PlanetDreamcast | Games | Reviews | Bomberman Online

Bomberman Online The Dreamcast Goes Out With A Blast! - Review By Retrovertigo - Page 2/2 The Good My favorite Bomberman Online game is the Submarine mode. In this mode, you and your opponent are on a divided water field, each in identical areas. When you place a bomb on your side, a timer will begin to count down from 3, after one second the bomb will descend and will pass under water and reappear in the same spot on your opponent's field. He will then have approximately 1 second to get out of the way before it detonates. This is also a team game, so you and a buddy can go up against two others, or if you think you're good enough you can try a game of 3-on-1. Panel Paint is a pretty self-explanatory game mode. When bomb blasts go off, it covers the arena with a specific color, each players has their own color. When a player is killed, they lose their items and their painted panels. When time runs out, the person who has the most colored tiles wins. The last game mode, is also my least favorite: Ring Match. In ring match, you and your opponents are on a very small field. When you place bombs, the areas in danger will turn red. If you're not in a safe location when the bombs go off, you'll be blasted out of the ring. The player who blasts his opponents out of the ring the most will win. Keep in mind that you can accidentally blast yourself out of the ring. Doing so will penalize you, so try not to do it. All of these modes will be explored a little more deeply in the Normal Game, through a series of missions that span across five different locations each with their unique level styles and enemies. If you're good enough, you'll make it to the bosses of each of the five respective game modes, and win the game. Battle Mode is where you'll want to go for some great multiplayer mayhem with you friends or against the CPU. If you are willing to shell out the $9.95 a month for online gameplay through SegaNet, then you can play all of these great game modes against opponents across the nation. With online play, you can also take advantage of the Create-A-Bomberman mode in the "Extras Box" submenu. You start off with a small variety of different looks for your online representative, but you can acquire collection panels throughout the offline game which will open your choices of how your bomberman will look. In addition to creating the look of your character, which includes the head shape, face, arms, and legs, you can also give your bomberman a name. Think of him as your very own explosively-tempered online stepchild. (Or not.) Unfortunately, you cannot use your created character in any offline games, so this is an option that can only be appreciated online. As you can see, from the HUGE amount of praise and positive info I've given, Bomberman Online is a very strong last title for the Dreamcast (and it's very inexpensive, too!). The Bad Bomberman Online isn't the perfect title, as it does have a few problems, that I'd like to address. The controls at times can be a little too sensitive. I've found myself completely ignoring the analog thumb pad, and relying solely on the more accurate directional pad for control. More than a few times, when I've meant to move right, I've actually move right and up (or down), which can result in the winning or losing a game. For me, it resulted in losing, which is why I pointed this out. After awhile, you'll get used to the controls, but keep in mind that the controls can be a little too sensitive at times. Bomberman Online's Normal Game mode can sometimes prove to be frustrating. Although Bomberman Online is a very "young-looking" game, I can assure you that for an experienced gamer like me who is in my 20s, the Normal Game can be quite frustrating at times, result in the contemplation of breaking controllers and screaming out some very adult 4-letter words. My last criticism is with Sega's policy for charging for online gameplay. Even though it's only $9.95 a month, it seems unwarranted especially since no additional online games will be released for the Dreamcast. I've been a supporter of SegaNet since it began, and although Sega did just about everything they could think of doing to get support for the system - including practically giving away Dreamcast systems - but it didn't work, and their ISP has recently faltered, encouraging online gamers like me to move to Earthlink for support, which is where I currently reside. I think that it's unfair for Sega to charge, an additional $9.95 a month to play games online, especially considering there are no new titles scheduled for released for the Dreamcast once the last game, Conflict Zone, is released later this month. I've sadly witnessed many Sega supporters reporting that they are selling or planning to sell their systems to help pay for the new next generation systems like the PlayStation 2, GameCube, or Xbox now that the Dreamcast is truly on its last leg. It's very apparent that the only people who are really supporting the system, are Sega's most loyal fans. Sega has taken a loss with the Dreamcast, and I think that letting the minority of gamers who still enjoy the Dreamcast play their online games free of charge, like it used to be, is not uncalled for. But maybe that's just an issue with me. The Final Word I feel that Bomberman Online is a solid final online title for the Dreamcast, and offers some insane party-game enjoyment, despite the fact that you have to pay for online play. However, the game is quite inexpensive, and is available at most stores for only $29.95, which might allow you to shell out for two months of online gaming, if you're used to spending $49.95 for video game entertainment. If you are a big fan of party games like Mario Kart or Mario Party and enjoy fast-paced games with friends, then Bomberman Online is an ideal game. It's a very visually attractive game with fantastic gameplay, and I give it my seal of approval. To those of you who read this review, chances are, you are one of the minority of gamers who still supports and cares about the Dreamcast, and for that I tip my hat to you. Developer: Hudson Publisher: Sega Genre: Action/Puzzle Highs: Beautiful cel shaded graphics, several modes of enjoyable gameplay, online gameplay, an excellent party game! Lows: Payment required to play online. Controls are sometimes too sensitive, and the difficulty of the Normal game can sometimes be frustrating when first playing. Other: 1-4 players, Online Play, Standard Controller, VGA Box, Modem, VMU (5 blocks). Final Score: (out of a possible 10) Previous Reviews Comments on this review? Mail Feedback or talk about with others in the Forums.