Bomberman
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Stadia needs more games like 'Super Bomberman R Online'
My bomb-dropping dojo is Super Bomberman R Online. It’s a timed exclusive on Google’s Stadia streaming service, and if you’re a Pro subscriber you can pick up the Premium Edition — which adds some special characters and private matchmaking — for free until November 30th. The Premium upgrade will then cost $9.99/€9.99/£9.99, and a complete version of the game will be sold to a la carte Stadia customers for the same price at a later date.
Bomberman hoards powerups on iOS, Android in Japan
It's been a while since Bomberman's last console appearance, but at least our favorite grid-trodding explosives enthusiast is blowing his friends to bits once more in Japan. The simply-titled Bomerman has appeared in Japan's Google Play and App Store courtesy of Konami, the publisher that acquired now-defunct Bomberman series developer Hudson in 2012. According to Siliconera's translation, Bomberman doesn't bother with a story mode, instead offering classically-styled competitive modes. Single Battle pits your wits against CPU-controlled opponents, while Battle With Everyone lets up to four friends rediscover how much they despise each other via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections. Bomber Coliseum plays like a time attack mode, where players face off against CPUs and unlock "boss characters" by defeating them. Konami's Bomerman is free, but both store listings mention the presence of in-app purchases. Konami has yet to share any plans to release Bomberman in regions beyond Japan. [Image: Konami]
PS4 strategy game Basement Crawl delayed until later in Q1 2014
Indie developer Bloober Team has announced that PlayStation 4-exclusive strategy-action game Basement Crawl will not be released this week as originally planned. This marks the second major delay for Basement Crawl, a game first announced as a PS4 launch release. "While the completed version of Basement Crawl was prepped for launch during the last week, several exciting opportunities to partner with major industry players to enhance, refine and add to the game arose," stated Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno in an announcement this morning. "Although a difficult decision, we decided that the best choice for us, as a team, was to delay Basement Crawl so that we could take full advantage of these opportunities." Babieno makes no mention of what these opportunities might be, nor does he offer a new release date for Basement Crawl. Intriguingly, he does say that these opportunities will help "grow and improve the game while still providing an amazingly fun multiplayer experience for PS4 owners." Despite whatever changes Basement Crawl may see, Bloober Team still plans to release the game to the PlayStation Network during the first quarter of 2014.
Bombermine blasts up to 1,000 players in your browser
We'll always have a soft spot in our heart for the man with the bombs. Bombermine, a free Flash-based clone of the iconic Bomberman series, lets up to 1,000 players face off in the same game. Yes, 1,000.The premise of Bombermine is the same as in Bomberman: destroy the other players before they destroy you. All players are trapped in the same maze and must place bombs to clear paths toward the other players and powerups.Bombermine is currently in beta, with play servers across the US, Europe, Japan and Russia live right now. Once you sign up with a username and pick your server, you'll automatically spawn into an active game and probably not get any work done ever again.
Bomberman gets unofficial web-based version, crams in up to 1,000 online players
This is about to ruin any hopes you had of a productive day. Bombermine, an unofficial version of SNES throwback, Super Bomberman, is a web-based gift that lets you face-off against up to 1,000 players in a single game. Borrowing the same scoresheet setup of a first-person shooter, you'll auto-generate within an existing game once you've picked a username. Beta servers in Europe, the US and Japan all went live earlier this week. The gameplay is unaffected by the transition, although there are some new additions, like a chat window and even a Nyancat-tainted power-up to bring this terrible, terrible time-sink up to date. Get your work in order, then meet us on the servers at the source link.
Bomberman movie trailer makes rollerskates awesome again
We always knew there was more to Bomberman than his round, antennaed visage could possibly show. The Game Station -- the minds behind the equally revealing Brothers Mario machinima -- have lovingly crafted a live-action take on Hudson Soft's age-old franchise. It's as delightful as it is combustible.
TUAW's Daily App: TurboGrafx-16 GameBox
When the App Store first opened, Apple wasn't very keen on running emulators. Not only can they easily fall into a gray legal area, but allowing extra layers of code to run didn't seem safe to Apple at the time. Since then, however, Apple has loosened its policy, and now emulators of old consoles and hardware with official clearance are good to go. The TurboGrafx-16 Gamebox is one of those. It's an emulator of the old TurboGrafx-16 console, and since HudsonSoft designed it and most of the games, they're fully within their rights to sell the code on iOS. The app is free, and old school TG16 titles like Bonk's Adventure, Gradius and Bomberman '94 are available right there in the app for an in-app purchase of US$2.99 each. You also get World Sports Competition for free, so if you just want to download it and see how it works, you can do that. A recent update to the game added five new titles, including Bonk's Revenge, Double Dungeons and Benkei Gaiden, and the controls have been tweaked a few times recently as well. Unfortunately, because it's an emulator, there aren't any iOS extras like Game Center integration, but that's not the point. You really just want to play the old TG16 titles, mostly as they were intended. Kudos to HudsonSoft for putting this all together. Someday, maybe, when the iPhone and iPod touch have finally conquered Nintendo's handhelds like Nintendo beat Sega (no, I don't think that's going to happen any time soon, either), we can finally see a SNES or even a Nintendo 64 emulator running officially on iOS. But until then, the TurboGrafx-16 is worth a look.
