29/100
Players5 ratings: 46/100
Critics3 reviews

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2006 · Hudson Soft · Action · Cyberpunk

Bomberman: Act Zero

Xbox exclusive

Bomberman: Act Zero is an action video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Konami for the Xbox 360 in 2006. It is noteworthy for its departure from standard titles in the Bomberman series; it features more realistic graphics and a dark, dystopian future setting.

Released: 3 August 2006
Platforms: Xbox 360
Genres: Action Cyberpunk Maze Science Strategy
Developers: Hudson Soft
Publishers: Konami Hudson Soft
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Third person Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: Japan
Age ratings: PEGI 12 CERO A ESRB T

About

Bomberman: Act Zero is a maze video game developed by Hudson Soft for the Xbox 360 in 2006 and published by Hudson Soft in Japan and Konami worldwide. It is noteworthy for its departure from standard titles in the Bomberman series; it features more realistic graphics and a dark, dystopian future setting.

The game was released on August 29, 2006 in North America. It received generally negative reviews from critics and fans who criticized its gameplay, loading times, high difficulty, lack of checkpoints, soundtrack, realistic graphics, and darker tone compared to the rest of the series. It is often considered a low-point in the Bomberman series in retrospect and was featured on lists of the worst video games ever made.

Keywords

post-apocalyptic
mascot
achievements
online
explosion
digital distribution
60 fps on consoles
polygonal 3d
unlockables
xbox live
franchise reboot
games on demand

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players, as Bombermen, must destroy each other to fight their way to the surface of the Earth and escape. Players can customize their character including their gender. The game is viewed from an overhead perspective, like other Bomberman titles. The levels have a number of pillars throughout that require players' characters to navigate down hallways; there are sometimes obstacles in these paths that can only be destroyed by bombs.

The bombs are also necessary to defeat opponents. An alternate mode called "First-Person Battle" allows players to view the action from behind the player character and are able to maneuver the camera. In the standard mode, the Bomberman can be killed by a single bomb (including their own); in FPB mode, they are given a life meter and can take multiple hits. In both modes, the Bombermen can pick up different power-ups (including speed, bomb count, bomb strength, and bomb duration).

Development

The game was first announced by Hudson Soft at the Tokyo Game Show 2005 with a brief teaser trailer showing off the redesigned Bomberman. At E3 2006, Konami announced they would be publishing the game at their press conference. In November 2006, a mobile phone version, titled Bomberman: Act Zero Mobile Type, was released for i-Mobile phones exclusively in Japan.

Reception

GameSpot's Justin Calvert played a single-player demo of the game at E3 2006. He noted that the gameplay was "largely unchanged" from classic Bomberman titles.

Bomberman: Act Zero received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 23 out of 40, while Famitsu Xbox 360 gave it a score of two eights and two sevens for a total of 30 out of 40.