Bomberman DS
Verdict: Multiplayer mayhem
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: 3½/5
I still hold Super Bomberman 2 on the SNES as one of my favourite games of all time so it was with great anticipation that I took up this review, intrigued as to how it had survived the translation to such a peculiar (but genius) console. I can safely say that it has retained all that made it great.
Still regarded as one of the best multiplayer games, up there with Super Mario Kart, Goldeneye and Halo 2, Bomberman is a legend in getting groups of friends to crowd round and shout at a TV. Combining simple but addictive strategy and action in a format that anyone can pick up, Bomberman’s pinnacle was on the 16 player Sega Saturn version. The DS iteration is just like all the other ones (if it aint broke don’t fix it) but has a few new tricks up it’s sleeve. The dual screens are used to double the size of the playing field with tunnels allowing players to traverse between them. The touch screen allows you to flick bombs at opponents as revenge for knocking you out and the microphone can give you control over various functions depending on gametype. The real crowning glory is the possibility of 8 player games from one game cart, playable over the DS’ Wifi connection. It really highlights the potential for Nintendo’s handheld curio and wirless gaming on the whole. The fact that you only need one cart to spread such joy is worthy of a knighthood.
There are tonnes of options to tweak, gametypes, powerups - too many to mention and certainly enough to keep you entertained/confused. The voice activated options however, whilst being amusing, are inherently flawed. The two game types allow you to either drop bombs or activate shields with your voice which means that any sound can trigger them - including opponents trying to make you drop your own bombs. Laughing doesn’t help either.
As well as being a multiplayer game it comes with a singleplayer puzzle mode but, as with previous Bomberman games, it feels more like a tutorial for multiplayer than a fully fledged game. Which is why I’d only recommend this if you have a bunch of friends with DS’. If you do, then your luck’s in!