Bonanza Bros
(US Gold, 1992)
Robo and Mobo are the Bonanza Brothers – two robot burglars out to grab treasure. Their targets are ten buildings, each containing eight pieces of treasure, but they’re all guarded by security guards and dogs. You can knock them out with your stun gun, but you must make sure that the guards don’t see you, or you’ll lose one of your eight lives. The graphics are below average and there’s almost no sound, although the tune on the menu is great. However, the game is let down by the awkward controls – to jump, you have to hold down the fire button, and then release it and then move in the direction you want to jump.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
GameHammer Classic Gaming,
Xyphoe.
Fans of ancient Egypt will want to check out this text adventure. It’s got a very uncommon setting in this genre which is normally dominated by science fiction and traditional fantasy. In this game, you play not as a man or a woman but the son of an Egyptian god. From the first puzzle, which acts as an introduction, it has some clever moments. Place descriptions are nicely done, while the graphics are reasonable. The original setting and story goes a long way to elevating this game from just another adventure to a genuine must-play at some point for CPC text adventure fans. Just make sure you obtain the version where you begin the first part inside an egg, as the original release is bugged!
Booly
(Loriciel, 1991)
This is one of those puzzle games in which you have to swap the colours or states of tiles so that they all match. However, this game is made more difficult in that if you click on a tile, some of the adjacent tiles may not be changed, and the connections between the tiles are invisible – although it is possible to see them briefly by pressing a key. Furthermore, there are 150 levels and three stages in each level... that’s enough to keep the most hardened fan of puzzle games baffled. The graphics are good (although the backgrounds are garish) but there are very few sound effects, and if you don’t like puzzle games, you should give this game a miss.
Booty
(Firebird, 1986)
You’re a cabin boy called Jim, who has to collect treasure (or booty if you want to call it that) from an old galleon. There’s lots of it to collect in the holds of the ship, but you’ll need the correct numbered keys to open the holds. Then there are the ghosts of the pirates who used to sail the ship; touch them and you lose a life. And finally, some of the rooms contain platforms and lifts. This is a simple platform game with colourful graphics and a short tune that repeats itself constantly and soon becomes quite irritating. At first it seems good, but the collision detection is dodgy, particularly when getting on and off lifts, and when you lose a life, you go all the way back to the first screen, which is very annoying indeed.
Bored of the Rings
(SilverSoft, 1985)
One day, Fordo Faggins went to his uncle Bimbo’s house, Fag End, where he overheard a conversation between Bimbo and the wizard Grandalf. Before he knew it, Bimbo tossed a ring in his direction and asked him to head to the land of Dormor and destroy it. If you’re familiar with the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, you should instantly recognise that this text adventure is a parody of The Lord of the Rings, featuring places such as Boggiton, Rivendull and the Morona Gate. A humorous style of writing is maintained throughout all three parts of the adventure, which is to be expected from Delta 4, but the quality of the rest of the adventure leaves something to be desired. The first part contains a lot of moving around and hardly any puzzles, and there are too many gratuitous mazes to explore, which seem to have been included merely to annoy the player.
See also: The Boggit.
Bosconian 87
(Mastertronic, 1987)
Aliens have set up space stations which are currently orbiting around Earth, and you must destroy all of them on each round. Just make sure you don’t crash into the mines and rocks, and watch out for the waves of aliens which appear when you hear the alarm that signifies ‘condition red’; they approach very fast, and you should try to guide them towards hazards which they will hopefully crash into. You’ll lose lives frequently, but there are lots more to pick up, as well as extra fuel and bombs, and better ammunition. The graphics are detailed, albeit very blue, and a suitably space-themed tune plays throughout. However, it’s not a very sophisticated shoot-’em-up, although it is worth playing if you want a quick blast at something.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
ChinnyVision.
Later re-released by Alternative Software as Soccer Boss, this early football management game lets you take charge of one of eighty football clubs as you battle your way up from the 4th Division. As manager, you get to invest in the peculiarly run transfer market – the better the player’s form, the more expensive he is. You can also sell your stars, but with a limited number of names out there, it won’t be long until you see them back on the market! Your players are also multi-talented, capable of playing anywhere on the pitch and in any formation (with the exception of your goalkeepers). All in all, this is a straightforward management game that’s fun in the short term, but loses appeal the longer you play.
Boulder Dash
(Mirrorsoft, 1985)
Rockford the ant has to collect some diamonds scattered throughout a maze. He can dig through the earth, but this may release one or more boulders, and if he doesn’t get out of the way, Rockford will be a dead ant. Later on, you’ll also encounter a few enemies. This is one of the all-time classic games, and the graphics stay true to the original. However, while the first three levels are OK, things suddenly become really tricky on the fourth level, which I don’t like. Still, you can have fun designing your own levels with the construction kit.
See also: Boulder Dash III, Rockford.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.
Boulder Dash III
(American Action, 1986)
For some reason, Boulder Dash II was never officially released for the CPC, but fans of the original game can enjoy a new set of sixteen caves filled with boulders, diamonds and all sorts of other nasties. This time, Rockford has donned a space suit, and while the enemy creatures may have new names, they perform the same functions as other nasties in the previous games – for example, fireflies are replaced by mouths, and butterflies are replaced by eyes. Fortunately, the option to select which cave to start on is still there and is very welcome, as the game is extremely difficult; in fact, I would say that several caves are impossible to complete, thanks to those mouths!
See also: Boulder Dash, Rockford.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.
Another Boulder Dash clone arrives for your entertainment on the CPC. With this one you get 72 rooms to complete that are split into nine areas of eight single screens. Pressing any number from 1 to 9 will open up one of these areas. There’s no treasure to collect or any monsters to avoid, just rocks to skip around. The rocks and scenery are varied and colourful, though, adding more interest. The controls are responsive – an important requirement in a game like this one. There’s also an editor that allows you to alter each screen. Bouldeur is surpringly addictive and begs you to have just one more try.