he is saved by Regulus, knocking him away and destroying the Omni Cube. With the aid of Regulus, Bomberman defeats Sirius. Without the power of the Omni Cube, the Rainbow Palace crashes into the Black Fortress, destroying both, as Regulus escapes with Bomberman, informing him that he was surprised with Bomberman's ability to defeat Sirius, as he and his comrades had considerable difficulty taking the Omni Cube from Sirius. Regulus leaves Planet Bomber, stating that one day he will have a rematch with his new rival, Bomberman, who celebrates his victory. Development After working on the game for about six months, the development team scrapped all their initial designs and started anew due to the emergence of more advanced 3D games on the market. It was subsequently exhibited at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Reception Bomberman 64 received mixed reviews. Critics almost unanimously commented that, in a reversal of the Bomberman series's most fundamental trend, the single-player mode is much better than the multiplayer mode. However, their opinions of the overall quality of these modes varied. Doug Perry from IGN applauded the single-player mode for its intrigue and inventiveness, particularly the bomb bridging and tower-building abilities, and stated that the multiplayer mode, while not the best of the series, is accessible and benefits from well-designed arenas. Joe Fielder from GameSpot instead judged the single-player mode to be a satisfying improvement over previous Bomberman single-player experiences, but not essential, and said that the multiplayer mode has "lost all the addictive charm that so positively defined the series." Shawn Smith and Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly considered the multiplayer mode outright problematic, remarking that the 3D format, which occasionally makes it difficult to see what the player character is doing even in single-player mode, is a constant hassle in multiplayer. Hsu commented that "in my book, certain games should stay 2-D, and the B-man series is no exception." Their co-reviewer Crispin Boyer opined that the multiplayer simply gets old quickly, while Kraig Kujawa found it sufficiently intense and fun, though not as good as in previous installments. GamePro found that the analog stick control works fine in single-player mode, but causes heavy aggravation in the heat of the multiplayer battle mode. However, the reviewer concluded that the single-player mode is good enough to make the game worth buying. Notes References External links 1997 video games Action-adventure games 64 Hudson Soft games