In an odd twist of fate, I played Christmas Bomberic before I had a chance to check out the original. While I thought the classic gameplay was a refreshing trip down memory lane, the lack of a multi-player mode kept it from being wonderful.
Now because this version was obviously released before the Christmas edition, I knew I wasn't going to get multi-player support. However, I was surprised by the diverse graphics, which range from Christmas environments to traditional landscapes. The classic board and characters are much more impressive than they are in their festive state. Considering that they were impressive before, that says a lot.
Mechanics are consistent between the two versions; you travel around a 2D board watching for enemies, blowing things up and attempting to score as many bonuses as you can. The power-ups are impressive, ranging from X-Ray vision to snail-like speed.
Still, I hope that Alawar is working on an upgrade to Bomberic that will offer the hours upon hours of fun to be had from multi-player action.
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