Neo Bomberman

What a strange journey it has been for Bomberman. He's been just about everywhere, on just about every system, and his influence is still being felt throughout multiplayer games. But recently Hudson has slacked off ... in fact, it's been two generations now since Bomberman has been appropriately packaged (the last great Bomberman game being Super Bomberman 2 on the Super NES).

Neo Bomberman falls around the same time as Super Bomberman 2, however it is more of a remake of Mega Bomberman (the "not bad, but not great" Genesis version). There are some nice features I love about this game, but a lot of the joy from the original game is lost in the translation.

The graphics sparkle. They are just about as good as they can be. The sound is pretty good, too. In fact, everything about the cosmetics of the game is spectacular, my problem with the game is it's redundancies. And even worse, it throws away it's great five player mode for a silly two player co-op game. It's a fun adventure, but missing a lot of what Bomberman was about.

There are a lot of innovations, though. You are now able to ride on (and even round up) different creatures throughout the game. Some, well, most of the game creatures are pretty useless, but they all have their own pros and cons. The new power ups are pretty interesting as well. And there's a lot of creativity here.

I also enjoyed the levels. Each wears itself out with repetitive stages, but the themes are welcome. I especially like the underwater levels. A must see.

This game is worth a play or two, but be ready to save and pause a whole lot. A great game, but it's not better than anything version on the Super NES.