If you've never played Bomberman before, you're missing something rather special. First introduced on the scene back in the days of the NES and the Turbo Grafx 16, Bomberman eventually became a staple in the history of party video games.
The game itself focuses on survival in general, where a limited playfield makes for many opportunities for traps and cunning strategy. You must destroy your other enemies on the board via heavily powered bombs, which can be strategically placed or knocked away into a position where players can be eliminated and a winner for each round can be crowned. 
Since its introduction, the Bomberman saga has made several memorable stops, including a stint on the Sega Saturn that, to this day, still remains right up there as one of the best titles for the system. A couple of lame-brained stops on the Nintendo 64 slowed the success a little bit, but not enough for people to forget about it altogether. Now, at the end of the life cycle of Sega's Dreamcast console, a new Bomberman title has come along with more options than ever before. But does it rock?
Bomberman Online once again brings forth the programming prowess of the originators of the series, Hudson Soft. If the name sounds familiar, it should- these guys have also brought forth such licenses as the Adventure Island games and Bonk series. They have old-school blood flowing in their veins and it continues to be on a healthy run with this latest release. This is old-school Bomberman all over again, although the appearance is surprisingly contemporary and not as distracting as you might think.
Visuals:: When you first view the introductory movie and the bouncy title screen, you know you're in for something special. Graphics-wise, Hudson Soft has employed a well-working 3-D engine for the game that comes to life very nicely. Each of the characters and areas show off a cel-shaded look not unlike Jet Grind Radio's unique presentation, and the animation is smooth and flowing, just as it should be. The playfields look great as always, and sometimes seem a bit trickier thanks to action happening outside the field, such as cranes swooping by and sometimes distracting your vision of what's going on.
Gameplay/Control:: As for gameplay, if you're used to Bomberman, then you'll like what you find here. If you're not, well...it's a good time to start, now ain't it? The analog and D-pad control are right on, and laying down bombs and using other tactical weapons like power gloves still comes off like a snap. Gone is the putrid 3-D gameplay that plagued Bomberman 64, as Hudson Soft has gone back to their collective roots to keep things in check. The challenge remains well on with the computer AI, although, as you should know, nothing
beats playing against your friends.
The game supports up to four players offline, and if you hop online, you have the capability of playing against up to seven other people. However, from what I noticed, the online options still need some smoothing over, only because of slight lag and some disconnect problems if you try to stack up more than four players in a single game. Four player matches, however, are terrific, and just as fun as they've always been. Just mind the fact that you can be trapped in a field of bombs a lot easier than you think if you're
not careful.
The view is at an angle, and this may confuse some people at first who are used to the game's top-down presentations. But, hey, at least it's not as badly warped as Atomic Bomberman over on the PC, and, after a few trial and error run-throughs, you'll like the fluidity of it all. It doesn't look 128-bit, but then again, it doesn't have to, and everything, right down to the flowing explosions of the bombs themselves and the cute designs on the items, matches the legacy of Bomberman while still somehow looking sweet. Very nice.
Audio:: As for the sound, well, it's definitely Bomberman, which may not meet to everyone's standards if you're looking for a hard-rocking soundtrack. But the bouncy cartoonish soundtrack is a lot of fun, with plenty of toe-tapping tunes playing throughout each stage to keep a goofy grin on your face. The sound effects are top notch, especially the thunderous explosions of the bombs and the indications of which item you pick up. The voicework is a little bit too high-pitched for its own good (it's hard to take "Battle game!" seriously when it's being spoken by someone that sounds like Little Orphan Annie), but overall the sound presentation is cool.
Extras:: As if the main game wasn't enough, there's several optional games that you can take on as well, like the fast-paced Hyper Bomberman, the somewhat cool Survival Mode, the entertaining Panel Paint and Ring Modes, and the strangely likable Submarine Mode, which seems more based on side-to-side torpedo bombing than the usual Bomberman modes. Still, any of these games are worth trying out a few times, either solo or with a friend or two or three.
Overall:: To be honest, I was afraid that the Bomberman series might have gone away entirely after the discouraging release of Bomberman Hero, a game that really didn't focus on any multiplayer aspects at all. I'm glad that Hudson Soft decided to stick with it and eventually came through with what would be one of the finest Dreamcast games around. It may not look like a million dollars, but looks aren't everything, folks. Bomberman Online has the gameplay, the options, and the presentation of a winner, and if you give it a try, you'll be hooked. How's that for explosive results?
Score:: 9.0/10
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