Bomberman Act: Zero - Review
Added October 13th, 2006 by Dakota Grabowski
Introduction:
First things first, forget the image you have right now about Bomberman. Forget the cute and cuddly characters; forget the easily correlated colors and sounds; just forget everything that Bomberman has meant to you. The developers, Hudson Soft, have taken the classical hit gamers have loved for the past 20 years, mutated and transformed it completely to what they think reflects the next-gen console (Xbox 360 Exclusive). With their latest title, Bomberman Act: Zero, I immediately felt abused and robbed of values that I’ve held dear to myself over the span of the dozen other Bomberman hits. It was purely a matter of minutes after I inserted my copy of Act: Zero, that I realized Hudson Soft had seriously committed murder.
Gameplay:
You can tell right away that this game was designed for Xbox Live, due to the fact you can’t save any data unless it can communicate with the stat server. So why couldn’t we just have an Arcade title? Bomberman Act: Zero does not even offer an offline multiplayer capability. I repeat, Bomberman Act: Zero does not offer any offline multiplayer capability. Your only mutliplayer option comes from Xbox Live where you can battle up to seven other bombers (assuming you are able to find seven other people that will play this garbage). The other two game modes available are Single player – FPB and Single Battle – Standard. Note, if you die you are not able to continue your game because the game immediately kicks you back to the menu screen, no saved game, no passcode.
The new FPB mode introduces a health bar system, allowing players to cushion a few explosions before their ultimate demise. Your health does not regenerate for the next round. You have to rely on heart power ups that you discover by blowing up blocks. The new game type also institutes a special third person view. The annoying camera angle makes you more dizzy and confused than it might actually entertain you. Fortunately, you can use the trigger buttons and analog sticks to zoom the camera out to a certain extent to view most of the arena. Long time Bomberman players may prefer the Single Battle mode compared to the FPB, as it’s the classical “one hit and your dead” mode.
After you choose one of eight unique bomberman colors, you’ll be dropped into the rectangular arena to battle. The objective is to run around this area dropping bombs, blowing up blocks, and collecting power-ups in hopes you can destroy your opponents or simply survive. There’s not much here in terms of diversity or creativity. Even worse though is Bomberman Act: Zero has removed the player’s ability to kick or throw a bomb into an opponent’s territory. Instead they have added a few different powers, including remote controlled bombs, penetrate bombs, line bombs, infinite bombs, bomb throws, and block throws.
Graphics:
Bomberman Act: Zero was made exclusively for Xbox 360, a next-generation console that has been tested by its graphic intensive games (majority action games). I can’t fathom why a game is designed years behind the technology. The graphics are mediocre at best for even an early generation Xbox game; just another reason of many, why I question the avoidance of an Xbox Live Arcade title. With an HDTV, you may notice a tad amount of shine to the armor and smooth textures, but that doesn’t help much for entertainment. The bomb explosions are unpretentious animations that we all have seen before. When the bomb explodes, the fire graphics will hang for a half second and then briskly disappear without much of a transition. The color will change from orange to purple whether you have the penetrate bomb power-up or not. It’s an atrocity to have to sit through one game session of Act: Zero.
Audio:
The audio in Bomberman directly reflects the lack of content in the entire game. During the menu screen and game play there is a basic rock track looping in the background. It plays so much that you forget about it all together. Sound effects are shoddy, just simple explosions and that’s all there is to it. The only commentary comes with a robotic imitation of a female’s voice. I wince for the old Bomberman after every round when I hear “You are alive, get to the next round.” Once again, the stadium announcer of sorts becomes old after the first six minutes. I wish I had something nice to say here, I really do.
Controls:
With the elimination of the kick and throw ability, all you have left is to drop a bomb, leaving most of the buttons on the Xbox 360’s controller unused. You move your bomberman with the joystick and drop a bomb with just one button. In FPB mode, you can use the triggers and analog buttons to change the camera view. The response of the character movement isn’t too bad, but then again you’re just walking around a few blocks.
Replay:
I mentioned before that Bomberman Act: Zero doesn’t have any offline multiplayer. Instead, Hudson Soft utilizes Xbox Live for their World Battle mode. Players can compete with seven other players and keep track of statistics and awards. For single player replay, when you lose, you have to start all over.
Hudson Soft needed to add offline multiplayer, more customization, and beef up Bomberman altogether. It feels incomplete and empty. Bomberman really does turn into an android with no soul or heart after this poor attempt by Hudson Soft to mature him.
Summary:
I have probably written more in this review than there would be in a strategy guide for Bomberman Act: Zero. If there wasn’t a bottom that this game could hit, it would still be plunging. The game play was weak, the graphics weak, and the audio even worse. I was fed up and bored with this game after just a mere six minutes of playtime. They should have definitely gone the route of an Xbox Live Arcade title to let the fans enjoy Bomberman to the limit. Instead, Hudson Soft mutated the series and created a monster.
