Bomberman Act: Zero, the first Bomberman title to be released on the Xbox 360, is also the first game in the series to take a slightly different approach to the series' familar game play. Set in a dark, futuristic world, the characters in Act: Zero are far from the cartoony Bomberman of previous games. Instead, players choose a male or female cyborg, and participate in a grim deathmatch scenario to survive through the single player game's 99 levels; gone are the cutesy creatures that roam the stages from the previous games' single player mode. There are no continues, so if you lose a match, you must start over from the beginning.

Making things even more challenging is the game's new FPB, or "First Person Bomber" mode. Despite its name, the game does not shift to a first person perspective, but instead gives the player 3D camera control that can be shifted above or behind your character, as well as a zoom function. The difference in this mode and in standard play is that you can only get to view a fourth of the map when zoomed out, making the game play far more hectic and fast- paced. To make up for not being able to see the entire map (and also being able to be hit by bombs you might not be able to see from certain angles), you also gain a life bar. While you only have one lifebar that does not recharge itself after clearing a level, health power-ups will randomly appear when blowing up blocks.

Should you wish to play in the classic Bomberman style, a Standard mode is also available, and is played from the familiar zoomed-out overhead view, showing the entire map and all of the players, and the lifebar is also removed. Due to the game's dark stages and character models, it can sometimes be difficult to see the characters amidst all the chaos. Thankfully, there are several display options that can be toggled, showing icons over your character and your opponent(s).

Multiplayer has always been the biggest draw of Bomberman, and Act: Zero is built all around it. You can play with up to eight other players over Xbox Live in either FPB or Standard game types, in ranked or player matches. Unfortunately, multiplayer is restricted to Live-play only; there are no offline multiplayer options of any kind for play on either a single XBox or via linked play. In addition, a number of power-ups and moves from the series have been removed; players are now unable to kick or throw bombs at their opponents, nor is the option to have defeated players throw bombs from the outside present. Riding mounts have also been removed.