Game Info
Game Name: Bomberman—Act: Zero
Developer(s): Hudson Soft
Publisher(s): Konami
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): August 29, 2006
ESRB Rating: T
Woah…Bomberman was cute & cuddly…now he’s lame and angry!
A warrior wakes up in a maze. His only weapon is bomb-generating armament and he is not alone. Other warriors are in the maze, and they have weapons also. Now Bomberman must fight his way through the maze to freedom and augment his powers to survive.
Bomberman—Act: Zero was developed by Hudson and published by Konami as the first next-gen Bomberman for the Xbox 360. Following Bomberman for the PSP also released in 2006, the game has both the 100 level single player battle mode and online play in which players can customize the combat. The game was received poorly and quickly was assigned to the bargain bins.
Bomberman—Act: Zero really changed the format of Bomberman. Part of Bomberman’s charm was the fun and cartoony feel of characters violently trying to blow each other up. This lent itself to kind of a strategy to Bomberman since blowing yourself up was just as big of a threat as getting trapped by the enemy. As a party game, Bomberman was great for bringing multiple players together for a party style atmosphere.
…and this is helpful or playable how? I can’t see where the enemies are, and my view of my character is obstructed
This Bomberman is dark. The game is rated T for Teens (who I can’t imagine would be interested in it). The character can be customized (various colors and made male or female) and the views can either be a 3rd person behind the back camera (which is stupid hard since you can’t plot any strategy) or a wider half-way traditional top view. The Xbox 360’s ability isn’t tested and Bomberman—Act: Zero actually feels more like a bad Xbox game. If you don’t succeed in destroying the enemy, the playing field begins to destruct and Bomberman and any of the surviving enemies are crushed by giant pistons.
At 100 levels and no continues, Bomberman is also nearly impossible to finish (and boring). The only hope is the hidden power ups provided in the level and you pretty much have to have a cheat to know how to obtain them. The difference between Bomberman and the previous versions of the game is that Bomberman has a lifebar and can get caught in explosions until his life is gone.
At least you can kind of tell what is going on here (but it still isn’t fun)
Online play is no longer fun, and good luck actually finding someone to play with. What could have been a great party game is actually just more of the same. It isn’t that Bomberman is the worst game you’ve ever played but it feels like a simple arcade game…for your home…with no continues. So adding outside players really doesn’t do much. It just feels like more of the same.
Bomberman—Act: Zero is a frustrating game because it could have been fun. There could have been a fun adventure mode, a great online party game, and the classic Bomberman cartoony feel. Instead, gamers were left with this (literally) lifeless character making his way through a dark and boring world, level after level, with one dimensional enemies. Bomberman went on to return to his classic style in Bomberman World for Wii and Bomberman Live as a downloadable game.
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