First things first, forget the image you have right now about Bomberman. Forget the cute and cuddly characters; forget the easily correlated colors and sounds; just forget everything that Bomberman has meant to you. The developers, Hudson Soft, have taken the classical hit gamers have loved for the past 20 years, mutated and transformed it completely to what they think reflects the next-gen console (Xbox 360 Exclusive). With their latest title, Bomberman Act: Zero, I immediately felt abused and robbed of values that I’ve held dear to myself over the span of the dozen other Bomberman hits. It was purely a matter of minutes after I inserted my copy of Act: Zero, that I realized Hudson Soft had seriously committed murder.
Gameplay:
You can tell right away that this game was designed for Xbox Live, due to the fact you can’t save any data unless it can communicate with the stat server. So why couldn’t we just have an Arcade title? Bomberman Act: Zero does not even offer an offline multiplayer capability. I repeat, Bomberman Act: Zero does not offer any offline multiplayer capability. Your only mutliplayer option comes from Xbox Live where you can battle up to seven other bombers (assuming you are able to find seven other people that will play this garbage). The other two game modes available are Single player – FPB and Single Battle – Standard. Note, if you die you are not able to continue your game because the game immediately kicks you back to the menu screen, no saved game, no passcode.
The new FPB mode introduces a health bar system, allowing players to cushion a few explosions before their ultimate demise. Your health does not regenerate for the next round. You have to rely on heart power ups that you discover by blowing up blocks. The new game type also institutes a special third person view. The annoying camera angle makes you more dizzy and confused than it might actually entertain you. Fortunately, you can use the trigger buttons and analog sticks to zoom the camera out to a certain extent to view most of the arena. Long time Bomberman players may prefer the Single Battle mode compared to the FPB, as it’s the classical “one hit and your dead” mode.
After you choose one of eight unique bomberman colors, you’ll be dropped into the rectangular arena to battle. The objective is to run around this area dropping bombs, blowing up blocks, and collecting power-ups in hopes you can destroy your opponents or simply survive. There’s not much here in terms of diversity or creativity. Even worse though is Bomberman Act: Zero has removed the player’s ability to kick or throw a bomb into an opponent’s territory. Instead they have added a few different powers, including remote controlled bombs, penetrate bombs, line bombs, infinite bombs, bomb throws, and block throws.
Graphics:
Bomberman Act: Zero was made exclusively for Xbox 360, a next-generation console that has been tested by its graphic intensive games (majority action games). I can’t fathom why a game is designed years behind the technology. The graphics are mediocre at best for even an early generation Xbox game; just another reason of many, why I question the avoidance of an Xbox Live Arcade title. With an HDTV, you may notice a tad amount of shine to the armor and smooth textures, but that doesn’t help much for entertainment. The bomb explosions are unpretentious animations that we all have seen before. When the bomb explodes, the fire graphics will hang for a half second and then briskly disappear without much of a transition. The color will change from orange to purple whether you have the penetrate bomb power-up or not. It’s an atrocity to have to sit through one game session of Act: Zero.
Audio:
The audio in Bomberman directly reflects the lack of content in the entire game. During the menu screen and game play there is a basic rock track looping in the background. It plays so much that you forget about it all together. Sound effects are shoddy, just simple explosions and that’s all there is to it. The only commentary comes with a robotic imitation of a female’s voice. I wince for the old Bomberman after every round when I hear “You are alive, get to the next round.” Once again, the stadium announcer of sorts becomes old after the first six minutes. I wish I had something nice to say here, I really do.
Controls:
With the elimination of the kick and throw ability, all you have left is to drop a bomb, leaving most of the buttons on the Xbox 360’s controller unused. You move your bomberman with the joystick and drop a bomb with just one button. In FPB mode, you can use the triggers and analog buttons to change the camera view. The response of the character movement isn’t too bad, but then again you’re just walking around a few blocks.
Replay:
I mentioned before that Bomberman Act: Zero doesn’t have any offline multiplayer. Instead, Hudson Soft utilizes Xbox Live for their World Battle mode. Players can compete with seven other players and keep track of statistics and awards. For single player replay, when you lose, you have to start all over.
Hudson Soft needed to add offline multiplayer, more customization, and beef up Bomberman altogether. It feels incomplete and empty. Bomberman really does turn into an android with no soul or heart after this poor attempt by Hudson Soft to mature him.
Summary:
I have probably written more in this review than there would be in a strategy guide for Bomberman Act: Zero. If there wasn’t a bottom that this game could hit, it would still be plunging. The game play was weak, the graphics weak, and the audio even worse. I was fed up and bored with this game after just a mere six minutes of playtime. They should have definitely gone the route of an Xbox Live Arcade title to let the fans enjoy Bomberman to the limit. Instead, Hudson Soft mutated the series and created a monster.
