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Bomberman Online Preview
Chris Leyton
00/12/0000
Bomberman returns to his roots and lets players play together.
It's fair to say that Bomberman has been through a bit of a rut during the last few years. It seemed that unlike Mario, Sonic and Link good old Bomberman couldn't make the transition to the next-gen machines, all because it's creators tried to make him something he's not and forgot what made him so successful in the first place, āBomberman = The most fun multiplayer can beā, simple as that.
By going down the one player route Hudsonsoft alienated the fans that made Bomberman what he is, thankfully they've seen sense and are set to release the best Bomberman yet and it's hitting your Dreamcast's soon, got your pads ready?
Bomberman Online harks back to the days when you and three of your mates could huddle round the screen and enjoy blowing each other to bits. The premise for anyone who hasn't played Bomberman (?) is blissfully simple, you run around a maze and place bombs that are used to break down walls and destroy opponents who incidentally are also on the same mission. It's simple yet leads to the most intense multi-player battles I have ever encountered in any game.
Graphically Bomberman Online has made the transition to full 3D; however donāt let that draw bad memories of his ill-fated adventures on the N64. Hudsonsoft have ensured that the old-school look of his previous games has been recreated. The game uses the ācell-shadingā technique first used with startling results in āJet Set Radioā, which means great looking graphics that retain the old nostalgic charm.
The graphics havenāt been the only thing that have undergone a change; alongside the traditional modes Hudsonsoft have included four new modes. These include the fairly self-explanatory Battle Royal and the wacky-sounding Submarine, Attack Panel Attack and Hyper Bomber being the other two. Hudsonsoft are also promising a more substantial single player mode, across five new worlds in which players can obtain items and trade online with fellow bombers in the collection panel mode.
As the name suggests this version boasts on-line play, now you can play against up to 10 other players on the new and enlarged maps. Bomberman Online isnāt the first to feature support for 10 players, that accolade goes to the Saturn version that used a high-resolution mode to accommodate all 10 players on one screen. However the Dreamcast uses a first for the franchise, screen scrolling.
In this style of game in which the action is fast and frantic the threat of latency (lag) is a main worry. Those who played Segaās first online game āChu-Chu Rocketā which had the same style will remember the problems generated by pauses during the game. It remains to be seen whether Hudsonsoft can ensure lag-free gameplay but if they do this it should be the big bomb to capitalize Bomberman back to his former glory days.
