Online Multiplayer Bomberman Style Game for Windows 8: Battle Droids
Battle Droids is a free multiplayer game app for Windows 8 and 8.1 in which you have to bomb away the other players. The game is set in a multiplayer mode, and hence you need to stay connected to the internet before you can start playing it on your device. The game has a nice overall feel to it and given that you have a decent ping time on your internet connection, the gameplay is smooth. You can choose to select the control type from D-Pad, keyboard or mouse. The game works on the principle of laying bombs near obstacles to blow them up and clear your path to pass and bomb away the opponents. In the keyboard control type, the arrow buttons control the movement and the spacebar releases the bombs. It’s game over if someone’s bomb placed near you blows up, or in a worst case scenario, when you mistakenly release a bomb in a position from which there is no escape, and hence your own bomb blows up on you. The gameplay is based on the top angle camera type, and this makes for a good way to have a clear view of the entire map. With each consequent round, the difficulty level of the game increases manifold, so stay on guard!
Battle Droids is available for free from the Windows App Store.
Main features of Battle Droids for Windows 8 and 8.1…
When you install and run Battle Droids on your Windows 8 or 8.1 device, you will be presented with an interface which looks like the below screenshot.
Here, you basically have to select the location based on which you will be allotted your server. Choose the nearest location, mine being the Asian continent closest to Singapore. Click OK, and you will be shown a screen where you can configure your screen name.
The best part is that the game doesn’t require you to sign up with an email id. Each time you open the game, you can set a new username which is temporary. Click login once you’ve chosen your username.
You’ll be shown a brief intro about the game in the next screen. You can set the controls via the Settings button at the top, and can start playing via the Play button.
You need to wait for opponents to join the game. Once they do, you can start playing via the start button in the bottom left of the screen. You can also chat with the other players in room via the holographic-esque chat interface towards the right side of the screen. When you click on Start once players have joined, you will be shown the gameplay screen, complete with the obstacles laid out on the map.
You can zoom in to the map with two fingers. You can see that there are four players on the map, all of whom are represented with droids. The black objects are the bombs which blow up obstacles next to them. The final aim is to kill all the opponent droids with your bombs. Once you do that or the opponents kill you, it’s game over for you. If you happen to survive the round, you will be taken to the next round. You survive the round when other bots as well as you are still remaining on the map even after the 2 minute timer at the bottom of the screen runs out. With each round, the map changes and the difficulty level of the game increases. The gameplay of the game immediately reminds me of the classic Bomberman which I played when I was young…
You can see a still from the old classic Bomberman, just for a kick of some sweet nostalgia! 
This concludes the features of Battle Droids for Windows 8 and 8.1.
Other similar droid (robot) battle games…
Conclusion…
Battle Droids is hands down a classy game for Windows 8 and 8.1 which requires low system requirements to run smoothly and given that it’s a multiplayer game, it really keeps you glued as real people control the droids whom you battle in the game. The game is a nice take on the old classic Bomberman which I grew up playing a lot, so this is definitely nostalgic for me.
I however do miss the single player gameplay ability in the game, and hope that the developers implement it in the future.
Get Battle Droids.