Bomberman: Act Zero for Xbox 360
- HDTV Support: HDTV Support
- ESRB Descriptor: Suggestive Themes Fantasy Violence
- Online: Online Gaming Support
- ESRB Rating: T - (Teen)
- Publisher: Konami
- Genre: Action
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This Bomberman installment bombs.
Pros
None to speak of.
Cons
Broken controls, stupid AI, fidgety camera angles, et al.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Absolutely abysmal game, not worth the plastic it's made from. Avoid it like the plague.
Bomberman: Act Zero is the first and only console release title of Bomberman on the Xbox 360 (not counting the Live Arcade title). It's notorious for being a terrible game that had some promising footage but failed to deliver on all counts.
Graphics 4/10: Act Zero has graphics that pass as par for the 360 console. However developer Hudson Soft decided to deviate from the norm of their character having a cute appearance and instead gave the game a very desolate and dark overtone, something that further alienated the game from its roots as Bomberman. The characters are portrayed as bizarre cyborg/androids with chains and are mostly well designed as generic dystopian characters, however they drop bombs from a hilariously misshapen hand that resembles a giant sports team foam finger, which detracts from the flow of the characters.
Sound 5/10: The game's soundtrack can be described as a mix between industrial noise and grunge, as I mentioned the Bomberman franchise had been given a facelift to seem more edgy and the sound reflects that. The game has a disembodied voice as an announcer and commentator but the dialogue and commentary seems dry and forced and only really shows up to announce items or a victory/loss. Sound effects are not bad, bombs sound like bombs and there's not much else that's required for a Bomberman game.
Play Control 3/10: With the control we begin to come to the point where the game derails and becomes its notorious flop. As with most Bomberman games you were required to navigate corridors and place bombs at strategic locations in an effort to trap your enemies in the blast radius. This is still the case with Act Zero but the problem lies with the fact that you can actually move around the arena and navigate the hallways like you were actually walking through them. This leads to getting stuck on corners of the wall and slowing down. The addition of the overhead third person swivel camera tries to do a decent job of keeping things visible, but no matter which angle you try to put it at the camera view always seems to obscure things and make seeing the playing field difficult. There is also no local multiplayer function, only Xbox Live which for this game needless to say is totally dead.
Replayability 2/10: Bomberman has always been a straightforward game that you can easily pop in and crank out a few rounds on. There are 100 levels in Act Zero's "story" mode and no save feature, meaning that you have to literally play the entire game in one sitting, which is nearly impossible to do. Act Zero lacks the colorful environments that made titles such as Super Bomberman (SNES) and Bomberman 64 (N64) enjoyable and easily re-visitable and because of this the game suffers from a lack of replay value. Once you play it and get tired of it there is nothing to bring you back into the game.
Innovation 6/10: Act Zero is most certainly an incredibly drastic turn for the series changing it from an upbeat world full of novelty enemies and zany mad scientists into one of a dystopian future where humanoid robots fight for others' enjoyment in an enclose and electrified arena. This complete revamp of Bomberman to target a new audience certainly took a lot of guts to manage but which audience Hudson Soft was actually trying to market to draws some confusion. Act Zero sticks out from the Bomberman franchise for many reasons, none of them good ones, but the new ideas are still there. While some players may appreciate the gloomy atmosphere of the game, it still (mostly) plays like a normal Bomberman game albeit with broken controls and AI.
Fun 1/10: Bomberman Act Zero is simply just not fun to play. The game is broken in a number of ways as I have previously discussed and after playing about an hour's worth of the title most of the novelty of it wears off and you'll find yourself going back to other more memorable games in the Bomberman franchise. It may be appealing to used game buyers looking for value-priced games, but please understand you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a good time on the Xbox 360 look somewhere other than this title.
Overall 3.5/10: Bomberman Act Zero is enjoyable only in the sense that it's so terrible a night of commentary on it with friends may prove to be an entertaining night (and speaking from experience I suggest trying this). Hudson Soft did their best trying to evolve Bomberman past his cute persona but it just was not taken well by the gamers. Had Act Zero not been so unplayable and broken things may have panned out differently, but because of its flaws I advise you stay away from this game at all costs.
Graphics 4/10: Act Zero has graphics that pass as par for the 360 console. However developer Hudson Soft decided to deviate from the norm of their character having a cute appearance and instead gave the game a very desolate and dark overtone, something that further alienated the game from its roots as Bomberman. The characters are portrayed as bizarre cyborg/androids with chains and are mostly well designed as generic dystopian characters, however they drop bombs from a hilariously misshapen hand that resembles a giant sports team foam finger, which detracts from the flow of the characters.
Sound 5/10: The game's soundtrack can be described as a mix between industrial noise and grunge, as I mentioned the Bomberman franchise had been given a facelift to seem more edgy and the sound reflects that. The game has a disembodied voice as an announcer and commentator but the dialogue and commentary seems dry and forced and only really shows up to announce items or a victory/loss. Sound effects are not bad, bombs sound like bombs and there's not much else that's required for a Bomberman game.
Play Control 3/10: With the control we begin to come to the point where the game derails and becomes its notorious flop. As with most Bomberman games you were required to navigate corridors and place bombs at strategic locations in an effort to trap your enemies in the blast radius. This is still the case with Act Zero but the problem lies with the fact that you can actually move around the arena and navigate the hallways like you were actually walking through them. This leads to getting stuck on corners of the wall and slowing down. The addition of the overhead third person swivel camera tries to do a decent job of keeping things visible, but no matter which angle you try to put it at the camera view always seems to obscure things and make seeing the playing field difficult. There is also no local multiplayer function, only Xbox Live which for this game needless to say is totally dead.
Replayability 2/10: Bomberman has always been a straightforward game that you can easily pop in and crank out a few rounds on. There are 100 levels in Act Zero's "story" mode and no save feature, meaning that you have to literally play the entire game in one sitting, which is nearly impossible to do. Act Zero lacks the colorful environments that made titles such as Super Bomberman (SNES) and Bomberman 64 (N64) enjoyable and easily re-visitable and because of this the game suffers from a lack of replay value. Once you play it and get tired of it there is nothing to bring you back into the game.
Innovation 6/10: Act Zero is most certainly an incredibly drastic turn for the series changing it from an upbeat world full of novelty enemies and zany mad scientists into one of a dystopian future where humanoid robots fight for others' enjoyment in an enclose and electrified arena. This complete revamp of Bomberman to target a new audience certainly took a lot of guts to manage but which audience Hudson Soft was actually trying to market to draws some confusion. Act Zero sticks out from the Bomberman franchise for many reasons, none of them good ones, but the new ideas are still there. While some players may appreciate the gloomy atmosphere of the game, it still (mostly) plays like a normal Bomberman game albeit with broken controls and AI.
Fun 1/10: Bomberman Act Zero is simply just not fun to play. The game is broken in a number of ways as I have previously discussed and after playing about an hour's worth of the title most of the novelty of it wears off and you'll find yourself going back to other more memorable games in the Bomberman franchise. It may be appealing to used game buyers looking for value-priced games, but please understand you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a good time on the Xbox 360 look somewhere other than this title.
Overall 3.5/10: Bomberman Act Zero is enjoyable only in the sense that it's so terrible a night of commentary on it with friends may prove to be an entertaining night (and speaking from experience I suggest trying this). Hudson Soft did their best trying to evolve Bomberman past his cute persona but it just was not taken well by the gamers. Had Act Zero not been so unplayable and broken things may have panned out differently, but because of its flaws I advise you stay away from this game at all costs.
