Sadly, the story is very weak. You'll have to button mash your way through seemingly endless, nonsensical dialogue throughout. Moreover, players will have to go back and forth between the five different zones in order to get Zone Pieces that staff members inexplicably wouldn't give you the first time around. This becomes very annoying, very quickly. In fact, knowing when to venture back to the various zones to obtain the missing pieces is the only challenge, and that's not a good thing. Gratefully, the Attractions are decent and definitely the most rewarding aspect of the story mode. However, they are extremely easy. If you do find an Attraction that somehow stumps you, you can simply use an Easy Pass or a Super Pass to lower the difficulty. The story just doesn't offer enough of a challenge, nor is it well enough designed to merit your time. The only thing it has going for it are the mediocre mini-games that may actually sucker you into beating the game. My suggestion would be to get the mini-games from a friend that also owns the title.

The graphics and sounds are run of the mill at best. The visuals just do not capitalize on the power of the PSP. For a series with such a long history, it's time for the world of Bomberman to start looking a lot more like the Mushroom Kingdom. In other words, there's a lot of detail that could be fleshed out to make for a much more captivating presentation. This is also the case with the music and sound effects. The BGM theme is very repetitive, and the string of beeps that represent character voices grate on you. I expect a lot more from this franchise.

Mercifully, the controls are very simple to use. The mini-games, battles, and menus are all negotiated with ease. However, I'm sure this game will be far superior on the Wii and especially on the DS. Indeed, the PSP controls are so simple that they make the mini-games seem boring. There is, quite frankly, no challenge outside of the classic battles.

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Bomberman Land is pretty much the same game you've played time and again. The Battle Game is rock solid and fully customizable. However, the Story mode really misses the mark. As a result, the title isn't nearly as deep or fulfilling as it could be. The ability to play the game with up to four people with only one UMD is an excellent feature that almost makes up for the fact that there is no online multiplayer component. The graphics and sounds don't take advantage of the PSP's strengths and the controls are so easy to use that the player is never challenged. In conclusion, Bomberman Land is a simple title that won't keep you entertained for very long. If you still need to pick up this game, then I encourage you to do so for the DS; the PSP doesn't seem to be the ideal platform.

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Lead Contributor / News Director