Bomberman: Act Zero
Score: 58% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Konami Developer: Hudson Soft Media: DVD/1 Players: 1- 8 Online Genre: Action/ Arcade
Graphics & Sound: Last time I picked up Bomberman, it was on the NES. I remember a very simple, fun game that wasted hours of my youth. Now many years later, we have Bomberman: Act Zero. In the day of high resolution graphics and super cool gaming systems, can you really improve a classic gameplay style? They certainly didn't here. Bomberman's new look also comes with a 3D mode of gameplay. The characters have transformed from their classic cartoonish look to a darker appearance. This does nothing for the look of the game. You can choose between a male or female character and then the color of your suit. That is about it. The music is a lot of synthesizer metal, not really anything to get you going. I actually quickly found myself turning down the volume and turning up the radio. There is a simple, synthesized voice that announces the power-ups and if you have survived, just in case you needed it to tell you whether you were dead or alive.
Gameplay: In Bomberman: Act Zero, you play a genetically altered scientific creation. You are pitted against your foes in an arena set up with unbreakable pillars and breakable crates. You drop bombs in order to trap and blow up your opponents. While you are trying to blow up your enemy, you will also destroy crates and open up power-ups. These power-ups can make you faster, make your bombs bigger and give you the ability to drop more bombs. There are a lot of toys like remote control bombs you can detonate on command. There are two modes of single player gameplay. You can choose to have a classic battle where you are given a top-down view of the map. This is how the predecessors were played. You can also now go to a more head-to-head third person view that has a far more immersive style of play. I was not a big fan of this mode of play. You can, of course, battle your friends and the world online in Live.
Difficulty: Bomberman: Act Zero is not all that difficult against the computer. It was only a challenge when you were double-teamed, and they had the superior weaponry. I found that I killed myself more than they killed me. You have to keep in mind how far your own bomb blasts reach. I was usually too impatient and would try and leave cover before all of the flame had been extinguished, and guess what... the flame really does kill you! Imagine that. The true challenge comes from playing people online. That is if you can actually get a game online. I was only able to get into one or two different game rooms a night. There are a lot Canadian players in the records holdings, and I am not bad-mouthing Canada, but it just shows that this game hasn't really taken off here.
Game Mechanics: Bomberman: Act Zero is a very simple game. Corner someone, drop bomb, then run. Such a simple and fun concept when you really break it down. If it is so simple, how can you screw it up? Easy, the developers tried too hard. The game is a simple game. Trying to make a flashier "next-gen" version just made it look and play bad. It took way too long to get into games. Not just in Live, but in just a simple single-player game it took way too long for what it was. You should have been able to near instantly enter a map and play again, but load screens and long waits drag this game down hard. Looks like this one blew up in Konami's face. This would have made a killing in its original format in Live Arcade. Instead, people should beware the next-gen price tag for a game that has lost sight of simplistic pure gameplay. Rarely do you find a game made worse by trying making it look better. Still kind of fun for what the game is, but not worth the effort.
-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications AKA Bryon Lloyd
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