Bomberman Land review

Minigames without multiplayer turn stale fast

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Plenty of minigames

  • +

    Some minigames are fun

  • +

    Battle game for 4 players

Cons

  • -

    Story mode is too chatty

  • -

    Minigames aren't multi

  • -

    No online for battle mode

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Contrary to the way most companies handle multi-platform releases, Hudson likes to make sure that every version of Bomberman Land is unique. Unfortunately, that's bad news for PSP owners. This rendition of Bomberman Land is basically just a fleeting collection of single-player minigames packaged together with a multiplayer battle mode that's similar to the one that was included with the PSP's previous Bomberman game.

Other installments of the Bomberman Land lineage have provided a few multiplayer minigames. The PSP version doesn't. Granted, there's a good mix of button thrashers here. You'll shoot at things, you'll drive cars, you'll play minigolf... you'll even attack ninjas. And the 3D visuals sure make the dirt, grass, and water look nice. But, ask yourself this: How many hours can you honestly kill playing minigames alone?

As it is, unlocking minigames is downright painful. There's nothing wrong with the concept of collecting pieces to rebuild a theme park, and watching the bulbous Bomberman characters interact with each other in 3D is nice, but they're too freaking chatty! Some will give you a park piece after spouting a few lines. Some will talk your ear off before telling you to go fetch a specific item. Others will put you through a multiple choice conversation that you have to start over if you make one incorrect guess. Because of all the dialogue, it'll take you a solid 15 minutes before you've unlocked your first minigame and roughly an hour just to earn a dozen of the rest.

More info

DescriptionEssentially two games in one, you get a collection of minigames and the classic Bomberman battle mode. Sadly, the minigames are mostly garbage and very few of them support multiple players. That leaves the battle mode as the disc's only redeeming feature.
Franchise nameBomberman
UK franchise nameBomberman
Platform"Wii","PSP"
US censor rating"Everyone","Everyone"
UK censor rating"",""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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