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FAQ

by Seth0708

Bomberman: Act Zero
FAQ Version 1.0
by Seth0708

============
INTRODUCTION
============
After a long hiatus of six months (I joined the Navy and this is the first
opportunity I have had to really write again) I'm back with a new guide for a
new system. Bomberman: Act Zero, the infamous Bomberman title that has
earned a reputation as one of the worst X-Box 360 titles (if not the worst).
Personally I liked the new design for Bomberman and thought that it couldn't
really be that bad a title. Unfortunately for me this game deserves it's bad
reputation. With only one arena and one enemy (who is, in fact, identical to
the player character) this title barely qualifies as a game (more like a free
flash title). Although I have been utterly unimpressed with this game, the
fact remains that it lacks a full guide on GameFAQs and, given some of the
stinkers I've written guides for before, this seemed right up my alley. So
without further adieu, let's get to the meat and potatoes of Bomberman: Act
Zero.

=========
POWER-UPS
=========
I'm assuming that if you have this title then you know the basic gameplay
structure for a Bomberman game. If not, skip to the next section where I
outline how to clear the Single Battle mode. For those of you who have played
this game, this section serves as an explanation of the various power-ups you
can collect as you clear that same level ninety-nine times.

All power-ups you collect, regardless of the mode you are playing, are listed
on the left side of the screen. (The only exception to this being the Heart
power-up, which in FPB mode simply adds health to your life bar.) If a power-
up can have a number modifier, this is listed to the right of the power-up's
picture. All power-ups are kept between rounds and do not "disappear." The
power-ups available are as follows:

[Bomb Up] Bomb Up is the most basic of power-ups, and along with Fire Up the
most common. Bomb Up adds one bomb to the total number of bombs you can lay.
Early in the game these power-ups are critical, however once Infinite Bombs
becomes available after about round five it becomes archaic.

[Fire Up] Fire Up is just as common as the Bomb Up power-up but is ultimately
more useful. Fire Up extends the range of your bomb's fire blasts by two
squares for each of the power-ups you collect. Since this version of Bomberman
does not feature a Full Fire power-up, you will want to collect as many of
these as you can.

[Speed Up] This power-up increases Bomberman's speed, allowing you to move
faster. This can be a double-edged sword as too many of them can make you move
somewhat uncontrollably.

[Heart] The only power-up that varies in purpose between the modes. In the
standard mode, Heart allows you to take one bomb hit and not die, although you
lose the Heart. In FPB mode the Heart adds ten or twenty health (it varies)
back to your health total.

[Penetrating Bomb] Penetrating Bomb alters your bombs so that their explosions
will move through and destroy soft bricks without stopping. Your bombs turn
purple once this power-up is picked up to designate this. You cannot have both
Penetrating Bomb and Remote Control at the same time, so if you pick one up
and currently have another, the new power-up will overwrite the old.

[Remote Control] Remote Control alters your bombs so that you can detonate
them when you wish, instead of having them on a timer. Your bombs turn green
once this power-up is picked up to designate this. You cannot have both
Penetrating Bomb and Remote Control at the same time, so if you pick one up
and currently have another, the new power-up will overwrite the old.

[Infinite Bomb] Infinite Bomb allows you to lay an infinite number of bombs.
Use it along with the Line Bomb to rain on your enemy's parade.

[Line Bomb] Line Bomb allows you to set all your bombs in a line. To do this,
set a bomb and then face the direction you want to set your bomb line. Hit the
bomb button once more and it will set a line of bombs in that direction as far
as you have available bombs.

[Walk Through Bombs] Walk Through Bombs allows you to walk through bombs,
which seems straightforward enough. This is an indispensible power-up as it
prevents you from becoming trapped behind a bomb to await certain death.

[Walk Through Bricks] Walk Through Bricks is just like Walk Through Bombs, but
it allows you to walk through bricks instead. This too is indispensible as it
both allows escape from boms and allows you to move directly upon an enemy at
the beginning of a round before they have any real options.

[Secret Panels] Secret Panels are obtained by performing certain actions in a
round. Each has a slightly different effect, but most provide the effect of a
Heart for sure. See the Achievements section below for full details on the
Secret Panels.

=============
SINGLE BATTLE
=============
Single Battle consists of the same level fought against the same enemies one-
hundred times. It is very tedious, but as such follows a simple strategy for
every battle. Thus this guide is not going to go battle-by-battle, which is
pointless since each battle is the same, but will instead offer general tips
and strategies on making your way to the Land of Despair.

Generally speaking you want to get as many power ups as you can as early as
possible. Enemies start out without any power ups, so this can translate into
a huge advantage, and a neccessary one as the AI rapidly increases it's
difficulty as you progress. In particular, you want to get the Walk Through
Bombs and Walk Through Bricks power ups as soon as you can (they generally
start appearing about round six).