ESRB: Bomberman Fantasy Race joining PSOne Classics
If you love the Bomberman characters, but you hate the Bomberman gameplay, you might be interested in the latest PS1 game rated by the ESRB for re-release on PSN. Bomberman Fantasy Race takes the familiar helmeted characters out of their explosive comfort zone and into a racing game in which they ride cartoon animals. We presume it'll sell for the standard "PSOne Classic" price of $6, which means it's cheap enough to be worth a purchase if you want a non-standard kart racer -- or if you want to be a pedant and use it to correct people who tell you that "all Bomberman games are the same."
You can't unsee Bomberman in BioShock 2
You can blame us ... and we can blame Game Rave's Jason Dvorak. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/You_can_t_unsee_Bomberman_in_BioShock_2_PIC';
Nexon bringing Poptag to North America
Hey, you guys know about Nexon America, yeah? The people who brought us MapleStory and Dungeon Fighter Online among many other titles. Well, they've announced that Poptag is coming stateside, which is sort of Bomberman only fully online and with water balloons... So, it's definitely got a specific "thing" going on. While throwing water filled balloons may not quite match up to tossing explosives, the game goes for a fast paced arcade style that should still appeal to people looking for that sort of experience albeit with cutesy water balloon throwing characters. And yes, this will be a free-to-play title with an item store, but that being Nexon's only business model thus far should've had you guessing as much already. But hey! The game also features a "sweetie" system that actually allows players to marry one another in-game proper -- aww. Poptag is scheduled to be released sometime during the first half of 2010, so if you find yourself interested in playing, keep on the lookout.
Hudson's 'Master Higgins' sings on new game music CD
For some of us, the latest game music remix album release from Hudson is going to be a bizarre retrogaming oddity. But for a few -- those who love Hudson classics and also idolize Takahashi Meijin, the Hudson PR executive who became famous for his ability to push a button 16 times a second, and who served as the model for Adventure Island's protagonist, Takahashi Meijin Legend: Soul of the 16 Shot -- is instantly going to become one of the year's most anticipated music releases. And a bizarre retrogaming oddity. Soul of the 16 Shot features the Meijin singing, auto-tuned, over new arrangements of the music from classic Star Soldier, Challenger and Milon's Secret Castle. It'll be available on CD and in the Japanese iTunes store January 27. After hearing the new interpretation of the Adventure Island music, we're going to hope really hard that it shows up in the US iTunes store as well. Listen to some preview tracks after the break! [Via Chiptuned]
Bomberman Live: Battlefest trailer is unexpectedly funky
There's usually a nostalgia element to Bomberman games -- since the core gameplay has remained basically identical over the last twenty years or so, a lot of the appeal of Bomberman lies in memories of awesome multiplayer sessions past. But there isn't usually a '70s nostalgia element, mostly because Bomberman didn't exist until 1983. Hudson's teaser for Bomberman Live: Battlefest, the new WiiWare/XBLA/PSN Bomberman party game, adds a lovely anachronistic touch not usually seen in Bomberman marketing. And also a bunch of footage of stuff exploding in cross patterns.
Hudson announces Bomberman Anytime for DSiWare
Nintendo's DSiWare platform is set to become a bit more combustible later this fall -- according to AndriaSang, the Japanese release list in the latest edition of Famitsu reveals an October launch for Itsudemo Bomberman (which translates to Bomberman Anytime) on the handheld's download service. The magazine also lists a price of 500 DSi Points ($5) for the portable title. Hudson hasn't taken the trouble of actually announcing Itsudemo Bomberman yet -- regardless, we've contacted them to see what, if any, details we can surmise about the game. [Thanks, Fernando.]
