Bombastic - PS2

To the uneducated gamer, the puzzler genre begins and ends with the famed Game Boy iteration of Tetris, and all other offerings pale in comparison. But games such as Dr Mario, Columns and the more recent IQ are worthy of any gamer’s time and effort. But in this case, we look at the sequel to one of PlayStation’s greatest puzzlers - Devil Dice.

Picked up by Capcom Eurosoft and released under the name of Bombastic, this latest offering essentially serves to offer more of what Devils Dice offered - frenetic, quick-thinking gameplay. Like its predecessor, Bombastic is played on a small grid-like environment that is littered with die that must be eliminated in order to progress to later stages of the game. Fundamentally, your task is to match sides of the die together in order to create an explosion that will hopefully create a chain reaction and eliminate other die on the grid. It’s essentially a game of number logic, but the game is made a little more frantic when extra die creep onto the grid. There’s also a time limit - it’s a game that requires composure, patience and quick-thinking abilities.

Bombastic does, however, offer several new game options and gameplay tweaks that will challenge even the most skilled Devil Dice player. Here, in certain sections of the game players are able to push die as well as roll them. It’s minor addition but it has great significance and will eventually influence how you approach a level. Other options include Attack and Trial modes, and there’s also a Quest mode for those that need reason behind their efforts in Bombastic.

Bombastic is another fine puzzler for PlayStation 2 - expect to see more rolling die in future years. more