Bomberman
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Get your drool on with some Bomberman screens
Set to release this November thanks to Atlus, Bomberman Land Touch contains three modes of gameplay and will support Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service. The three modes of gameplay, which are Story, Attraction, and Battle, hope to keep gamers-on-the-go busy for quite some time. No doubt the Wi-Fi gameplay will offer plenty, in that regard. These 20 screenshots are the first from the English localization of the game.
Bomberman Land: Touch!
The popular series where your only worry is to blow up your opponent as stylishly as possible is back for another round on the DS. Bomberman Land: Touch! will feature a Story Mode (explore Bomber Island and unlock mini games), Battle Mode (beat the snot out of your friends) and Attraction Mode (enjoy the mini games you unlocked in Story Mode). Other good news is that up to four players can battle it out via Wi-Fi connection or two to eight players can compete using either single or multi-card play.
Bomberman bombs XBLM
Here's a new strategy for game developers. First, take a beloved franchise and then change everything about it that made it aesthetically unique and iconic. Second, announce this new, eXtreMe version of the game, knowing that existing fans will pick it up anyway. Finally, before it's actually released and everybody learns how awful it is, put a bunch of Gamer pictures and a theme on Xbox Live Marketplace to make a quick buck off of nostalgia. Repeat.Thanks, Hudson, really. Now, please, get back to work on Fusion Frenzy 2, and -- for the love of all that is holy -- put Saturn Bomberman on Xbox Live Arcade.
Bomberman: Act Zero bombs
I'm publishing Dirk Dorkelson's Bomberman: Act Zero rant in near entirety:According to the Official Xbox mag review, which gives Bomberman: Act Zero a whopping 4 out of 10, the ultimate party game won't be playable at parties. For some bizarre, boneheaded reason, the game is only multiplayer if you play it online. A quick check of Konami's website seems to confirm this, with it listing the game as a single-player game, with 2-8 players online.Sadly, this also probably means that my married friends who I game with online all the time won't be able to play the title with me over Xbox Live unless they take turns playing. Lame.How the hell could they screw up something so basic? Isn't the true joy of Bomberman inviting a few friends over and blasting the hell out of each other while having a few beers?Also, the game has 99 levels in the single-player mode. But you can't save your progress.OXM calls it "impossible to love." Color me disappointed.
Fusionnnnn Frennnzyyy!...um...2!
Microsoft announced today that the sequel to Fusion Frenzy -- creatively titled, Fusion Frenzy 2 -- will be released in the US in time for the holidays. The title is being developed by Hudson (Mario Party, Bomberman) and published by Microsoft Game Studios. For those unfamiliar with the original Xbox title (pictured above), Fuzion Frenzy is a party game full of frantic minigames and eXtreMe! character designs. It's kind of like Mario Party without all the boring board game sections (oh, snap!).It will be interesting to see what Hudson does with the franchise -- the original game was developed by Blitz games, who are currently working on another 360 game, Possession. Anybody itching for a good 360 party game?[Thanks, Paul]
Japanese PSP releases for the week of July 25th
Nippon terebi geimu wo shiyoka? You know the PSP can play games from all over the world, right? So, if you're tired of all those PSP games that are released here in the States, then maybe you should consider importing some games from the land of the rising sun. Here are this week's releases: Bleach: Heat the Soul 3The insanely popular Bleach anime series gets a third fighter for the PSP. It received a 28/40 in Weekly Famitsu. Bomberman PortableIt's Bomberman. Does it need any more explanation? And with Game Sharing, you can play with one UMD. It got a 26/40 in Weekly Famitsu. Portable Island: Te no Hira no ResortThis is a ridiculously boring "game" that has you having all the fun of being stuck on a deserted island. Ultraman Fightman Evolution 0Ultraman is still around in Japan for some reason. If you like men in tights fighting each other, you'll want to pick this up. It got a 25/40 in Weekly Famitsu. I'd recommend getting Bleach: Heat the Soul 3. It's by far the prettiest game of the bunch, as you can tell by the video embedded above. And, it's provided in a language that everyone can understand: beat things up. You can import it from YesAsia.com for about $49, shipped.[Via IGN]
New over-enthusiastic Bomberman trailer!!!
