Bomberman Live review

Game: Bomberman Live
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Online Action (Puzzle)
Developer: Hudson Entertainment

Reader review by pickhut

November 11, 2007

Hudson has released a bunch of Bomberman games over the years. Okay, "bunch" may not be the right word here. They released a buttload of Bomberman games. And in recent years, there's been spin-offs to the original formula. They made a racing game where you ride on kangaroos, various adventure games, and titles that are just a collection of mini-games rolled into one package. However, try as they might to succeed (or fail...) in different genres, at the end of the day, when people think of Bomberman, they think of the multiplayer matches. We've all experienced them, where you, and three or more players, get thrown into an arena, blow up a bunch of blocks, and eventually, try to blow each other up. It's simple, it's fun, it works. And it has been working for all these years.

That brings us to Bomberman Live. It doesn't do anything extraordinary, nor is it the best title in the series' history. The arenas and modes themselves are not that great compared to some of its predecessors that came out 10/15 years ago. You'll have to avoid two twisters, watch out for trap doors that take away your power-ups, and even fight to capture the most tiles in one mode. They're not bad, but compared to past arenas, they could have been more creative. Like the one soccer arena in Saturn Bomberman, where kicking a bomb into a goal will result in large explosions that engulf the middle of the playing field. Or a silly arena in Super Bomberman 2 where walking on a spring will make you slowly bounce on top of blocks, leaving you vulnerable to other players.

But you know what? Live is still a blast to play, because the original formula is kept intact. Against up to eight other players online, you'll be fighting for your life to get that victory. You'll scatter to grab power-ups with more power, more speed, and a variety of bombs like the power bomb, remote controlled bomb, dangerous bomb, and more in your quest to dominate the field. And you'll be doing this with a customized Bomberman, which you create using a ton of varied costumes, and also really makes you wonder why this much effort wasn't put into the arenas.... It ain't gonna be easy, because there's a lot of factors that'll get in your way of winning, like experienced players, power-downs, revenge carts (defeated players circle the outer arena, trying to blow you up), and just plain bad luck. Even as you're failing miserably in a game, you'll still be having fun, because it's just an enjoyable experience.

It's also only 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Arcade, which is about $10 (maybe close to $15/$20 if you download other arenas and extras). If you enjoy a good game of Bomberman, have a 360, and Live, then you should pick this up.

Rating: 8/10

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