Review NaN of 1
Price Paid:
$10.00
from EB's Summary:
Bombastic is the sequel to a PS1 game from Japan known as Devil Dice. It was available only as an import here, and few gamers have heard of it. The original Devil Dice is included in this release. It is one of those weird niche games that developers like Capcom and Treasure are famous for.
Bombastic is a dice game, and it is based on the ancient but not very well known fact that there is a simple mathematical relationship between the pips on a standard die. That relationship is that the sum of the pips on any two opposite sides of the die is seven. So, if you see a die with a five on top, there is a two on the bottom. A four on top means there is a three on the bottom. A one up top means a six underneath, and so on.
Understanding this is essential to playing Bombastic. There are several playmodes immediately available in Bombastic, and more that you can unlock. The game is an action/puzzle game, and it is unusual in that though there is a strong emphasis on the action play element, you will need to keep your brain in high gear as well. This game is definitely not a pick up and play title. The learning curve is one of the highest I've ever encountered in a console game. But, if you have the patience to learn it, Bombastic will prove to be one of the most addictive puzzlers you'll ever play.
I'll explain the main Single Player Mode first. There is a 7x7 grid, with a few dice on it in random orientations. You have a character known as an Aqua-Chan, that balances one die at a time by walking along the top. He can walk in any of the four cardinal directions, and his movement is controlled by the Directional Buttons. When your Aqua-Chan gets to the edge of the die, the die rolls in that direction, if there is a clear space on the grid. This, of course, moves the die one space in that direction. You can move as long as there are empty spaces, and roll the die, one space at a time, as you see fit. If there is not a clear space, and another die is blocking your movement, your Aqua-Chan walks over that die and tries to move it. If there is a whole lot of immovable dice, the Aqua-chan runs along the tops of them until it encounters one it can move.
The goal is to align dice so that they will Ignite. The dice, you see, are bombs, hence the name Bombastic. If you align the same or greater number of dice that is represented by the pips, they all Ignite. By aligning I mean they must all touch each other on a straight edge, not on a corner. So, if you align four or more 4's, they Ignite. Six or more 6's will also Ignite. And so on. But, there are twists. The higher the number on the pips, the longer it takes for the dice to explode. If you align two 2's, you have a few seconds. If you align six 6's you have thirty seconds of so, depending on the difficulty level. When dice explode, they ignite non-adjacent dice of their own number within a certain line-of-sight range. Plus, they will also Ignite the next number down if those dice are directly touching the exploding ones. So, if you Ignite four (or more) 4's, and there are individual 3's touching the 4's when they go off, those dice will then Ignite. This is known as a Chain Reaction. And, Ones ignite only when adjacent to another exploding die.
You need to move the freshly Ignited dice to form new groups, because that is how you increase your score. For instance, if you've successfully lined up four 4's, and they ignite, you can then roll one of the glowing 4's and have it ignite a group of 6's, if you can get 6 to be on top and if you already have five 6's waiting to be Ignited .If you do not have any dice Ignited, your score will then begin to decrease. You need to move the Ignited dice into position, but if you are on one when it goes off, it's Game Over. Fortunately, you can tell when a dice is getting ready to explode because it gets a brighter and brighter shade of red over time and trembles before it goes off.
Another reason you must clear as many dice as possible is because new ones keep rising up through the floor. As you clear levels, they rise up faster and faster. This reduces your manouvering room, making it harder to get the alignments that you need. If all 49 spaces fill up with dice and you have none Ignited, it's Game Over.
This game has so many different playmodes it's unreal. There is a level clearing mode, a timed mode, a mission mode, and a Quest mode. The latter is played RPG style, with goals to attain and bosses to fight. These are played on tracks, where you have to perform certain alignments in a limited space. And there are several entirely different play modes that can only be unlocked by improving your game.
Bombastic supports several multiplayer modes as well. With a Multitap, it supports up to five players at once in a free for all mode where the last Aqua-Chan living is the winner.
This is not a title for the average gamer. Most gamers want some instant gratification, and I have to tell you, I got this game out of the package and it was four or five hours before I got a handle on what was going on. Although the sides of the dice are color coded, it's difficult at first to keep track of how to roll a die to get the number you want. There is a decent enough tutorial mode, but the manual has translation issues, and the whole concept behind the game is strange. Obviously, it's going to take a while for the average gamer to master the play mechanic.
But, if you can get to the higher levels of Tetris regularly, and you have some patience and enjoy a challange, then go out and buy this game. You will be amazed at how fast time gets away from you. Capcom has produced a jewel for hard core puzzle gamers, and if that description fits you then you need this game in your library. For $10, it's a steal. Report this review >>
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