Boulderdash Construction Kit

Copyright : First Star Software | Reviewed by : Malc Jennings

Anyone that doesn?t remember this classic game simply shouldn?t be in the retrogames scene to begin with, our little hero has been running around caves for years trying to collect all the diamonds in a manner of different species on multiple platforms. BBC fans will no doubt remember the game as Repton but for us CPC, C64 and ZX Spectrum fans this is how we always remembered it.

Graphics

Boulderdash is certainly a step up from the Repton series on the BBC. I for one spent many years thinking the BBC looked better than the CPC version because I always played Repton on a large TV set and Boulderdash on a green screen monitor, thanks to the beauty of emualtion it?s now possible to play the game in full colour and it does make a huge difference. The BBC version was limited to only a select number of colours that often didn?t match the gameplay and looked a little sick, the CPC version on the other hand is still limited to certain colours but appears that little bit more appealing.
Animation is of course as basic as you would expect but when you consider that the arcade versions also had pretty basic animation for the most part this is not something that can be held against the CPC. With the added bonus of being able to make your own levels in this particular version of Boulderdash I would say that First Star are on for a winner.

Sound

The game also features some superb sound effects such as the entrance and exit sounds, boulders crashing on your head, diamonds chiming as you collect them and a superb introduction soundtrack to go along with it. First Star even added sound to the level editor, though this does tend to get annoying when you are laying multiple objects on the floor, overall though it?s all good stuff.

Gameplay

Gameplay is superb, the idea of the game is simple enough but the addictive side is still well and truly in tact. You walk around a maze like cave and try to collect the diamonds from the evil beings that are guarding them, all this has to be done correctly and a suitable path should be layed for the guarding to wander around before attempting to steal the diamond. With the added bonus of the level editor and builder this is one game that will no doubt keep you coming back for more, you can even save you levels and share them with your friends or family.
The level editor itself though can be a little frustrating at first but providing you work slowly then you shouldn?t have any problems building your own masterpiece, we did have trouble exiting the editor and going back to the main menu though but this is most likely due to forgetting how the editor worked in the first place. Boulderdash is a superb title and one well and truly worth adding to your collections.