Third Strike y'all, it's Bomb-Up Pack 3.

I haven't had much of an opportunity to share this news earlier, but a new Bomberman Live expansion pack is scheduled to launch this Wed. The new add-on pack will create an even greater amount of diversity introducing 10 NEW characters, two additional levels, a new game mode and of course… more leaderboards to pine over for bragging rights. Not that I'd know anything about that last option. :p

Now chances are, unless you're a diehard fan, this news is going to create any major impact on your personal lives. For me, it's simply creating an even greater challenge to actually stop playing and indulge the unwrapped games sitting on my shelf. And during this time of year, that's a LOT of untapped gaming goodness waiting to be enjoyed. Unless you've taken the time to sit down for an hour or two online with Bomberman Live, you have NO idea of its sheer addictive power. I am a prime example of its influence. Read on for more details on the forthcoming expansion pack details:

Ten New Characters - With new characters like "Shinobi Bomb" the
ninja and "Bomb2-D2" the robot, players can customize their in-game Bomberman in even more new ways.

Two Additional Levels - New arenas include "Cavity Land," a sugarysweet candy land, and the industrial "Robot Factory." Both levels allow users to select any gimmick to use.

One New Game Mode - In "Friendly Fire," there's no place to hide asyou race to get the most frags.  Players start with the "power bomb"power-up and hard blocks are replaced by holes, leaving nothing to stop explosions, except Bombermen!.    

Two New Leaderboards - Gaze down upon the Bomberman masses from atoptwo new ranking systems on the Xbox LIVE network. The new leaderboards will track performance on both a weekly and an all-time basis for the new "Friendly Fire" game mode.

Finally, the evil gameplay quirks have come to an end.

Admit it, you didn't think a patch was ever going to come out.

Well it's finally here and I for one, couldn't be happier. It was only a matter of time before Hudson would step up and release the much-needed patch to address some gameplay related issues affecting Bomberman Live. Though with the recent decline of online competitors, has the update possibly arrived too late? It seems I am one of the few actively diehard fans who actually bother with playing it throughout the week.

Much of the changes are directly related to the matchmaking and a few are actually critical to the actual battles themselves. I for one, am thankful that they've lowered the amount of time it takes to locate a match as well as adding the ability to preview matches before jumping into ranked games. Up till now, that used to be exclusive to player matches. And that new "Dangerous Bomb" combination sounds delightfully evil. Now if only they could do something about those darn quitters. Below is just a few of the improvements which the free update has tweaked:

Break out the duster, guess who's dusted off their keyboard?

Man, what day is it? These days, my life just seems like it's a total blur. It's like I live in a totally different era and all the sweeping changes in the past few years have been mind-blowing. Ok, maybe not — but when I announced months ago that I was a father — ya, that blew TONS of people away. That reality has finally settled in. Some five months later… Lindsay has reached the point where it's only a matter of time when those babbled utterances will convert into actual speech which I can comprehend into blissful things like "Daddy, I love you…", "Buy me this, NOW" and my personal favorite: "Why!?" But for now, she's still in that ever-so-enjoyable infancy period, discovering her hands and toes. Y'know… the things that make us parents cherish those monumental firsts that we wish could be timeless. I am living it all up now because as time goes on, things will get a lot more challenging, yet fun too.

I suppose a quick recap of what I've been up to is in order but that would take much longer than I have the desire to type out right now. What I can tell you is that I've definitely been exposed to a rich amount of different releases since the last time I've blogged, but… I keep running back to that classic Hudson franchise which the GN knows all to well. Bomberman Live still owns me. Sorry Halo 3, you may have managed to get the world to dedicate every waking moment to run 'n gun, but I can't pass up the chance to kick ass with the good 'ol Bomberman. And yes, I DID beat the game on the Legendary campaign mode, thank you very much. I even spent time unlocking those haha-easy-multiplayer achievements… but then I ran back to Bomberman Live. It's hard to say how much longer this game will occupy my time though. Super SF2 HD Remix will be out really soon, followed by MGS4, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (yeah, I am intrigued enough to play it). Truth be told though… the game is starting to lose interest. Halo 3 is mostly to blame and my guess is that the fans have just grown tired of playing it as much as me. I was hoping to hit the top 20 before the year was over, but with the gradual decline of players hitting up the Ranked matches, that goal may no longer be attainable. Sad is me. 

