If there’s one thing we’re bad at here at gUN, it’s our tendency to absolutely play the living daylights out of anything we find fun, to the point where it eventually ends up getting rather tedious. Checking back through our site you’ll notice multiplayer reviews of Worms and Supreme Commander, and heading your way soon like a brutal right-hook are our thoughts of the PS3 puncher Fight Night Round 3 – just three of the games that myself and Jay have completely worn the tread out on and not felt like returning. Bomberman Live, the Live Arcade’s version of Hudson’s insanely addictive blow-‘em-up series, has since become the latest title to not only make me want to head butt Jay for being annoyingly good, but to have run rather dry due to overuse.

Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily. It goes without saying that Bomberman Live is insanely addictive; any of you that have ever sampled any of the previous titles in the long-running series will no doubt no exactly what to expect. Presented in rather spiffy high-definition graphics and jam-packed full of customisable Bombermen and match types, this version also has the rather handy advantage of allowing you to play it online in rounds of up to eight players at a time. Nifty.

I’m sure there have been those of you living under a rock for the past decade-and-a-bit, so to summarise, Bomberman is a game in which a number of players sprint around a grid-like maze, collecting power-ups and laying bombs to trap their opponents into corners and knock them out of the round. This is the game in its purest form, mind, and other variations such as using bombs to tag the surrounding level with paint exist to spice up the mix, with a whole load of different scenarios available in this Live Arcade offering.

Those who love classic mano-e-mano Bomberman will thus be well catered for, with a selection of maps (eight to be exact) more than enough to give a hefty dollop of variety to the standard form of the game. These vary from a classic grid to a jungle-themed effort and some sort of bizarre treasure chest thing where bombing your way into the middle earns you a whole ton of power-ups to use against your enemies. In theory you could be playing the normal mode for hours on end, but that’d only mean you’re missing out on some equally epic match types.

The best, or so experience and sheer playtime indicated, is Zombie. This mode sees you dashing around paint-bombing the surrounding areas, but instead of dying when you are bombed you instead lose all your coloured squares and power-ups, meaning you have to attempt to start again from scratch. Putting the clock at a minute and whizzing around the arenas in this mode is the gaming equivalent of a Boxing Day sale rush at 9am, with the balance and score fluctuating by the second as you pelt around trying to collect everything without getting knocked over.

The power-ups themselves are crucial to your hopes of victory, allowing you to pick up bombs and chuck them, lay more bombs in one go or have a uber-powered mega bomb of doom that’ll clear practically a third of the map in one go. Thus, the age-old dilemma of wanting to stay safe yet at the same time wanting to zip around blowing blocks up to increase your potency comes into play, with new paths both benefiting and hamstringing you to equal effect. Learning when’s best to make that risky dash past a nest of opponents and when not to is half the learning curve. Annoyingly for me, Jay is somewhat of a master of the art.

The cherry topping is that the whole thing is so customisable, so should you take a shine to a particular level you can set up tournaments focusing on that grid alone, or those who love a bit of pick and mix can load the whole lot into the cannon and have a blat them at random. People with short attention spans can sort out quick one-on-one three-match tournaments if they wish, whilst those who like settling in for the long run can chuck in up to seven computer opponents and ramp the win target right up, with the result often being decided after well over forty matches. It’s pretty safe to say that you can tailor Bomberman Live to whatever situation you find yourself in time-wise. Heck, should you wish to change the look of your Bomberman to a grizzled army man, an angel or a scientist amongst many others then you can do that too.

Complaints? Jay’s too good and beats me far too often. Real complaints? The game currently lacks a team option, so you won’t be joining up with a mate and taking on opposing duos as you may have done in previous versions. The landmine power-up is rather useless amongst experienced players and can in effect trap you if you happen upon it early in a round. The game also seems to have difficulty saving custom settings, leading to all sorts of annoyed grumbles when you realise that you have to sort out your own particular favourite game type again and again.

Still, it’s hard to not love Bomberman Live. Whether it be getting humiliated in-person with four-player local play or on Live with the happily lag-free eight-player online offering, it’s proper digital crack. Coming in at a price that’s equivalent to a couple of pints of your local ale or a few multi selection bags of Quavers, it’s hardly what you’d call bank busting either. Give it a go and see for yourself, but do remember when you are sat twitching in front of your television screen at 4.00am that you were warned.