New downloadable Bonk, Bomberman found on Hudson's website [update]
NeoGAF user VideoMan discovered currently unannounced games on Hudson's website, including a multiplatform downloadable Bonk update, a Bomberman Live sequel, and a Wii/DS version of Big Fish Games' generically titled Rooms: The Main Building. Most of the pages have been removed, but Bonk is still up, and VideoMan saved the screenshots and product descriptions. Bonk: Brink of Extinction is a WiiWare/PSN/Xbox Live Arcade 2.5D action platformer with online co-op (!) and eight different transformations. The 3D makeover the game has received is ... suboptimal, and the Adventure Island refresh wasn't great, but we can't help but be thrilled about the return of the Turbografx-16's mascot. It'll apparently be out first on XBLA in spring 2010. Bomberman Live Battlefest is also coming to all three console download services, and adds new arenas, gametypes, and team play to, well, Bomberman. And Rooms: The Main Building seems to be a Wii/DS retail game, based on the PC slide-puzzle adventure. We're contacting Hudson to learn what we can about the company's plans for these unannounced games. Update: Hudson officially announced Bonk and Bomberman, and sent screens over. Screens for Bomberman and both the PSN/Xbox and WiiWare versions of Bonk can be found in our galleries. %Gallery-71549% %Gallery-71548% %Gallery-71552%
Bomberman Live blasts out 500,000 downloads
Hudson has announced that Bomberman Live, the XBLA version of its perennial explosion festival, has eclipsed 500,000 downloads. Sabine Duvall, Hudson's Vice President of Digital Download, states that the company is "awed by the enthusiasm and excitement" of the series' fans, adding that the milestone "is a testament to the longevity of the Bomberman series." Just to put the sales in context, Bomberman Live was released on XBLA way back in July of 2007, meaning it took just over two years for the title to amass 500,000 downloads. It was also one of the first XBLA titles to add Avatar support. If you've yet to pick it up and happen to be looking for an evergreen party game, we suggest you give it a try.
Japan's PlayStation Network offering PC Engine games
The Japanese PlayStation Store features a ridiculously huge selection of old PlayStation games, especially compared to the paltry selection on the American store. Now, it's getting old games that weren't even on the PlayStation, in what appears to be a tentative step toward a Sony Virtual Console.Sony announced that four PC Engine (Turbografx-16) games will be available on the Store today: Bomberman '94, New Adventure Island, Sengoku Mahjong, and Devil's Crush, each for 600 yen, roughly the same price these games command on the Wii's Virtual Console.The PC Engine Game Archives will be playable on PSP and PS3, which means we'll be able to take Devil's Crush on the go for the first time since the TurboExpress -- thus elevating the PSP to the best system since the TurboExpress.
Trophies: Bomberman Ultra
0 Platinum1 Gold4 Silver6 Bronze Difficulty: Very Easy Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 5 hoursDLC Trophies? No View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-33192%
Bomberman Ultra explodes onto PSN June 11
Good news, cutesy pyrotechnics fans: Hudson has announced (via IGN) that Bomberman Ultra will finally be landing on PSN come June 11. Sure, it's not anywhere close to the originally promised Winter 2008 release, but hey, it's Bomberman. Also, since Ultra is essentially just a beefed up version of Bomberman Live, we can assure you that it's actually a very good rendition of the series. With the addition of seven-player local multiplayer (up from four in Bomberman Live), Bomberman Ultra should make a great go-to party game.IGN doesn't mention a price, but $10 is probably a safe bet.[Thanks, HeavyToka]%Gallery-33192%
VC in Brief: Bomberman '94 (TG16) and Detana Twin Bee (TG16)
Well, this is a surprise: A week with two Virtual Console releases. And all from Hudson? We guess Nintendo liked that fruitcake from last year's Virtual Console participant party. As usual, feel free to watch this week's releases in motion above or, if you're more for images of the motionless variety, head past the break. Or ... do both. Go ahead, go mad with power.
Wiikly Wares: Bomberman '94, Detana Twin Bee & Pop 'Em Drop 'Em
It's Monday, which means it's time to check out what the Wii has available for download. As we already reported, 2 new Virtual Console imports will be arriving today, but there's also one WiiWare game joining them. Unless you like Hudson games, you probably won't be interested in 100% of this week's offerings:WiiWarePop 'Em Drop 'Em SameGame (Hudson, 1 - 4 players, 500 Wii Points): As with most puzzle games, the object is to clear pieces from a game grid. Match two or more pieces of the same color to eliminate them from the board and score points. The game features multiple modes of play and support for up to four players via local multiplayer.Virtual ConsoleBomberman '94 (Hudson, TurboGrafx16, 1 - 5 players, 700 Wii Points): Featuring 9 different members of the Bomberman family to play as, Bomberman '94 is business as usual for the gang as they drop bombs, blow up blocks, and even ride on 5 different types of Rooi, each with their own special abilities. Don't ask us why their eggs are inside blocks, though. We don't have all the answers.Detana Twin Bee (Hudson, TurboGrafx16, 1 - 2 players, 700 Wii Points): Hudson's vertical shooter stars Twinbee and Winbee, who must stop a force of alien invaders (obviously). The game has a single-player mode, as well as two-player co-op, and even though it's yet another shmup on the Virtual Console, we're still interested in this cute release that was once confined to Japan.%Gallery-42363%