One thing… ok, there's a few things I can't stand about people on that. Number 1… people are HORRIBLE sports. Folks, don't host matches if you're just going to quit. Second, stop hating on minorities. If you really have something against blacks, hispanic, asians, etc…. get over yourself. Better yet, do the rest of us a favor and kindly pretend as if you lack the ability to communicate with the Xbox Live Communicator. Third… IT'S JUST A GAME. Actually… all you spoil sports need to plaster that verbiage on your wall or something. Too many players take it for granted that since they can play with an anonymously… that gives them a right to be jerks. It's unfortunate that MS is spending more time counting their cash then focusing on setting up proper administration procedures. I am told that Live is monitored often, but there still seems to be more punks than good-hearted players. Oh and don't even think about using the Feedback system… after awhile, if you put too many people down as "avoided" players… you'll be considered as a abuser of the system. OMG, you're screwed either way eh? LOL. 

I recently picked up a DS, purchased Zelda and played it for all of about oh… 2 days. Why? Read the last paragraph again. I am friggin' addicted folks. I do intend to go back to it though, just because I feel guilty for buying the damn thing and not giving it the quality time Link deserves. I really would just like to sit at home and play games all day… but still make lots of money. That's not an unrealistic goal is it? Perhaps I can find a job as a video game editor. Hm… now that's a good one!!! :p

I'll be back later next week to keep GotSpace lively again. Andrew and Kevin seemed to have died… or maybe their souls have been consumed by that blasted Master Chief. I am off to play Call of Duty 4, it's demanding my attention. X_x

Thus, adding more value to an already addictive game.

Wow! The first Bomberman Live expansion has barely had time to cool off and Hudson has already has another release in the wings. Only this time, they've got a special treat in store for diehard fans as well as Destuctoid.com's loyal readerbase.

For those not in the know, Destructroid.com is one of the top video game news sites on the Web. They've partnered with Hudson Entertainment to introduce the Destructoid mascot as a playable character. Now if you've read my review, then you'd know that this news would have be rather exciting for me to take time away from creating virutal havoc and broken egos.

As it turns out, Bomb-Up Pack 2 will come loaded with dozen of new additions including ten new characters, two new levels (sporting a racetrack and medieval theme, respectively), a new game mode called Bomb Shelters (players can hide out in fireproof buildings, haha) and two additional leaderboards. Hold up a sec… MORE characters? I hope they break out some more ethnic variations because my current character deserve a hairdo change every once in awhile.

The fact that Bomberman Live already has two expansion packs under its belt proves that this is one of the most successful games  on Xbox Live… well, aside from Geometry Wars. Nothing is ever going to come close to breaking those statistics in my opinion. It's especially cool that a highly respected site also had the chance to get some virtual pimpage of their star character… kinda makes me wish we had someone around here to represent our site, y'know?

Everyone can look forward to this release next week on Sept 26 for the awesome low price of 250 Microsoft Points. Man, first it was Streets of Rage 2, Sonic 2 and now the second Bomberman expansion pack. I should just open up some sort of longterm MS points account because I've been on a debit spree way too often. A small impressions of this new pack (including the first expansion pack release) might pop up here on GotSpace. Stay tuned… until then, I am going back to fragging. 

It’s been a long time coming, but Xbox LIVE for the Xbox 360 is about to get the ultimate multiplayer game: Bomberman Live. Yie Ar Kung Fu rounds out the double whammy set for this Wednesday, July 18.

As an all-new entry in Hudson’s long running series, Bomberman Live gets the hi-def treatment and features 4-player local and 8-player online battles. A new addition to the classic grid-based game of bomb first, ask questions later: players can customize their bomber with thousands of options.

With 8 locations and 16 pick-up options (Jelly bombs? Detonators? Can’t wait to see what classics will show up and if there’s anything new in store!), it will be hard to find a better way to kill time on any console.

Not content to let the little bomber get all the glory, Konami offers its classic fighter Yie Ar Kung Fu. With a premise right out of a Chang Cheh kung fu classic, it's hero Oolong versus masters of the chain, bo, and more. The original arcade version is available as well as an enhanced version with hand-painted models and new backgrounds.