The MS-DOS version of Boulder Dash uses CGA graphics, so doesn’t look the best, but – like the Apple II version – the lack of colour doesn’t affect the gameplay at all. In fact: just four colours seems to suit it well; if those colours are used a certain way.
Tag Archives: puzzle
Boulder Dash, ZX Spectrum
Boulder Dash on the ZX Spectrum is a decent, playable conversion, but it isn’t great and does have its issues. It was programmed by Dalali Software and published by Front Runner (a software label owned by K-Tel Productions, a famous British record label) in 1985.
Boulder Dash, Apple II
Boulder Dash on the Apple II was coded by Pat Montelo and published by Micro Fun in 1984, and it is arguably one of the best games on the system.
Boulder Dash, MSX
The MSX version of Boulder Dash was developed by Orpheus and published by Comptiq in 1985. It is another excellent 8-bit conversion, with feather light controls (TM) and authentic gameplay.
Boulder Dash, Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC conversion of Peter Liepa and Chris Gray‘s Boulder Dash is an almost perfect conversion of the classic Atari 8-bit game. The game was published by Mirrorsoft 1985, and converted by Dalali Software Ltd.
Spindizzy, Amstrad CPC
I was always under the impression that Paul Shirley‘s classic Spindizzy originated on the Commodore 64 and was ported to other machines, but this interview with Shirley says that the game actually originated on the CPC and was ported to other systems. Since Paul Shirley coded the C64 version himself I had guessed that that was a logical assumption to make, but it now looks to be wrong.
The Amstrad version of Spindizzy – one of the best games ever made in my humble opinion – is pretty much perfect, with crisp, clean, detailed graphics and responsive controls.
Columns, Game Gear
The Game Boy had Tetris and the Game Gear had Columns, although – frankly – Columns isn’t nearly as good as Tetris… Columns was published for the Game Gear by Sega in 1991 and is based on the 1990 Sega arcade game of the same name.
Devil Dice, PlayStation
Devil Dice is a unique dice-moving puzzle game for one to five players that was developed by Shift, Inc. and published by Sony and THQ on the PlayStation in 1998. It is considered by some to be one of the best puzzle games on the PS1.
Devil Dice was originally created for a Japanese developer competition and went on to sell more than a million copies worldwide.
Kula World, PlayStation
Developed by Game Design Sweden AB, Kula World is an impressive ball-rolling puzzle game where you must roll around 3D mazes that are floating high above the ground and collect keys to unlock the exit.
Quarth, Arcade
Quarth is a brilliant mixture of Tetris and shoot ’em up and was first played in arcades in Japan in 1989. Outside of Japan it is known as “Block Hole“, which – let’s face it – is a stupid name, so I’m sticking with the original name, Quarth.
The King of Grabs 