add anything to the game. Instead the player is
forced to play around with views while trying to kill the enemies. A game
that was once so simple to learn and fun to play has suddenly become somewhat
tedious due to the 3D limitations. This title would have fared better if
Bomberman 64 had retained its 2D graphics and used the N64's hi-res mode
to add a little graphical excellence to the game.
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The 3D engine seems to hinder more than help.
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While the one-player mode is somewhat fun to play, the multiplayer mode
is an absolute letdown. There are several reasons why this game doesn't
live up to its reputation. First of all is the complete lack of innovative
multiplayer stages. Gone are the fun levels that we're all so fond of.
No more conveyor belts or pipes or warp zones to use. All of the stages
have the same boring feeling to them. Then there's the lack of power-ups.
It used to be you had to break blocks to gain some really cool firepower.
In previous games you started off with the ability to only lay one bomb
at a time, and the flame was really short. Each player was segregated from
one another so it took a few seconds of blowing up blocks before you even
had a chance at nuking the other guy. In Bomberman 64 there's practically
no blocks on any of the stages, and you can lay quite a few bombs right
from the get-go. If you kick a bomb and hit an opponent, it renders them
dizzy for a few seconds. Instead of strategically placing bombs to kill
the other guys, the battles usually end up turning into a kicking festival.
Even the diseases that were so prominent (and fun) in past games are watered
down in this latest incarnation. It seems as if Hudson Soft went and sucked
out all of the fun qualities that were present in previous games when making
the multiplayer mode in Bomberman 64.
Taken strictly as a one-player game, Bomberman 64 is worth at least
a rental. There's plenty of adventure to be found, and some of the levels
are truly a joy to play. These games are known for their multiplayer modes,
however, and I have a feeling that most people will be buying this game
solely on reputation. These same people are bound to be extremely disappointed.
I can only recommend sticking with the SNES and Saturn versions of Bomberman
for the time being. One can only hope that the upcoming PlayStation sequel
will live up to the high standards gamers have come to expect from this
series.
-- Craig Majaski
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