Bomberman
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Bomberman Live achievements are, um, live
Our friends at Xbox360Achievements.org have uncovered the achievements for Bomberman Live, which is set to debut on Xbox Live Arcade some time this summer. While the game contains plenty of achievements of the "win X number of games" variety, it also has a few that are a little ... eclectic. We're not sure which one we like better, "The Good, The Bad, and The Bombed" or "Girl Power!" The first requires you to outfit your character with all the cowboy accessories and frag an opponent that is wearing the same. The latter asks players to don the girl outfit and win a "girl only" match on Xbox Live. Of all the games that could promote girl-on-girl action, Bomberman was the last one on our minds.Hit the "read" link for the full list of achievements.[Thanks, Jonah Falcon]
Australia to be Bonked
Australia never got an official release of the NEC Turbografx-16 system, so they never got the chance to ignore classics like Bonk's Adventure and Alien Crush like we did here in the States. Hudson, proving that they are good people, are going to start releasing Turbografx games on the Virtual Console in Australia, starting this July. They plan to release more than 60 games this year, which is 36 more than are currently available in the US. That indicates that not only will Australia be completely caught up with us, but that we'll all get a bunch more TG16 games this year!Does this mean that we'll get MSX games in the US? Please?
Bomberman Live explodes onto XBLA this summer
Following the Australian rating and the leaked video, Hudson Entertainment finally announced Bomberman Live is coming to XBLA this summer. The title will sport an "HD makeover" and 8-player online support. Along with the very robust online multiplayer, players will have full customization of their Bomberman -- now don't ruin this moment by microtransactioning us for costumes Hudson!This may finally erase all memories of Bomberman: Act Zero from our minds. And in what's sure to make a lot of gamers happy, not only will you be able to play online, but Bomberman Live will also allow for 4-player local action. It's the full package. No word on price yet. Definitely looking forward to gussied up classic Bomberman action over Xbox Live with seven other people. Nothing wrong with that.[Via Press Release]
Bomberman Live still not official, but there's a video
A couple days ago we reported that the Australian's review board rated Bomberman Live for XBLA. Despite the fact the title still hasn't officially popped up on US radar, French site Xboxygen has a trailer for the game stating a "summer" release. This story just hit Beautiful Katamari's level of silly unofficial existence status, where the title languished for weeks until being officially confirmed. Unless there's some kind of exclusive deal banged out with a magazine, we hope this title gets official status by next week with some idea of a release date -- you know, unless the Australian rating and this video are one giant elaborate hoax. But we doubt it. We look forward to some XBLA multiplayer Bomberman action this summer. Do we need to reexamine the concept of a summer gaming drought? [Via Xbox360Fanboy]
Bomberman Live coming to XBLA this Summer
Our friends over at Xboxygen got their hands on a Bomberman Live trailer (embedded above) and you may be a bit surprised. Yup, it's old school Bomberman that will be hitting the XBLA this Summer in all its glory with eight player versus to boot. They actually listened to their fans and hopefully will not be creating anymore Bomberman: Act Zero sequels anytime soon. And now that we look back, we were right all along about Bomberman Live being an XBLA game. And you thought we were crazy, didn't you?
Australians rate XBLA Bomberman, US far behind?
The Australian government's Office of Film and Literature has rated a mysterious new title called Bomberman Live for Xbox 360. The game, which received a "G" rating, was submitted by Hudson Entertainment and is expected to be the long-lost version of Bomberman heading for XBLA. Hopefully, this Live version will make us forget about that other Xbox 360 Bomberman fiasco.Currently the ESRB has not rated the title, but this would be the second recent occurrence we receive a game announcement from an overseas ratings board. An XBLA version is still a good ways off with no ESRB rating and no official announcement, but at least it's in the cards.[Via XBLArcade]
Old school Bomberman coming to XBLA?
