PDAMill released Xplodus, a Bomberman clone

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http://www.pdamill.com/prod_xp.shtml?ref=newsletter#ss

There are dozens of Bomberman clones for the Pocket PC. (In addition to the Wiki article, which, unfortunately, doesn’t list online/Pocket PC games, I recommend this Flash animation if you don’t know the genre and want to quickly get familiar with it, without the need to download/install anything). The new title, Xplodus by the infamous Hungarian multiplatform games company PDAMill, is the latest release in this genre. The game is available here. I don’t speak much of the game itself – if you know a Bomberman clone, you know them all. Also, you will be able to navigate the menus/setting dialogs after some seconds of starting the game so I don’t elaborate on them either. That is, let’s move straight to the pros/cons section – something a decent comparative review should always have. Pros
  1. broad device compatibility: it’s compliant with even Pocket PC 2002 devices, which is admirable – and, also with the WM5-upgraded HP iPAQ hx4700. On all my six test devices (iPAQ h3660, h2210, WM5 hx4700, Pocket Loox 720, Dell Axim x51v, HTC Wizard), it works without problems
  2. doesn’t have high resource demands; works great for example on both my almost 5-year-old iPAQ 3660 and “slow” HTC Wizard
  3. your sprite can be, as opposed to most other Bomberman clones, controlled by the stylus. This also means you can play the game on devices with non-gaming-friendly D-pads (including the hx4700).
  4. it even has (a limited) pathfinding algorithm if you use the stylus - that is, it's much easier to control than most other Bomberman clones!
  5. pretty good in-game music (not stereo though)
  6. pretty cheap ($10)
Cons (note that this section is more of nitpicking as the game is perfectly playable and enjoyable)
  1. no multiplayer as opposed to Infinite Dreams’ Explode Arena or 4Pockets' Great Gold Rush, the two other, really good Bomberman clones
  2. QVGA resolution “only” – no Hi-Res version. (Nevertheless, it works great on VGA devices too.)
Verdict The game is pretty good; I certainly recommend giving the trial a try. Other Bomberman clones worth knowing of / giving a try If interested, you may also want to check out section 3.1 (Bomberman clones) in the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I for more games in this genre, some of them being free. UPDATE (03/23/2007): Allen Gall's review
Werner Ruotsalainen's picture

Allen Gall's excellent review of the game can be found here.

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