Bomberman Updated
Mars Miner is essentially Bomberman with somewhat improved graphics, designed for PCs, and with pretty smart level design. Either this sounds interesting already, or else you have no idea what I'm talking about. (Or you didn't like Bomberman, of course.)
In other words, it's a top-view arcade-style game in which you fight enemies by leaving bombs behind and either darting away or ducking around a corner while they explode. Each level is non-scrolling, with some arrangement of obstacles you have to blow up to get past, and enemies of varying capabilities -- low level ones do damage if they run into you, but others can shoot, or spawn low-level enemies, and so on. In addition, there are a slew of power-ups that do things like increase the explosive force of your bombs, allow you to move bombs after placement, nullify bombs you've placed before they explode, etc.
Players of Bomberman will grok the gameplay immediately, and others will find a pretty good tutorial (marred only by occasional English infelicities -- the developer is Ukrainian). They key to producing a superior game in a well-established style is, of course, solid level design, and that's something Mars Miner possesses -- intelligent increase in challenge over time, and a combination of interesting puzzles with sometimes challenging fast-action gameplay, the hallmark of the genre.
Innovative? Emphatically not, yet well done for what it is.
The developer says:
Have you ever dreamed to play Bomberman-like game with modern graphics and sound? Now you have a chance to do it with Mars Miner – a game that has all qualities of a classic time proved gameplay on a completely new level!
The hero finds himself on Mars. Now his primary objective is to stay alive and find his way back to Earth through an abandoned Martian mine and a laboratory. A variety of hideous and crafty monsters are lurking on the way. Each of them is extremely dangerous, but when they hunt together, they are a real hazard, owing to the unique AI.
Players who like dynamic games will enjoy playing Mars Miner. The game will be interesting to all categories of players, from beginners to experienced arcade players. Superior graphics together with excellent music background create a fascinating atmosphere. You’ll want to get immersed in this world again and again.
An excellent Story mode and an almost unlimited Survival won’t let you get bored!
Features
- Cute pre-rendered and fully-animated graphics
- Recreation of classic Bomberman's gameplay
- More than 40 detailed levels
- 16 unique monsters with highly intellectual AI
- 12 various bonuses
- Online high-score board
- Nice atmospheric music and 3D sound
- Three game modes: Story, Survival and Hotseat
- Interesting story-line with a couple of mini-games
Reviews
"Mars Miner is at heart a loving remake of a well known classic and once you get into it you may find it hard to stop."
- 70/100, Bytten
"It's Bomberman with updated graphics and a darker theme. Unlike Bomberman: Act Zero, this game is actually good. Mars Miner takes the bomb-blasting fun from the series and updates it with a little sci-fi twist. Several modes of play add life to the game, but in the end, blowing stuff up is all the fun we need."
- Joystiq
"It's like when Starship Troopers, Damnation Alley and Bomberman get puréed in a blender. The added survival mode is a feature I personally found to be more interesting (and challenging) than the stage mode. Still, it's not too bad a game...and its solid design and snazzy visuals keep this title a little above average."
- 6/10, Game Tunnel
"Challenging, beautiful to look at, and a fun way to spend any spare time you might have while remembering the joy of being able to fire up a game and just play without the need for any 600-page guide from Prima, Mars Miner has bombed its way onto my laptop, permanently."
- 4/5, Blogcritic's Review