Software:Bombastic (video game)

From HandWiki
Short description: 2002 video game
Bombastic
Developer(s)Shift
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: December 19, 2002
  • NA: August 26, 2003[1]
  • EU: January 16, 2004[2]
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Bombastic, known in Japan as XI Go (XIゴ), is a puzzle video game developed by Shift exclusively on PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Devil Dice.

Gameplay

Bombastic has similar gameplay to its predecessor, Devil Dice. The players controls a family of small devils (Aqui) that must traverse a level seen in isometric perspective that contains several standard six-sided dice. Players can walk on the ground, moving dice by pushing them, or walk on top of the dice, which rolls them onto the next face as the character walks. There are various gameplay modes, which determine the level objective and how dice are cleared.

Bombastic Style

Bombastic Style is a gameplay mode new to this title. When a group of adjacent dice has the same number of pips on their upper face, and the group consists of at least as many dice as the number of pips on that face, the dice start glowing, and after a while, explode and shoot flames in four directions. The larger the pip value, the longer the delay and the longer the flames. Dice can still be rolled or moved when glowing.

If a flame hits dice with equal or one pip fewer than the original die they also explode. With this chain rule, a player can form continuous explosions.

Trial Mode

Trial Mode has three submodes:

Standard: the player must keep clearing space in a 7x7 grid to survive, whilst the player's character gradually speeds up.

Limited: the player has three minutes in which to score as many points as possible.

Attack: ten stages with varying objectives, such as obtaining the most points in a fixed time, obtaining combos in a fixed time or clearing all dice in the shortest time.

Quest Mode

Quest Mode is an adventure over several levels, when Aqui brothers journey through 15 levels in 5 realms on the way to their grandfather, with each realm having a final boss to defeat.

Each level usually has various puzzles, all of which must be completed to progress. Touching an enemy character causes the player to lose a life. When all lives are lost they are replenished but progress on the current level is forfeited.

There are additional rewards for completing levels without losing any lives and for killing every enemy in the level without losing any lives.

The bosses at the ends of realms must be defeated by the blasts from exploding dice. Each boss has a unique ability.

Night-time stages are easier than their daytime counterparts.

War Mode

In War Mode, five players or computer-controlled players compete in a large grid to destroy dice and reduce the health of the other players. The last player alive wins.

Classic & Advanced styles

As progress is made in the game, styles can be unlocked.

Classic style follows the rules of Devil Dice; when a group of dice with identical top face is formed, which the size must be at least as the number of pips on the face, the dice start to sink to the grid and cannot be moved. When the dice has sunk halfway, they become "transparent". Dice can be rolled on top of these transparent dice (and the transparent dice vanishes immediately). Matching a die to a group of sinking dice will cause a chain; the new die starts sinking along with the original group.

Advanced style follows the rules of XI (sai) Jumbo; it adds the ability to jump with a die, allowing it to move atop the other dice and create combos more easily. It also allows the player to pick up an adjacent die; they can place it down into an adjacent space with the top face unchanged, or throw the die far and cause it to land on a random side.

Battle Mode

This mode replaces the Quest mode and is only available for the Classic and Advanced styles. It is a head-to-head mode where two players compete to "claim" different sides of dice by creating dice connections of those sides quickly. Depending on what was decided beforehand, the winner is decided when a player claims from three to all six sides first. Before a player reaches this goal, an opponent can "steal" a player's claim by making a connection of dice with the claimed number.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic72/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge7/10[4]
EGM8/10[5]
Eurogamer8/10[6]
Famitsu32/40[7]
Game Informer8/10[8]
GameRevolutionC+[9]
GameSpot7.1/10[10]
GameSpyStarStarStar[11]
GameZone8.2/10[12]
IGN8.5/10[13]
OPM (US)StarStarHalf star[14]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 32 out of 40.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Press Releases". 2003-12-10. http://www.capcom.com/news/news.xpml?prid=450092. 
  2. ↑ "What's New?" (in en-gb). Eurogamer.net. 2004-01-16. https://www.eurogamer.net/news160104whatsnew. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Bombastic for PlayStation 2 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/bombastic/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  4. ↑ Edge staff (December 25, 2003). "Bombastic". Edge (Future plc) (131): 124. 
  5. ↑ Boyer, Crispin; Tsao, Jennifer; Hsu, Dan (September 2003). "Bombastic". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (170): 113. http://www.egmmag.com/article2/0,2053,1491310,00.asp. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  6. ↑ Reed, Kristan (January 22, 2004). "Bombastic". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_bombastic_ps2. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "プレイステーション2 - XIゴ" (in Japanese). Famitsu (Enterbrain) 915: 84. June 30, 2006. 
  8. ↑ McNamara, Andy (September 2003). "Bombastic". Game Informer (GameStop) (125): 109. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200309/R03.0821.1018.46756.htm. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  9. ↑ Mr. Tickle (September 2003). "Bombastic Review". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/33562-bombastic-review. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  10. ↑ Davis, Ryan (August 25, 2003). "Bombastic Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/bombastic-review/1900-6073943/. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  11. ↑ Meston, Zach (August 30, 2003). "GameSpy: Bombastic". IGN Entertainment. http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/bombastic/6133p1.html. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  12. ↑ Watkins, Rob (September 17, 2003). "Bombastic - PS2 - Review". https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/bombastic_ps2_review/. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  13. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (August 26, 2003). "Bombastic". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/08/26/bombastic. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  14. ↑ Rybicki, Joe (September 2003). "Bombastic". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis): 93. http://www.playstationmagazine.com/article2/0,2053,1494379,00.asp. Retrieved August 13, 2019. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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