Bomberman Live (Xbox 360) review "Long gone are the days of the dump that was Bomberman: Act Zero, and good riddance. Bomberman Live doesn't quite bring a new level of gameplay into the franchise - yes, there are new game modes - but it's still the same, good old bomb the hell out of everything� mechanic we've come to know and adore. For those unfamiliar with the series, a match begins with one player in each corner of a maze of blocks, some indestructible, some not. The player makes their way around by blowing up blocks (and..."

Long gone are the days of the dump that was Bomberman: Act Zero, and good riddance. Bomberman Live doesn't quite bring a new level of gameplay into the franchise - yes, there are new game modes - but it's still the same, good old bomb the hell out of everything� mechanic we've come to know and adore. For those unfamiliar with the series, a match begins with one player in each corner of a maze of blocks, some indestructible, some not. The player makes their way around by blowing up blocks (and other players), until the last man standing is the winner.

For the most part, other than bomb your opponents, the new gameplay modes consist of painting the floor with your explosions. The description doesn't sound good on paper because the modes aren't good on screen. Most new maps, as well, are either difficult to play, get old fast, or just annoying. Getting sucked in to quicksand, for instance, ruins the entire pacing of the match. The majority, I believe, of the community that's built up around this game seems to agree with me- I have yet to join a quick match that was a painting game.

The game is not flawless, however. It's incredible how many bugs got past the development team. Though not quite game breaking, these bugs still annoy the living hell out of you. An example: you've been following someone around and you finally have him or her cornered. They're up against three walls and you plant a bomb directly in front of them. They are now surrounded by four solid objects. They walk... through... your bomb? That one is by far the worst offender. Some smaller ones such as model errors also plague it, but those don't truly effect gameplay (other than a few laughs on voicechat).

All in all, if you're a fan of the series, you were one at a time, or even if you've never played a Bomberman game in your life, this one completely makes up for Act Zero, the downfall of the Bomberman series. Pick it up on the Xbox Live Arcade, sit down with three to seven friends, and enjoy- it's fully worth the 800 points. On a scale of 1-10, where 5-6.5 is average, this game gets an 8.5.

Community review by JEFFARGH (October 08, 2007) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.