Surprising variety and the tried and true multiplayer make this game the current best Bomberman to buy.
Gameplay (9/10): Instead of going the classic route of making a single-player adventure that revolves around the same simple concepts that the multiplayer involves, this game actually adds quite a bit of variety. The single-player is essentially a collection of 37 mini-games (that is only around 10 less than the console Mario Party games offer...). You are sent to this amusement park island where you have to go around solving simple puzzles to get to attractions (which are the mini-games). You then beat the mini-game for an item that you will use to move on. It is fairly simple and as far as 100% completion goes you will likely not have much of a problem finding everything you need to. With that being said, that does not mean the game is not challenging and is not fun. The mini-games themselves are overall very well thought out and are quite creative and fun. One mini-game will have you sliding the stylus back and forth on the screen as you try to make Bomberman run as fast as he can, while another might require you to draw a line from a certain fuse its matching bomb. There is enough variety here to keep you entertained and luckily exploring the world isn't all too dull thanks to a certain level of variety in environments AND a relateively simple layout. Now the single-player is played only with the stylus and really it works perfectly. The game is darn fun just for the mini-games itself, but Hudson didn't stop there.
As usual, the multiplayer is where these games tend to shine the most. Not only can you play all the mini-games in multiplayer with others, but you also have the classic 'run around and try to blow your opponent up' mode for up to 8 players local and 4 players online. The best part is for a lot of the stuff you only need one game pak which makes it even better. There are a good amount of options for the classic mode and the stages are pretty well made so that you likely won't get bored of it very fast. Being able to play online is an added bonus and there is no problem of complicated options. It is as simple as connecting to Wi-Fi then pressing a button and then automatically finding opponents to play against. Now this means that you don't always get to choose who you play against (meaning against friends) unless you talk to 3 people ahead of time and hope that none of your other friends are trying to play as well, but as I will describe later, that shouldn't be too much of a problem for now. The main problem that prevents this game from getting a 10 is the major lag online. If you are playing somebody outside of your country you are almost guaranteed horrible lag and if it is within the country then you will still generally get slight lag. This is sad because I don't understand how hard it is to make such a simple game work online, whereas Metroid Prime Hunters (which I am sure is a lot more taxing on the DS AND internet) works almost flawlessly online. This is a problem, though you can get used to it since it effects everybody (meaning nobody will really have an advantage so it is almost like playing like normal). Otherwise this is really a fun game that has a lot going for it.
Graphics (8/10): In all modes they are done simplisticly and get the job done quite well. You will find nothing amazing or jaw-dropping here, but due to the simplicity everything is crisp and very vibrant. For this type of a game, this works quite well.
Sound (7/10): The music isn't the best out there. It gets the job done and nothing more. It is not memorable but it is not painful to the ears either. If they had at least made a larger variety of themes it would be nice. Mainly if they had a seperate musical score for each mini-game. That is ok though because that just means you don't necessarily need sound to enjoy this game to the fullest. Speaking of sound, the sound effects aren't that great either. They are very basic and nothing to write home about. Once again, not painful to the ears, but don't be surprised if you find yourself playing this without sound sometimes.
Value (9/10): A wonderful single-player that will likely last you 10-12 hours at the most. A highly addictive multiplayer that offers both online and offline play. What more could one ask for? Well there is more.
As you play the mini-games you unlock the ability to play them seperately for high-scores, which is always good. Also after you beat the game you gain access to an intensive version of one of the mini-games which will likely seem impossible to complete (I currently have a score of 52 out of 999). Not only that though, there is a hard mode to unlock after you beat it. This is actually very good since the mini-games are so fun it is worth going through again with a nice challenge. Also since you will know where to find all the overworld items, you will be able to run back and forth between the mini-games without having to spend too much time exploring, meaning there is little down-time the second time through.
The multiplayer is of course something that will last a while and really makes this game a lasting gem, especially with up to 8 players locally. There are two problems with the online mode though that really take away that last point here. First is the previously mentioned lag problem. Second is the problem of not enough people owning this game. This has been out since November and I still find it almost impossible to find people to play with online. This isn't a gameplay or development issue but it is an issue because you likely won't find much fun out of the online multiplaer until more people get this game.
Nonetheless overall this is a very fun game and if you like mini-games and hectic but simple fun out of your multiplayer, this game is most definately worth a purchase. In fact, I urge you to buy this game so that I have more people to play online! In all honesty though, this is one of the best of its kind on the DS right now and is worth the money for both casual gamers and hardcore gamers. Enjoy.