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Bomb Jack |
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Tehkan 1984
Bomb Jack was a very popular game on home computers in the mid-80's, and quite rightly so. It's one of those excellent classics where even though the presence of different levels causes a sense of progression, your ultimate goal is to get as high a score as possible, and the game is set up to accomodate that.
Bomb Jack is a platform game played on a vertical monitor. The objective is, quite simply, to collect all of the bombs on the screen while avoiding the many enemies. There's just one button to jump. Press it once and you go shooting up to nearly the top of the screen, or hold up on the joystick and press to go even higher. Press it on your way up and you change direction mid-air into a descent. Hold it during your descent to glide down slowly. It's a lovely and intuitive control system, and gives a genuine feel of lightness and freedom; you can jump all the way to the top of the screen, and glide down gently, using the platforms to guide you down and collect the bombs.
Of course, it wouldn't be much of a game if things were that simple; the longer you take in clearing the screen of bombs, the more (and more varied) enemies appear. Some enemies start out walking back and forth on high platforms, and then evolve into more complex flying enemies if they hit the ground. Naturally, any contact with these guys causes instant death.
To deepen things further, you're actually given a couple of incentives to allow the screen to fill up with these deadly little creatures; firstly, collecting the bombs in a set order results in more points, but takes longer. Secondly, every now and then an icon will appear that turns all the enemies into coins, which give your score a nice boost.
It's sufficiently deep and self-contradictory to make for a varied and addictive experience that grows with you as you figure it out. The difficulty curve may be a little steep for modern players, but it's all fair; you may feel out of control at times with the way you can jump from the bottom of the screen nearly to the top, but that just comes from being given an awful lot of freedom to move wherever you want very quickly.
In short, it's a lovely little game, and should be high on the list of any collector or retro operator.
FUN
4. A difficulty curve that's just a little too steep only slightly offsets the deceptively simple and well-balanced gameplay.
NOTABILITY
4. It got ported to just about every console and home computer of its era, but quickly faded into an undeserved obscurity a few years later. Unique gameplay style helps its rating.
PRESENTATION
5. For 1984, this is terrific. Each level has its own colourful and detailed background, and the cheery music is fun and upbeat.
ADDICTION
3. Slightly inaccessible to new players, especially younger ones who didn't grow up with this sort of thing, but still quite addictive nonetheless. Even though it would have upset the balance of the game, a continue option would have been nice.
SURVIVAL
3. Its lack of notability among the general public when compared to, say, Missile Command or Space Invaders will hurt this game's takings in a pub or arcade - but it's still just old enough to gather attention, and more than enough fun to ensure its survival.
OVERALL
3.8 out of a possible 5.
KLOV Data Here
Bomb Jack was a very popular game on home computers in the mid-80's, and quite rightly so. It's one of those excellent classics where even though the presence of different levels causes a sense of progression, your ultimate goal is to get as high a score as possible, and the game is set up to accomodate that.Bomb Jack is a platform game played on a vertical monitor. The objective is, quite simply, to collect all of the bombs on the screen while avoiding the many enemies. There's just one button to jump. Press it once and you go shooting up to nearly the top of the screen, or hold up on the joystick and press to go even higher. Press it on your way up and you change direction mid-air into a descent. Hold it during your descent to glide down slowly. It's a lovely and intuitive control system, and gives a genuine feel of lightness and freedom; you can jump all the way to the top of the screen, and glide down gently, using the platforms to guide you down and collect the bombs.
Of course, it wouldn't be much of a game if things were that simple; the longer you take in clearing the screen of bombs, the more (and more varied) enemies appear. Some enemies start out walking back and forth on high platforms, and then evolve into more complex flying enemies if they hit the ground. Naturally, any contact with these guys causes instant death.
To deepen things further, you're actually given a couple of incentives to allow the screen to fill up with these deadly little creatures; firstly, collecting the bombs in a set order results in more points, but takes longer. Secondly, every now and then an icon will appear that turns all the enemies into coins, which give your score a nice boost.
It's sufficiently deep and self-contradictory to make for a varied and addictive experience that grows with you as you figure it out. The difficulty curve may be a little steep for modern players, but it's all fair; you may feel out of control at times with the way you can jump from the bottom of the screen nearly to the top, but that just comes from being given an awful lot of freedom to move wherever you want very quickly.
In short, it's a lovely little game, and should be high on the list of any collector or retro operator.
FUN
4. A difficulty curve that's just a little too steep only slightly offsets the deceptively simple and well-balanced gameplay.
NOTABILITY
4. It got ported to just about every console and home computer of its era, but quickly faded into an undeserved obscurity a few years later. Unique gameplay style helps its rating.
PRESENTATION
5. For 1984, this is terrific. Each level has its own colourful and detailed background, and the cheery music is fun and upbeat.
ADDICTION
3. Slightly inaccessible to new players, especially younger ones who didn't grow up with this sort of thing, but still quite addictive nonetheless. Even though it would have upset the balance of the game, a continue option would have been nice.
SURVIVAL
3. Its lack of notability among the general public when compared to, say, Missile Command or Space Invaders will hurt this game's takings in a pub or arcade - but it's still just old enough to gather attention, and more than enough fun to ensure its survival.
OVERALL
3.8 out of a possible 5.
KLOV Data Here
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