Again, we get a game announcement coming from a ratings board certification website. Well, not an "official" announcement, but an announcement that gets our speculative gears turning. Over on Australia's media certification website (the OFLC), they have a listing for Bomberman Live on the Xbox 360 being developed by ... Hudson Entertainment. Wait, didn't Hudson create that horrible Act Zero game that was nothing like our beloved Bomberman? Yes they did, but we're praying Hudson is simply polishing up an old school Bomberman for the XBLA. Yup, you can call us crazy, but we're thinking (hoping) Bomberman Live is an XBLA title that'll be announced within' the next month or so. Because why would they create another crappy Bomberman game like Act Zero? Really ... why would they? So, being the optimists that we are, anyone up for some old school Bomberman action on the XBLA?[Via Game Stooge]
DS releases for the week of March 19th
It seems like we only just found out about Theme Park DS and here it is, shipping to stores everywhere this week. We're willing to bet that a few of you will be bending the stylus in the pursuit of your dream park by the weekend. But hey, if parks aren't your thing, there's a ton of games out this week. Helps to make up for some of the recent lackluster weeks, eh?DS releases for the U.S. Custom Robo Arena Major League Baseball 2k7 Puzzle Quest: Challenge of WarLords Steel Horizon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme Park Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007
Bomberman Land Wii is adorable
It shouldn't be noteworthy that a Bomberman game is cute, but recent developments have called the cuteness of all future Bomberman games into question. Thankfully, we can confirm that yes, we have confirmation on big-headed characters, and we are go for cuddliness.We are also go for minigames, which makes us a little nervous. We kind of have enough minigames already on the Wii, and we don't need much content from Bomberman other than multiplayer bombing. Online bombing would be great, of course, but that might be too much to ask.Exclusive "scrolling through some screenshots" minigame* after the break.*by which we mean "screenshots for you to scroll through, and not a game at all."[Via QJNet]
Lighting the fuse on Bomberman Land
Bomberman is a game series that has had more releases than Mario. The titles have spanned across nearly every game system ever created. Yet despite these facts, most of the gameplay additions to the series have been ignored in favor of playing the classic multiplayer. And that's okay when the multiplayer gameplay is so perfect. Every gamer should have at least one version of Bomberman on every system they have. I'm pretty sure it's against gamer law to not do so. Luckily for PSP owners who haven't jumped on the Bomberman train, another Bomberman release is coming to Sony's handheld. Bomberman Land Portable has the land split into pieces and Bomberman must put it back together again. Of course if history repeats itself, it's unlikely we'll play the single player version anyway. But maybe this Bomberman will be the first one to actually provide a worthwhile single player experience. No US release date has yet been set, but the Bomberman Land Portable hits Japan in March. To see screens and read more, check out Famitsu.
University students bring Bomberman to life, sans bombs
A group of students at the University of Aalborg in Copenhagen have taken their Bomberman fandom to some grin-inducing new heights, crafting an updated version of the game that tosses out the traditional joystick and gamepad in favor of an all new toque-based interface. The system works by using a ceiling-mounted camera that monitors the movements of the two behatted players below, relaying their positions in real time to the game to control their respective characters. It's not yet quite perfected, however, with the all-important bomb dropping action simply controlled using a wireless mouse instead of a gesture-based interface. It also appears that it only supports two players for the time being, which certainly cuts down on the fun somewhat, but no doubt helps to prevent some unintended injuries. And, yes, there is a video -- check it out after the break.[Via Joystiq]
TG-16 games hit the Wii
We were a little concerned when the Wii's Virtual Console launched this Sunday without any downloadable TurboGrafx-16 games, despite a promise from a Nintendo press release that Bomberman '93 would be one of the games that was "ready to play on launch day." Were there problems finalizing the Wii's TG-16 emulator? Licensing issues still to be worked out with HudsonSoft? A general feeling that players didn't care about the little known system?Well, it seems our rhetorical hand-wringing was a little premature, because as of today Bomberman '93 and Bonk's Adventure are both downloadable from the Wii Shop Channel for 600 Wii points ($6). A post from Hudson staffer John on the Hudson Entertainment forums suggests the games were indeed playable on dev kits by launch day, but might have been delayed due to a hitch in the certification process for the TG-16 games. Whatever the reason, we're just glad the problems have been worked out and we can now play around with the original headbanger to our heart's content.
