Boulder Dash

STORY / GAMEPLAY
You control "Rockford" and all you have to do is to dig caves, collect gems and diamonds and reach the exit within a time limit, while you have too avoid various types of dangerous creatures as well as obstacles like falling rocks and the constant danger of being crushed or trapped by an avalanche or killed by an underground explosion. This is a really exciting platform game and it is among my very first computer games I ever played on my micros (initially on my Amstrad CPC 464 and a bit later, on my Atari 65 XE). The game has many sequels that continue to delight and challenge casual and hardcore players of all ages and sexes! It is so addictive but sometimes it gets too frustrating as the mazes are swarmed by enemies and deadly falling rocks that are impossible to avoid!

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The graphics on the CPC are nice, considering its age (1984) and feature colorful enough stages and fast action. Just have a look at the glowing diamonds effect made with the "color cyclic" animation technique (popular back in the early 80s). Note that, the colors on the CPC are much brighter than the 8bit Atari and C64 versions. The sound is great with a cool introductory theme and a few sound effects during gameplay (i.e. when pushing a rock, changing stage through unlocked doors etc).