Bomberman Land Touch!
Score: 88% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Atlus Developer: Hudson Soft Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 - 8 (Online) Genre: Action/ Miscellaneous
Graphics & Sound: Bomberman Land Touch! is not what you think it is. Yes, it has the Bomberman name attached and features the iconic Bomberman character, but this isn’t the game of mazes and bombs you grew up playing. Instead, the premise here is to explore an island theme park and play a bunch of bomb related mini-games similar to what you might find in WarioWare. Visuals are bright, cute and best of all, completely devoid of the angst-ridden emo-Bomberman found in Bomberman: Act Zero on the Xbox 360. The entire game is sprite-based and looks slightly better than a GBA game. It is not the greatest of presentations, but is still passable and appropriate for the game. It is very easy to ignore Bomberman Land’s soundtrack – which is actually a good thing. This isn’t meant in a bad way, since the soundtrack is actually pretty good. It simply does its job as background music and doesn’t fight for your attention.
Gameplay: Bomberman Land Touch! offers three game types: Land, Attraction and Battle. Land is the main mode and follows the different Bombermen (and gal) as they visit Bomber Island for Gold Bomber’s birthday. Controlling Bomberman, you travel the island competing in mini-games and tasks. Bomber Island is split into four areas, each themed for a different playing card suit. In order to progress through each level, you much collect symbols representing that area’s suit. Once you’ve collected a certain number of suit symbols, you can access other parts of each area, or entirely new parts of the island. Symbols are obtained by completing mini-games. All are bomb related and make use of the DS’s functions in a variety of ways. One might have you drawing a wick between a bomb and its matching fuse, while in another you are blowing out fuses by blowing into the microphone. Mini-games are much like you would find in the WarioWare titles, only without the panic-inducing 3-second time limit. Once a mini-game is completed, you can play it again and try to win medals. These can then be spent on items like costumes or tools. Both are useful when trying to complete tasks. The only weakness to the whole system is that it is sometimes hard to know what to do next. Common sense tells you to find new mini-games to play or look for doors you haven’t unlocked, though it is sometimes hard to figure out where they are. Completing mini-games in Land mode unlocks them in Attraction mode. Here you can try to get the highest score or compete against other players in local wireless games. This mode only requires a single cartridge, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone else to play against. Multiplayer mini-games are fun, but only for a short time. The real multiplayer action comes in Battle mode. Battle mode is classic tunnel-running, bomb-dodging gameplay. Three gameplay types are included. There’s the Classic mode, as well as one where players race for a crown and another where players try to tag as much territory as possible by placing bombs. A.I. bots are available if you can’t find eight players.
Difficulty: As previously mentioned, the hardest aspect of Bomberman Land Touch! is not knowing what to do next. After roaming around for a couple of minutes, you’ll eventually find where you are supposed to go, but until then you’re stuck re-reading emails and talking to other characters searching for that one key clue. The actual mini-games are tests of skill and concentration. Some require that you be quick while others require simple matching skills. All games are timed, and though the timer is a little more forgiving than WarioWare, it is still enough to keep you on edge. It is also enough to make some of the simpler tasks, like drawing a line, harder. If you fail at a task, the game is forgiving and lets you jump right back in without penalty.
Game Mechanics: Bomberman is controlled using the stylus and touch pad. By holding the stylus on a spot on the map, he’ll run to it. This involves a quick learning curve as you train your brain to not want to touch the D-pad. Tapping on objects causes Bomberman to interact with his environment. Tap a person and you’ll talk, tap a game and you’ll start to play – easy, easy stuff. The overall response is excellent and I never found myself having to tap areas multiple times to get a reaction. Each of the mini-games uses the DS’s functions in a variety of ways. One might have you tapping the screen while another has you quickly rubbing areas. Some require blowing into the microphone. If you’re looking for nothing more than a traditional Bomberman title, this isn’t it. Instead you’ve got Bomberman combined with WarioWare, which actually turns out to be a better thing. Though it has its shortcomings, Bomberman Land Touch! is a fun game and worth a look if you like Bomberman or mini-games.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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