DS releases for the week of November 6th
It's here at last -- Elite Beat Agents! We're told some other games might be coming out as well (who knew?), but we're too busy tap-tapping at the keyboard and practicing rhythm to think about much else. Which is probably too bad, because it's a good week for game releases. If this deluge of awesome sauce continues, we're not going to have any money left to throw a New Years' Eve party this year ... but we'll have a sweet collection of DS games, right? It's all about priorities .... Of course, supplies are subject to manufacturer delivery. DS releases: Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses Bomberman Land Touch! Chicken Little: Ace in Action Digimon World DS Elite Beat Agents Micro Machines V4 My Frogger: Toy Trials Tom and Jerry Tales Uno/Skip-Bo/Uno Freefall Winx Club: The Quest for the Codex GBA releases: Final Fantasy V Advance Polarium Advance The Sims 2: Pets Tom and Jerry Tales Winx Club: The Quest for the Codex
Jaffe abandons PSP, releasing quick-turnaround PS3 title
David Jaffe didn't have to make a game to "make you cry," he just had to cancel it. After boisterous claims that he was working on a game that would bring tears to our eyes, Jaffe blogs -- yep, back from his hiatus -- that this mysterious Project HL is now "on the shelf." For you optimists, the foul-mouthed designer adds, "fuck it. We'll do HL later ... maybe."As it turns out, Jaffe has focused his spastic energy on an unannounced PlayStation 3 project, which apparently shares characteristics with Twisted Metal and Bomberman and, well, Jaffe's not ready to say much else ... Interestingly, the game has only been in development for 6–7 months, but being on the verge of goin' Alpha, Jaffe expects the final version to hit retail between November and January. A surprise launch title? Perhaps.In typical Jaffe fashion, the post explodes, in ALL CAPS, into an excited ramble, envisioning the future of games as "SHORTER, LESS EXPENSIVE" projects, akin to the churn'em-out-style of old Warner Bros. cartoons. "...just knocking them out," blogs Jaffe, "and some are -- worst case -- just average, while some are amazing ... but it adds up to a hell of a batting average over time and lots of fun games." You have our attention. Now please deliver.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Party in a box: Fuzion Frenzy 2 images
There are some of us (you know who you are) that have fond memories minigame festival that was Fuzion Frenzy. Others among us felt that it lacked the substance of, say, a Mario Party. It's interesting, then, that Microsoft has approached Hudson -- developer of the Mario Party series -- to create Fuzion Frenzy 2. We don't know if the game will feature an overall hub or board like the Mario Party titles, but we can at least be guaranteed that there will be tons of minigames. These screens show off some of the characters and what appears to be a casino themed world. Hopefully, Hudson has learned something from their recent effort and won't forget to include local multiplayer.Anyone looking forward to this one?
New XBLA franchise in the next two weeks
XBLArcade managed to notice a snippet from yesterday's press release that completely slipped our Sauron-like gaze. From the release:"In total, more than 100 pieces of new downloadable content will be available during the nine day period, including a never before announced major franchise on Xbox Live Arcade."Major franchise, would we? The possibilities addle our brains, but we can't help but speculate. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Mega Man? Bomberman? It could be anything, and your guess is as good as ours. We can only hope that this is a real arcade classic, or, better yet, an entirely original franchise for XBLA (something episodic perhaps?). Anyone care to make a guess? If anyone gets it right, we'll be sure to drop his/her name when the game is officially announced.