While Penetrating Bombs have their uses, you will want to get Remote Bombs
instead. The enemy AI is deathly afraid of bombs and will not run in front of
them if at all possible. If you set Remote Bombs in the right spots, you can
trap enemies so that they will not move and will either eventually be crushed
by pressure blocks or blow themselves up.

An almost foolproof way to win a round if you have Line Bombs and Infinite
Bombs is to clear a stage of all blocks, then to move down to a corner. Stand
one row up (or down, if at the top of the screen) and all the way to the other
side and send two lines of bombs, one ninety degrees from the other, across
the stage. Hide behind the only safe block available to you and watch as
virtually every space in the level is consumed by fire. If this description
is hard to understand, use this visual:
 _________________
|o                | Set your bombs as shown by the "o" and hide where the
|o= = = = = = = = | big "X" is. Every space except where the "x" are will be
|o                | hit by the blast, so you want to do this so that all the
|o= = = = = = = = | enemy bombers are "above" the bombs and get caught in an
|ooooooooooooooooo| unavoidable blast. If you can set this up, which becomes
| = = = = = = = = | easier and easier to do as you progress, then you can
|_X_x_x_x_x_x_x_x_| almost guarantee victory for yourself.

You also want to be sure to collect the fourth secret panel if you are
playing in FPB mode. A boost to 999 health will carry you through most any
situation save pressure blocks.

The number of enemies you face will vary as you progress through the game,
but can climb as high as seven. None of your opponents have any unique
abilities beyond what you have, so they will never offer any real surprises.
Every fifth round features a "boss" enemy that is completely black and the
arena slightly darkens. The only real difference between these opponents and
the other enemies you will face is that they are more aggressive. This works
both ways, however, as they seem to just as often blow themselves up as try
to get at you.

You fight on the same arena every round and the enemies do not very widely,
so in essence this is just an exercise in determination and an ability to
avoid bomb blasts. One-hundred battles is a long trek, no joke, but is
achieveable if you are willing to slug through it and try again when you get
caught in a wayward blast and must start over. Most people, however, are
unlikely to wish to do this. If you follow these strategies, however, they
can carry you to the Land of Despair and victory.

============
ACHIEVEMENTS
============
Achievements in Bomberman: Act Zero are divided into a couple of broad
categories, which generally involve doing the same sort of things multiple
times. Unfortunately, as anyone who has played has noticed, all but eight of
the fifty achievements are secret (which is somewhat odd since none of them
feature any sort of "spoiler" in their descriptions). 

Bomb Achievements:
1,000 Bombs (5 points)
10,000 Bombs (10 points)
100,000 Bombs (30 points)
1,000,000 Bombs (50 points)
The most basic set of achievements have to do with setting bombs. Each is
unlocked by setting the number of bombs listed between ALL your games. Not
hard, these are just time consuming.

Block Achievements:
Block Break 1,000 (5 points)
Block Break 10,000 (10 points)
Block Break 100,000 (30 points)
Block Break 1,000,000 (50 points)
These are obtained by destroying soft bricks between ALL your games. Again,
not hard, just time consuming.

Kill Achievements:
Kill 100 (10 points)
Kill 500 (20 points)
Kill 1000 (30 points)
Tied with the two previous sets, you should be able to get all three sets by
doing basically the same things (that is, playing the game a lot). These are
awarded for killing enemies. Do note, however, that is an enemy is killed by
their own bomb blast or if the pressure blocks kill an enemy, you do not get
credit for the kill. Considering these factors, it is not uncommon that you
will probably get one or two of the block and bomb achievements before you
obtain any of the kill achievements.

Battle Achievements:
Battle 100 (10 points)
Battle 1000 (20 points)
Battle 10,000 (30 points)
These achievements are obtained by participating in battles. Thus if you
participate in one-hundred battles, win or lose, you will unlock the first
achievement. Repeat for the next two. Again, these achievement simply require
a lot of time and no real skill to obtain.

Battle Achievements:
Battle Score 5,000 (5 points)
Battle Score 10,000 (10 points)
Battle Score 50,000 (20 points)
Battle Score 100,000 (30 points)
Battle Score 1,000,000 (50 points)
To get these achievements you need to play online and get your ranking up.
Sadly, in three months I have never seen a single person online (checking
about once a week or so), so unless you have a friend willing to play with
you, these are probably unachieveable at this point in time.

Battle Royal Achievements:
Battle Royal - Kill 10 (10 points)
Battle Royal - Kill 30 (20 points)
Battle Royal - Kill 50 (30 points)
Battle Royal - Kill 100 (50 points)
These are online achievements. Each is tied to the number of opponents you
kill in online battles. If you really want these, you will need to arrange
with a friend to play this game online as you won't be finding any matches
on your own in all likelihood.

