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Bomberman Generations Features
Gameplay The concept is pretty simple. On his quest to take back a powerful "element" of some kind from the clutches of evil, the B-man must use his bombs to push forward, blasting open new pathways, solving puzzles, and fighting gigantic boss figures. As you navigate through these worlds you'll face roadblocks and have the choice to venture down several different paths. Beginner puzzles require simple tasks such as knocking tress down by placing a bomb at the foot of them. In most cases taking down the tree isn't very useful, but let's say you need to cross a deep stream: just knock down a tree and make your way to the other side. As the game progresses forward the difficulty increases. Later on you will have to control the flow of water by blocking and unblocking streams. We haven't had a chance to play Bomberman Generations for any extended period of time, so we're not entirely sure how deep the gameplay mechanics get, but the world is littered with traditional power-ups such as the speed roller-skates, increased explosion power, and other bomb upgrades. Eventually you'll be able to bind elements such as fire, wind, water, and light to your bombs for increased functionality. In our recent hands-on experience we saw that these elemental bombs play a big part in the gameplay. You will gain certain elemental powers as you go forward and must solve more advanced puzzles such as using a fire bomb to overcome an icy dilemma. One of the more impressive elements we did get to come into contact with was the huge boss figures. We had the pleasure of fighting with a large, vibrantly colored elephant that would charge at you. Being only the first boss, you could easily defeat him by placing bombs in his path. Later bosses get more difficult. One boss in level four swings a long, deadly chain from the top of his head to keep Bomberman from coming too close. We have a good feeling that kicking bombs -- instead of throwing -- at him might put him down. At its heart, Bomberman Generations returns to a very classic style of gameplay. It almost has a 2D feel to it because of the isometric top-down perspective. Bombs are easily thrown or kicked in any direction, and you still have the special ability to enlarge them for increased power. In fact using the larger bombs is a required asset if you want to get anywhere in the game, because larger obstacles such as boulders can only be shattered by them. Controlling Bomberman is also fairly easy, although Hudson doesn't have an automatic camera system in place. You have to manually rotate the camera with the L and R buttons, which can become an annoyance. Multiplayer Battle One unique stage is just a field of grass. There are no rocks or any things to keep you from freely roaming right next to your enemy and placing a bomb. The only catch is that you cannot see where your bombs lie if they're under the grass. Furthermore the destructive bombs will burn away the grass revealing a more level playing field. Areas that are left alone will be replenished with fresh grass. It's definitely a new take on the classic gameplay, and we hope to see more creative designs like this. But the classic 2D battle arenas have not gone unchanged by their 3D brethren. Hudson has decided to make use of the 3D space with a "super bomb" of sorts. If you get this power up, you can pump up your bombs to explode in every direction. The fiery explosion exceeds all boundaries, pushing outward in the shape of a sphere. The only way to avoid it, is to get very far away; there will be no hiding behind rocks to avoid the "super bomb." Additionally, there are numerous other multiplayer options to make sure that the unique title will be able to offer up plenty of four-player action. For instance, there's a point-based mode where you shoot bombs out of cannon-equiped hovercrafts into the normal arenas. There are groundhog-type creatures burrowing in and out of the ground that you must destroy for points, and there are even combos to be made if you bounce bombs over several of their heads. This is one of several other modes, including a bungie jump. Graphics and Technology
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