Atomic Bomberman

Manuals

UK manual (PDF)

Download here (1.8MB Zip file)

Websites

Interplay site (backup)

A refreshingly simple promotional page, featuring downloads for the Second Alpha demo and intro movie, as well as links to Bomberman fansites circa 1997.
An older version included a Pre-Alpha Demo along with some early footage.
The backups are missing some downloads and unrelated images, but are otherwise complete.

Gamecenter.com review

Atomic Bomberman has some of the newer power-ups but also omits some classics like kangaroos (introduced in Super Bomberman 3). This will thrill Bomberman purists and anger Bomberman extremists. It is not widely known outside of console circles, but a political struggle has been raging for years between these two Bomberman factions. The struggle revolves around which Bomberman game is best, and since there is no clear favorite, Bomberman matches often determine the philosophical victor.

Published July 24th 1997, reviewed by Hugh Falk. Awarded 8 out of 10.

GameSpot review

Interplay has made some real jumps forward with the game by adding customizable characters, game rules, and more. But Atomic Bomberman is one of this year's biggest missed opportunities.

Published August 15th 1997, reviewed by Trent Ward. Awarded 5.7 out of 10.

Magazine scans

NEXT Generation (volume three, issue 27)

The kangaroos and other strange creatures that are bonus items in Bomberman 3 have been replaced with high-tech looking hovercraft and speed bikes, although their capabilities within the game are precisely the same.

Indeed, the majority of the alterations to Hudson's iteration are, in the end, purely cosmetic. Airey explains, "Our goal isn't to try and make it better - I don't think we could - just to keep it as good as it is. But we do want to make it more visually fulfilling, add a little more variety. When the guys are dying, there are going to be some different deaths in there, so it's not the same every time. We're adding taunts, so if in the middle of killing other players you want to pause for a second and make rude gestures, you can - although not too rude, or Hudson would never approve it."

Airey continues, "Something we're also toying with is giving each Bomberman a different personality based on color, which would give each different animations - the blue guy would be kind of sad, so he kind of mopes around, the red guy would be real mad, so when he throws a bomb he really hums it hard. Just different stuff so it's not all the same. We want to give it some extra character."

At press time, the total number of participants per match had yet to be finalized. "Initially our idea was to offer twice the number of players that exist in any other version of Bomberman," Airy ^[sic] cracks. "Then came Saturn Bomberman with ten players, and there was no way we could make it handle twenty!" For now, a more modest goal of five to ten players per game is the target.

Dated March 1997, a preview in name only, because there's no game on display! Instead high-resolution renders of the 3D model are shown off (including one of an otherwise unused vehicle!) along with comments from project leader Jeremy Airey; apparently the game's code was based off of Super Bomberman 3! Scans from the Internet Archive.

GamePro (issue 105)

Dated June 1997. A quick preview featuring some early footage and different graphics. Scan from the Internet Archive.

PC Gamer (issue 44)

It's such a perfect, simple, enjoyable game that it's astounding it's never been seen on the PC before. We asked the producer/director Jeremy Airey why the transition took so long. "It seems that oddly enough, nobody ever really thought about it. Frame rate on slow systems may be a reason. I guess it's a good thing, because now Interplay get to publish it!"

They've also added plenty of new features, but Jeremy is at pains to point out that the classic game is still there if you'd prefer. "We have made the game 100% customisable, so anything you like, don't like, or find is missing, you can add, adjust, replace, etc. We realise that there are a number of Bomberman games out there, and we didn't want to cater to any one group. In a perfect world we make everybody happy, and that's what we're hoping for with this."

Dated June 1997, a preview that spends half its write-up explaining the concept of Bomberman and referring to Ubi Soft's MS-DOS port of PC-Engine Bomberman as a knockoff, strangely. Features some keen commentary from multi-tasking developer Jeremy Airey. Scan from OldGamesMags.

Computer and Video Games (issue 189)

Bomberman has always been one of the simplest games in existence, which is where its main appeal lies. It's cute, addictive, no-nonsense fun where gameplay is king. Atomic Bomberman doesn't seem to realise any of these points, which is why I find it such a mess. Lucky Hudson Soft - for they weren't responsible for this version! The speech is plain annoying, immature and not funny. The graphics don't retain the feel of the original games, plus there's far too much slowdown. There's no one-player game, only a battle mode, and no high-ten mode like the Saturn version. This means if you're having a ten-player battle, the game takes place in a standard sized arena. 'What have they done' has been the general response from all in the office, a genuine chorus of disapproval. For PC owners starved of B-man thrills, this still plays alright - but nowhere near great.

Dated August 1997, reviewed by Alex Huhtala. Awarded 2 out of 5. Scans from the Internet Archive.

PC Mag (Vol. 16 No. 18)

Just as the movie industry is recycling classic TV shows, computer game developers are bringing back—and breathing new life into—classic arcade games. The best example of this trend is the new PC version of the Super NES game Atomic Bomber- man. This simple but highly addictive game offers plenty of new features as well as fun, multiplayer excitement. [...] One problem is that playing against the computer is tough, tough, tough. You'll probably have a lot more fun playing against your friends.

Dated October 21st 1997, reviewed by Shane Mooney. Awarded 4 stars out of 5. Scan from Google Books.

GamePro (issue 109)

The backgrounds sport nice detail, but sometimes they are too detailed, causing the screen to look messy. On the sound side, there’s a lively but uninteresting music soundtrack full of dance beats and wacky noises [...] Atomic Bomberman really preserves the classic series’ essential elements and adds only worthwhile enhancements. It’s great action for gamers with a short fuse.

Dated October 1997, reviewed by "Dan Electro". The individual scores average to 4.25 out of 5. Scan from the Internet Archive.