We knew a new Bomberman was on the way, but ever since it got quietly announced back in April, we haven't heard much from our pyromaniac friend. Well, it appears that Hudson has made a brand-new trailer, and it's filled with so many exclamation points, it's explosive. Get it? I'll stop my bad puns and let the trailer do the talking: All new levels, boss enemies, and power-ups! Network up to 4 players with one UMD game! You can play Bomberman ANYWHERE! ANYTIME! The Game Sharing feature is what gets me the most excited. It's great to see more great games are taking advantage of this sorely underused feature. (Now, when are we going to get Infrastructure multiplayer?)
Screens 12, Bomberman Zero
Since we're doing Japanese game screens this morning, take a gander at these Bomberman Zero screens fresh from the Xboxyde ovens. Personally, I'm puzzled by Bomberman's eXtreMe! makeover, especially considering the gameplay looks to be exactly the same. Apparently there's some sort of plot as well. Ah well, as long as it plays like the Bombermans (Bombermen?) of yore, it should be blast. Now if Hudson would just hurry up and put Saturn Bomberman on Xbox Live Arcade...
More Japanese game commercials: so plausible, I can't believe it
Not content with brutalizing your brain the last time, Bits & Bytes & Pixels & Sprites have deemed it necessary to post another collection of bizarre Japanese video game commercials. This batch makes it very difficult to believe that the people who made them could possibly exist in the same reality as you, implying that all of this comes from an alternate dimension where disembodied heads, bunny-eared women and homoerotically charged controllers are very much de rigueur. You'll find our favorite clip embedded in the second part of the post, chosen based on its high content of post-apocalyptic wastelands, Bomberman plushies, inhuman voices and Segata Sanshiro's patented man-flinging techniques. Watching it may cause you to explode. Come to think of it, there's an exploding man in there too.[Thanks Daniel!]
Bomberman online a go
Cubed3 is reporting that via Japanese website Rakuten, Bomberman Land DS has been confirmed to release this year from Hudson Soft and will feature WiFi Connection implementation. There is little else that can be gleamed from the news supposedly, but with E3 coming next week, hopefully we will have more to report on then. Any kind of new multiplayer gametypes you'd like to see featured? [Thanks Thrillho and Artimus!]
(Classic) Bomberman coming to XBLA?
Of the games guaranteed not to bomb if they get dropped onto Xbox Live Arcade, Bomberman scored a respectable number ten. Now some bigwig (read: "online marketer") at Hudson is saying that bringing Bomberman to XBLA is "under evaluation" and that the Saturn version would be a prime candidate. Saturn Bomberman is often cited as the pinnacle of the series (feel free to disagree) and itself featured online play via the Saturn's "Netlink Playable" service. Throw in Live support, eight-player multiplayer, all on a console that people are actually buying (fanboy trivia: how many units did the Saturn sell versus the 360?), you have yourselves a hit of planetary proportions. What does this say about the chances of the totally angst-ridden, badass Bomberman throwing a tantrum on western 360s? Furthermore, of course it's "under evaluation." The entire internet has been asking for it! If Hudson hadn't put two and two together by now, we'd be disappointed. [Via Joystiq]
Saturn Bomberman being evaluated for XBL Arcade
According to comments made by a Hudson online marketing manager to 1UP, Saturn Bomberman — considered by many to be the best version of Bomberman and one of the greatest multiplayer titles of all time — is "under evaluation" for Xbox Live Arcade. The original Sega Saturn game featured a frantic 10-player Battle mode that would likely be a huge draw for 360 owners looking for a simple, but addictive multiplayer experience. Let's hope the evaluation process comes to that same conclusion.
This ain't your grandpappy's Bomberman
Yup, Hudson Soft's twenty-year-old Bomberman has undergone a tiny bit of brand re-imagining. The latest issue of Japanese gaming-mag Famitsu reveals the iconic character is being updated with something straight out of a 13-year-old's sketchbook.It's unclear what format this game will take; whether it will be an Xbox Live Arcade title, or a retail release. Either way, fans will be pleased to learn, the gameplay looks very similar to the Bomberman you know and love. Unfortunately, it may never make it out of Japan. An XBLA version of classic Bomberman would be a guaranteed hit.
