Bomberman Land Touch! 2 – NDS – Review

One thing that game publishers know
is that if your franchise needs a restart, plunk the cutesy cast of characters
into a mini-game collection. We’ve seen the likes of Sonic, Mario, and Rayman
all in dual-screen competitions, and now recently, Bomberman.

Landing on the NES in 1987,
Bomberman has been around for decades. How he’s avoided airport security this
long, we’ll never know. But maybe it’s because of Homeland security that
Bomberman has been reduced to mini-game collections on the casual-game
powerhouses, DS and Wii. Hudson’s latest iteration of its “bomb”-astic franchise
is Bomberman Land Touch! 2.

In this game, you can go three
routes: Story Mode, Battle Mode, and Attractions Mode.

The single-player story is
surprisingly an addicting and fleshed-out experience. As you explore the
different “zones,” you will collect various items that progressively unlock more
things to do. As you explore the top down, 2D environment, you’ll find events
and doors that are locked and require X number of an item; eventually, as you
collect more pieces, you can find new mini-games (Attractions) and unlock new
areas to explore.

“Bomberman in Excitebike??”

In Story Mode, you’ll discover a
plethora of goofy mini-games from ice-skating to target practice. Like most
mini-game collections, they are very shallow and get old fast. But there are
some fun games – just a lot of mediocre ones, too. In Attractions Mode, you can
replay all of the games you’ve unlocked with friends and compete to your hearts
content!

The environments are all fairly
interesting and unique, but I had trouble getting past the graphics. From the
StarZone to the MoonZone, you’re character is stuck in a SNES landscape. The
color palette, too, seems very limited and never gets close to the visual
brilliance of New Super Mario Bros. Even the best mini-games feel lackluster
with such a flat, uninteresting presentation.

“Outstanding multiplayer”

The most exciting part of this game
is the Battle Mode. With a speedy Wi-Fi connection, you and your friends from
Australia and Japan can play the intense, bombing madness of classic Bomberman
multiplayer. The WFC will hold up to 8 players (4 onlines) and also offers a
chat system, as well as random battles – so you don’t have to spend the
afternoon typing in Friend Codes. If you have “real” friends with DS’s, you can
bring 2-8 of them in on the action via single-card Download play or multi-card.

If you already own Bomberman Land
Touch!, there’s not too much more you’ll get out of this sequel. Some of the
mini-games have been recycled and the Battle Mode is the same, with new maps. If
you’re new the franchise and are looking for a great multiplayer experience,
check this game out.

Gameplay: 8.0
The mini-games are all pretty solid and use the touch-screen in clever ways.

Graphics: 5.0
While the game
runs smooth and the 16-bit era graphics don’t hurt the game, they certainly
don’t help.

Sound: 8.0
The music is surprisingly good. You’ll be tapping your feet while you’re blowing
stuff up.

Difficulty: Easy
Very accessible for younger gamers.

Concept: 6.0
The first game was pretty innovative, but there’s not much new here. .

Multiplayer: 9.0
Between online play and single-card download play with up to 8 players, bombing
your friends has never been this easy!

Overall: 7.0
This game is a solid collection of mini-games with a complete Story Mode and
addictive multiplayer; it’s just more of the same, however, and in need of a
facelift.