Deal of the day: New round of PSP price drops at Play-Asia
Play-Asia sure has been on a roll this week. First it was Gitaroo Man Lives for only $20, and now they've recently slashed prices on even more games. Aedeus Memories Shinten Makai Generation of Chaos V (Asia) – $14.90 Boku no Natsuyasumi Portable (Asia) – $12.90 Bomberman Blast Squadron Bomberman (Asia) – $16.90 Jukugon (Japan) – $12.90 King's Field Additional I (Asia) – $12.90 Koukyou Shihen Eureka Seven (Japan) – $16.90 Magna Carta Portable (Asia) – $16.90 Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner (Asia) – $16.90 Myst (Japan) – $14.90 Portable Island: Tenohira Resort (Asia) – 12.90 Simple 2500 Series Portable Vol. 4: The Mind Mapping Exercise (Asia) – $10.90 I'm not too sure how import friendly any of these games are, and quite frankly, there are a few of them on the list I'm not familiar with at all. However, with the incredibly cheap prices of King's Field and Myst, it looks like I may have to pull the trigger.Click here for the full page of recenly discounted games across all platforms.(Via Play-Asia)
Hudson defends crappy Bomberman
Someone by the name of J. Montes over at Hudson has written a short post about why Bomberman Act: Zero is in fact not a crapfest of epic proportions. "I'm here to tell you why Bomberman Act: Zero is actually pretty damn cool. And if you think I'm talking out of my ass, check out my Xbox Live Gamercard - I'm actually playing the game - and enjoying it! Forget the haters out there and all the lemmings who've jumped on the bashing bandwagon. Bomberman Act: Zero matters most in one key area: gameplay. And if you love multiplayer gaming, this is your calling."He then goes on to cite five reasons why the game is good. And, to be honest, he does have a point. Whether or not you're completely turned off by Act: Zero's character designs, the gameplay probably is solid. I wouldn't know. I haven't played it, and I'll tell you why. Look at Montes' number one reason:"IT'S BOMBERMAN!"I'm sorry Mr. Montes, if it doesn't have local multiplayer, it is not Bomberman. Granted, lots of 360 games don't support local multiplayer, but Bomberman, above all else, is about destroying your friends on the couch. Plain and simple. I wouldn't care about the design if I could play with my friends on the same TV. I know there are people out there enjoying this game. More power to you. I will wait for a sequel with a complete feature set, thank you very much -- either that, or Saturn Bomberman on Live Arcade.[Via digg]
Classic, non-crappy Bomberman coming to the PSP
In a bid to make us forget the tragedy that is Bomberman on the 360, Konami has announced that a classic version of the game will come to PSP users on Sept. 12. What's even better is that the game will feature some ad hoc multiplayer where only one person will be required to own the game. Here's what you'll get with this new title:Normal mode is the latest single player Bomberman adventure, complete with a new story and 100 levels, while classic mode is based on original Bomberman gameplay and features over 50 different levels for players to experience. Bomberman offers a multiplayer battle mode, which allows up to four players to fight for survival in a variety of highly customizable game types across 20 different stages via wireless ad hoc play. Lastly game sharing lets up to 4 players battle together in timeless multiplayer party modes with just one UMD.Now this is the kind of quality gaming we demand on our PSP. Get more titles like this and we'll keep playing Sony's glossy handheld. The only problem here is that there's no infrastructure support. It would have been nice to be able to play people all around the world rather than just in the room. But, you know, we'll take what we can get on the PSP.
Bomberman photoshop contest: How to make right out of wrong
The latest Bomberman iteration to hit a gaming platform is the terribly flawed Bomberman: Act Zero for the Xbox 360 -- seriously, how do you mess up Bomberman?. Well, after poor reviews kept streaming in, a fan over at the NeoGAF forums decided to put copies of the game to good use: hold a caption contest with the grand prize being a T-shirt with the developer's name on it. So far, there have been some creative entries and we'll share some with you after the break (including our first impressions of the game). But, now that we can give the contest the proper exposure it deserves, we're sure that our creative readers can add some real competition to the affair.[Via Game Life]