Secret Service Magazine (issue 50)

THE GOOD: Dzięki ladnej i szczególowej grafice ATOMIC BOMBERMAN prezentuje się bardzo okazale. Postacie Bomberów posiadają wiele klatek animacji i ruszają się z wlaściwą sobie gracją i wdziękiem. Wszedzie jest bardzo kolorowo, miło i przyjemnie. W grze znajduje się przepotężna (prawie pół kompaktu!) ilość dżwięków i muzyki — dzięki kilogramom sampli każdy z Bomberów nabiera swoistych cech osobowości. [...] THE BAD: Zacznijmy od tego, że ATOMIC BOMBERMAN prezentuje futurystyczne podejście do tematu. Być może Amerykanie nie rozumieją tej gry tak jak Japończycy, ale po przeróbce na techno-wojowników postacie Bomberów w moich oczach wiele stracily. To już nie jest mały, uśmiechnięty koleżka, którego chciałoby się poklepać po ramieniu - teraz to futurystyczny wojownik-morderca w cyber—skafandrze, pragnący za wszelką cenę wyeliminować nieprzyjaciół. Szczerze mówiąc, wolałem tego z DYNA BLASTER. Najbardziej zaskoczył mnie jednak brak właściwego trybu rozgrywki dla jednego gracza. W innych grach z Bombermanem (choćby wspomniany DYNA BLASTER czy SATURN BOMBERMAN) zawsze czekał porzągdnie rozbudowany tryb dla samotnego Bombera, gdzie wysadzało sie mnóstwo pociesznych potworków, aby w końcu powalczyć z wielkim bossem. Wszystko, co dostajemy w ATOMIC BOMBERMAN, to jedynie emulator trybu multiplayer, gdzie rolę ludzi przejmuje na siebie komputer myślący za innych graczy — dla mnie to zdecydowanie za mało.

THE GOOD: Thanks to the nice and detailed graphics ATOMIC BOMBERMAN looks very impressive. Bomber characters have many frames of animation and move with their own style and grace. It's all very colourful and high quality. The game has a magnificent amount of sounds and music (filling almost half the CD!) - thanks to the kilograms of sound files, each of the Bombers gains specific personality traits. [...] THE BAD: Let's start with the fact that ATOMIC BOMBERMAN presents a futuristic approach to the subject. Perhaps the Americans don't understand this game like the Japanese do, but after the transformation into techno-warriors, the Bombermen lost a lot of charm. This is no longer the small, smiling friend who you'd happily pat on the shoulder - now he is a futuristic cyber-killer who wants to kill his enemies no matter the cost. Honestly, I preferred them in DYNA BLASTER. What surprised me the most, however, is the lack of proper single player gameplay. In other games with Bomberman (even the mentioned DYNA BLASTER or SATURN BOMBERMAN), there was always a well-prepared mode for the lonely Bomber, where a lot of funny monsters were blown up, leading up to a big boss fight. Everything we get in ATOMIC BOMBERMAN is just a multiplayer mode emulator, where the role of people is taken over by a computer thinking for other players - it's not enough for my liking.

Dated October 1997, reviewed by "Gulash". Although impressed with the quality of graphics, the reviewer is less pleased with the art style, the lousy internet connectivity, its dodgy performance on certain machines and the lack of single-player campaign. Awarded 4 out of 10. Scan from the Internet Archive.

Credits

Executive Producer

Alan Pavlish

Producer

Jeremy Airey

Line Producer

Brian McInemy

Programmer

Kurt Dekker

Animations

Michael McCarthy
Jason Zirpolo

Artwork / Intro

Saffire Corporation
Howard Lyon
Carson Davidson
Alan Tew
Mike Tidwell
Ryan Wood
Don Seegmiller
Paul Grimshaw
Card Millward
Billy Eggington

Game Design

Jeremy Airey
Kurt Dekker

Fredit Boy

Jeremy Airey

Additional Design

Brian McInemy
Alan Barasch
the rest of Interplay

Director of QA

Chad Allison

Assistant Director of QA

Colin Totman

QA Techs

Aaron Meyers
Bill Delk

Lead Tester

Rene Hakiki

Testers (Bomb Squad)

Bill Field
Josh Walters
Chris Peak
Savina Greene
Jim Harrison
Kaycee Vardaman
Ed Robles
Doug Finch
Anthony Taylor
Jeremy Ray

Marketing Manager

Stacy Bremrner

Public Relations Manager

Julia Roether

Traffic Manager

Thom Dohner

Manual Written by

Jeremy Airey

Manual Design & Layout

Craig Owens

Game sound effects

Larry Peacock
Caron Weidner

Cinematic sound effects

Caron Weidner
Charles Deenen

VO supervisorfdirector

Chris Borders

VO talent

Charlie Adler
Billy West

VO editing

Doug Rappaport
Ron Valdez

Audio Mastering

Craig Duman

Music

Johann Langlie

Music supervision

Brian Luzietti

Re-recording mixer

Chharles Deenen

Technical Support

Hilleri Abel
Matt Byrne
Mark Linn
Rafael Lopez
Rick Sanford
Alton Tuttle
Rusty Treadway
Brennan Easlick
Paul Dew
Brian Quilter
Tom Gardner
Gunnar Christensen
Jennifer Purcaro

Customer Service

Erin Smith
Becky Bryan
Yasmin Vazquez
Kori Rosencranz

Special Thanks

John Greiner
Hudson Soft
Michael Quarles
Fat Blunt & The Boys
Tim Cain
and Sean Johnson

Dedicated to

Rayna Marie Airey
Sharon Renee Airey

UK Producer

Sarah Thompson

UK Lead Test

Ben Pettifer

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