For more than a quarter of a century, gamers have navigated mazes and set explosives as the eponymous hero of the Bomberman series. Though it is far from the series' first outing on the iPhone, Bomberman Dojo brings something new to the table, with a fully functioning level editor, and the ability to upload and download user-created content.

The traditional Bomberman gameplay has remained largely unchanged since the release of the very first game in 1983. Users control a small, white-suited robot, which is capable of making - you guessed it - bombs. Each level is a top-down maze, filled with both firm and destructible obstacles, enemies and power-ups. To complete each one, gamers must explode all of their enemies, while staying clear of the resulting blast areas.

Bomberman Dojo takes an "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it" approach to gameplay, and it works just fine. Gamers will enjoy racing against the clock, grabbing power-ups and working around the paths of roving enemies, while taking advantage of abilities like bomb-kicking and remote-controlled explosives.

Unfortunately, while other games in the series introduce additional elements such as switches and enemy Bombermen, Bomberman Dojo remains extremely barebones. You will encounter several different types of enemies, but their differences are solely cosmetic, making Bomberman Dojo feel extremely repetitive long before you complete its 50 included levels. Like many puzzle games, Bomberman Dojo expects users to replay levels in pursuit of faster times and higher scores, but with so little variation between levels, there exists little incentive to do so.

Along with many other iPhone releases, Bomberman Dojo takes advantage of the social platform OpenFeint, but its internet connectivity goes much farther than that. The game comes complete with a level editor, giving gamers the ability to design their own Bomberman Dojo stages, and even post them online for others to enjoy.

In theory, this additional feature adds a tremendous amount of replay value to Bomberman Dojo, but in practice, it is plagued by the same issues that bog down the game's included levels. The level editor is intuitive and easy-to-use, and includes all of the items seen in the regular game, but unfortunately, adds nothing extra. After playing through 50 levels of Bomberman Dojo with its limited obstacles and enemies, any level you create will be distressingly familiar. And while you can download additional levels to your heart's content, even the highest rated ones will offer nothing new to your Bomberman Dojo experience.

But there exists an even more glaring omission in Bomberman Dojo. From its earliest days, the Bomberman series has been beloved as a great multiplayer game, with versions allowing four players to play locally, and newer editions even supporting up to eight players over the internet. The iPhone possesses both 3G and Wi-Fi capabilities, and Bomberman Dojo boasts internet connectivity, but for some reason the game lacks any type of online multiplayer.

Bomberman Dojo is a well-made game that captures most of what made the original releases so popular, with its strategic explosion-based gameplay arriving on the iPhone intact. However, with repetitive levels held back by an utter lack of variation and a near-nonexistent storyline, Bomberman Dojo fails to offer anything compelling enough to justify its $2.99 price tag. While an effort was clearly made to bring Bomberman into the 21st century with the game's user-created content, the only thing that could truly save this release, multiplayer capabilities, has been conspicuously left out.

Final Score: D