Rockford?s back. Kemco has recreated the original game of Boulderdash (known from Commodore 64 and Amiga), but did a little more effort than most repacks: not only they give you the original game, they also supply you with a 21st century version of the game.

Let?s start with the ?classic? mode. The story begins in 1984. Rockford (our hero) is a miner, searching for gems. Nothing unusual about that. But while digging, he?ll have to deal with Firefly and Butterfly enemies, turn amoeba?s into gems and more crazy stuff.
The game is divided in several levels. In each of these levels, you?re supposed to find a specific amount of gems, but within the time-limit. Gems can be found just lying around, by defeating Butterfly enemies (they turn into 9 gems), or imprison amoeba (they too turn into gems). Sounds easy enough, but Boulderdash takes notice of gravity: boulders will fall when there?s no sand beneath them, and even if you find enough gems, you?ll have to find the (often hidden) exit before the time expires. ?Boulderdash classic? combines puzzling (how to drop which boulders), fast action (escaping/defeating enemies) and an nostalgic (retro) atmosphere.

The other mode available, is the 21st century version of Boulderdash, called ?Ex?. The min difference in the ?Ex?-mode are the available item. These items can be used to pickup distant opbjects, place bombs or even rotate the entire playfield 90 degrees. The rotating option is one of the most tricky part of BD-EX. By rotating the playfield, the rocks will fall another direction. Some puzzles can therefore only be solved in only one way: rotating the field several times (but in the proper order).
Other difference between ?Classic? and ?Ex?, is that in Classic, Rockford died when he contacts an enemy. In ?Ex?, the main-figure has got hitpoints (which can be restored). I think the two modes can therefore vbe described as two different games.

But that?s not it yet! The ?Ex? mode is divided into two sub-modes: ?Story? and ?Battle?. The Story mode takes you through an amount of levels, just like in Classic, whereas in the Battlemode, you take on (human or computer) enemies in a gemcollecting race. Neutralize enemies by dropping rocks on them (either straight from above, or by rotating the field), place bombs, steal gems, etc.
The battle option is the most action-based of all modes.

BD Ex is a game that all puzzle-fanatics and oldskool-gamers will enjoy playing.

Some other features:

• Stunning anime-style cutscenes between levels in Story-mode (Ex only)
• A total of 185 levels
  
• Retro... including the retro sound

Reviewed by: Dennis