Round Achievements:
Clear Round 10! (10 points)
Clear Round 20! (10 points)
Clear Round 30! (10 points)
Clear Round 40! (10 points)
Clear Round 50! (10 points)
Clear Round 60! (10 points)
Clear Round 70! (10 points)
Clear Round 80! (10 points)
Clear Round 90! (10 points)
You reached the Land of Despair (50 points)
These achievements are obtained by working your way through the single battle
mode. Every ten rounds you clear you get an achievement, with the final round
unlocking the Land of Despair achievement.

Room Achievements:
Room Master (5 points)
Room Master 10 (10 points)
Room Master 100 (30 points)
More online achievements. To get these all you need do is create online rooms
and battle in them. Win or lose, it doesn't matter. With the online situation
as it is, you will almost certainly need to arrange with a friend to unlock
these.

Secret Panel Achievements:
Secret Panel 1 (10 points)
To get the first achievement you must make it to round five and find a Fire
Up panel. Destroy it with a bomb blast to make the secret panel appear. Grab
it and complete the round to claim the achievement. An enemy blast can
destroy the Fire Up panel to make the Secret Panel appear as well. (The panel
itself will restore twenty health points in FPB mode and functions as a Heart
in standard mode.)

Secret Panel 2 (20 points)
To get the second secret panel, destroy all the blocks in round one of single
battle. A panel will appear around the center of the field. Grab it and
finish the round to claim the achievement. (The panel itself will restore
twenty health points in FPB mode and functions as a Heart in standard mode.)

Secret Panel 3 (30 points)
To get the third secret panel, either on round two or seven you need to go two
minutes without setting any bombs. After two minutes, the secret panel will
appear. Grab it and complete the level for the achievement. (The panel itself
restores twenty health points in FPB mode and functions as a Heart in
standard mode, while giving you a Bomb Up in both modes.)

Secret Panel 4 (40 points)
This is the hardest of the secret panels to obtain. In round three you need to
lay and detonate sixteen bombs during the last minute of the round. After you
do this, the secret panel will appear and hopefully you will be able to reach
it between the pressure blocks. Once more, grab it and finish the round to
score the achievement. (The panel itself restores twenty health points in FPB
mode and functions as a Heart in standard mode, while giving you Infinite Bomb
in both modes.)

Secret Panel 5 (50 points)
This is the best of the secret panels, but is nigh impossible to get on the
standard mode. In round four, you need to stand still and not move from your
initial starting point for the first minute. In standard mode you will most
likely be blown up before this time period ends, so go for it in FPB mode.
When it appears, grab it and finish the round for the achievement. (The panel
itself raises your health to 999 in FPB and functions as a Heart in standard
mode.)

Special Achievements:
Special 1 (20 points)
"You have won without obtaining any Power Up Panels." Supposidely this is
obtained by winning a round without picking up any power up panels, but no
matter how many times I do so I still cannot unlock it. If anyone knows
exactly what it takes to get this power up, please drop me a line.

Special 2 (5 points)
"You have played with both male and female frames." Play a round as a male
frame, then play a round as a female frame to get this achievement.

Special 3 (10 points)
"You have played using all of the characters." To get this achievement, you
need to play a round as each color as both male and female frames. You do not
need to score any kills or even get to the next round for the frame to count
to the total.

Survival Achievements:
Survival Time 200 (10 points)
Survival Time 150 (20 points)
Survival Time 100 (50 points)
To get these achievements you need to clear the standard mode in under the
number of minutes listed. That is, if you clear the standard mode in under
200 minutes you will get the first achievement and so on. The achievements
are mutually inclusive, so if you clear the standard mode in under a hundred
minutes you will get all three.

Other Achievements:
Draw 100 (5 points)
"You have died 100 times to time-up draws." This is actually really hard to
get. You need to die, killed by pressure blocks, at the same time as your
opponent(s) one-hundred times. If the message "DRAW" does not appear, then
the timing was a little off and it does not count. Easily the hardest and
most time consuming achievement in the game, and it's only worth five gamer
points.

Pressure Block 100 (5 points)
"You have been crushed to death 100 times by pressure blocks." Get crushed by
the pressure blocks that rain down when time is running out in a battle one-
hundred times to get this achievement. These one-hundred battles will count
towards your other achievements, so all the effort will not be just towards a
measely five points achievement.

Self 100 (5 points)
"You have died 100 times to bombs you set." Blow yourself up one-hundred times
to get this achievement. You will also get credit for a hundred battles
towards your other achievements in the process, so it's not a total loss.

===============
VERSION HISTORY
===============
1.0 - Initial posting of this FAQ

==========
COPYRIGHTS
==========
Bomberman: Act Zero is (c) Hudson