Atomic Bomberman

Think you're smarter than the collective intelligence of 9 other bombers throwing bombs faster than your mind can comprehend? Try your hand at this fast paced classic from the 90's with up to 10 players filled with mayhem and blown up body parts. Bombs Away!

Released: 31 July 1997
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Arcade Maze Puzzle
Developers: Interplay Entertainment
Publishers: Interplay Entertainment
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB E

About

Atomic Bomberman is a game by Interplay Productions for the PC that was released in 1997. It was the first original Bomberman game to be developed for Windows, and the second game of the series made for the PC, following Bomberman.

The game is relatively unusual in the Bomberman series, as it was officially licensed from Hudson Soft and developed by Interplay Productions, a studio based in the United States. Most titles in the series were developed in Japan. It has a different look and feel compared to other Bomberman titles as a result (despite basic gameplay being unchanged), using pre-rendered 3D characters and backgrounds as opposed to hand-drawn animated sprites, and extensive use of voice samples by voice actors Charlie Adler and Billy West during gameplay.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Atomic Bomberman can be played in either "classic" or "enhanced" mode. Ten players maximum can be selected. However, at least one must be controlled by the player, and no more than one player can be controlled by the same keyboard layout on the same computer. This keyboard map rule does not apply to local network games. Unlike previous Bomberman games, Atomic Bomberman has no story or plotline.

Development

Atomic Bomberman was built from the code for Super Bomberman 3, which publisher/developer Interplay Productions licensed from Bomberman franchise owner Hudson Soft. Project leader Jeremy Airey commented, "We're trying to make [Bomberman] a little more modern, but we don't need to change the way it plays at all."

The development team had ambitions of the game supporting twice as many players as any other version of the game, until the release of Saturn Bomberman (which supports up to ten players) made this goal unrealistic.

Reception

Atomic Bomberman garnered mixed or average reviews, holding a 68.40% rating at the review aggregator site GameRankings. CNET Gamecenter's Hugh Falk found the gameplay faithful to the Super Bomberman series, commending Interplay Productions for not experimenting too much with it, while being fond of the game's graphics and sound. Falk noted its level designer and multiplayer for up to ten players, but saw the inability to chat during online play as an oversight. Pete Hines of the Adrenaline Vault gave positive remarks to the crisp and colorful visuals, the gameplay for being easy to play but hard to master, sound effects, musical score, and the opponent's AI, but felt mixed about the game's overall interface. GameSpot's Trent Ward commented that while the humorous death animations and customizable characters and rules are admirable additions to the series, the online multiplayer's jerky play and odd glitches greatly compromise the most important aspect of the game.

Edge also commended Interplay for translating the gameplay to PC, but expressed that it lost the "charm" of the 16-bit console iteration with its "over-detailed" sprites. PC Zone's Charlie Brooker agreed, stating that the character sprites' "American" makeover was less cute than the original Japanese sprites. Brooker regarded it to be an addictive multiplayer game. PCMag's Shane Mooney wrote that "If you're looking for a game that you and your friends can play to kill a few minutes (or hours, or days), Atomic Bomberman packs plenty of punch."