Bomberman makes his explosive debut on the PlayStation Network, but is the game a blast to play? The familiar formula is here: Adorable characters armed with infinite arsenals of upgradeable bombs. The game’s charming personality is sure to please the younger crowds, while its intense action will keep everyone else interested.

The first thing you’ll notice when booting up the game is its vibrant character; everything from the cartoony characters to the upbeat music reflects this cheerful persona. If you’re finding the brown palettes of the numerous FPS games boring, this is a great escape. The true potential of Bomberman is revealed when you get some friends to join in on the crazy experience. You have the option of playing alone or with up to three friends locally or online. The online modes include Battles and Tournaments (fairly self-explanatory), and after that you can see where you are on the leaderboards.

If you decide to play locally you can have a maximum of 7 human players in the game (8 players max, including CPU, and 4 human players locally when playing online) and there is a plethora of stages and different game modes to choose from as well. There are 15 arenas and four modes to mix up the gameplay (and goals). You have the Classic arena, which will be familiar to anyone who’s played a Bomberman game before. If you want to play on something a little different there is the Lost World arena that has quicksand traps, Thin Ice (cracks in the ice), Ghost Town (trap doors), and many other stages that offer slight changes in the goals. The modes mix up the gameplay even more: Zombie mode makes you immortal and the goal of Paint Bomb is to paint as many tiles as you can.  All of these arenas offer small changes to the gameplay to keep the game from getting dull without changing it too drastically.

The customization system is great; there are many options to choose from to help you distinguish yourself from the other players on the stage (this comes in handy when playing with other people). You can scroll through dozens of costumes that can be mix and matched to change your character’s head, face, and body. After many hours of playing the game it never got old seeing my Bomberman dressed in a pirate costume (peg leg and all) get blown sky high only to get revived on the side of the stage to get my revenge. In the normal game mode when you die you are spawned inside a vehicle on a track that encircles the arena, giving you the chance to avenge your death. When you take out an opponent you are given a second life. 

Bomberman is a cute game that’s sure to liven up any dreary Sunday afternoon. The music, dialogue, characters, menus, and effects are all tailored to reflect the game’s unique personality. This isn’t the type of game that can be played excessively, as there isn’t enough variety in the gameplay. But if you’re looking for a solid arcade game to play with friends or even the entire family, you can’t go wrong with this game.

Gameplay: 7.5
There isn’t much variety in the gameplay itself, but the powerups and numerous arenas (with different game modes) definitely make up for it.

Graphics: 7.0
The menus are vivid, the arenas colorful, and the characters are adorable.

Sound: 8.5
The music is as fun as the game, but the dialogue gets a little annoying after awhile.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The difficulty really depends on the people you play against, but there isn’t a learning curve so everyone can just pick up and play it.

Concept: 7.0
Bomberman won’t be winning any awards for innovation, but what it does it does well.

Multiplayer: 9.0
By far the game’s best feature, the ability to play with friends online or on a single console (as well as NPCs) makes this game highly replayable.

Overall: 8.3
This is a great game; if you’re looking for something to play with your friends this is definitely a buy.