Bomberman Goes Next-Gen

The Bomberman franchise bears the proud distinction of being both as old as the videogame industry and creating a fundamental game mechanic that walks the delicate balance between being easy to learn and hard to master.

With Bomberman Act: Zero, Hudson Soft and Konami have given birth to an Xbox 360™ exclusive that holds true to its classic gameplay roots while adding a new, grown-up flavor to the vaunted franchise's presentation.

The fierce competition and strategy is endless when you
play against human opponents.

Gone is the cute and cuddly art and character design of old. It has been replaced with a darker, more obviously science-fiction inspired setting. Even the Bomberman characters are grown-up and sheathed in glowing armor as they do battle in industrial sci-fi arenas.

The Basics
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, the core mechanic for Bomberman Act: Zero is relatively simple: You face up to three other players in a maze-like arena, and you have to take them out. You and your opponents can only be eliminated by bomb blasts.

The combat arena contains many blocks that can be destroyed. Until you blow them up, they may block your path. After destroying them, they may leave behind power-ups such as more powerful bombs.

Though initially simple to grasp, the chess master-like mentality required to compete in Bomberman at a high level demonstrates the depth of strategy to be explored. Pinning, trapping, and luring your opponent into mortal danger while avoiding it yourself requires constant awareness and instant decision making.

Game Modes
Bomberman Act: Zero offers two primary modes of play: First Person Bomber and Standard. FPB is a more intense mode of play as it zooms the camera in close on your bomber, making the strategy more immediate and the timing of your moves more crucial. When playing in FPB mode, you also have complete control of the camera.

Standard mode offers up a classic, removed, isometric viewpoint from far above the action. This allows you a bit more time to calculate your strategy and movements, and creates a less hectic, more thoughtful match.

Multiplayer Mayhem
When you first turn Bomberman on, you'll notice that World Battle (multiplayer mode over Xbox Live®) is the first option in the main menu. This is telling. While you can play to your heart's content offline, Bomberman Act: Zero was built with multiplayer action in mind. The fierce competition and strategy is endless when you play against human opponents.

You'll find Player Match and Ranked matches just as you would expect in a multiplayer game, as well as the following options when you're setting up a match:

• Normal or Battle Royal: Normal mode plays just like the single-player game, but Battle Royal provides an interesting twist. Consecutive kills net you more points, but your kill count drops to zero when you die.
• Style: Choose between Standard and FPB modes.
• Number of Players: Up to 8 players are supported.
• Wins: Choose how many winning rounds are required to take the overall match.
• Time: Set your time limit.
• Pressure Blocks: These falling blocks appear near the end of a round's time limit. You can turn these off, have them fall in the normal pattern, or set them to random.
• Shuffle: Turn this option on for players to spawn in random locations on the map.
• Language: Select the language you want to play in.

You'll also find Leaderboards to track the online exploits of you and your fellow Bombermen. There are also 50 achievhements to find, almost all of them secret.

Requiring a different mentality and providing a different challenge than many of the current multiplayer titles on Xbox Live, Bomberman Act: Zero is a rare treat, and definitely worth experiencing.

Article by Ryan Treit