Boulder Dash^® - Pocket PC Extreme™
from Pocketnapalm

Boulder Dash® has been around for a very long time….20 years to be exact. It was originally written by Peter Liepa for the Atari 400/800 system. I was lucky enough to own one of those computers. Boulder Dash was one of my all time favorite games. It was extremely challenging and fun to play. It was one of those games you’ll always come back and play again. It’s been ported to more home computer, videogame and hand-held videogame systems than most games; and millions of units have been sold in the Boulder Dash series of games. There have also been 4 versions released into the coin-operated arcades! That really proves just how addicting this game really was.

Now… Pocketnapalm and First Star Software, Inc. (the owners of Boulder Dash) have released Boulder Dash® – Pocket PC Extreme™. And ‘Extreme’ is right! The graphics are improved to the max! The game play is still there, just like the original. For those of you who have never played Boulder Dash (if there are such people out there), it’s rather simple. You must move your character through the dirt and collect gems. Constantly being on the lookout for falling objects. There are plenty of obstacles and paths to make your way through the mazes. If you are hit on the head, you explode.

There are more than just a few tricks to the game. You can stand directly under an object, but don’t let it fall on you. If you run down and move aside quickly, you may avoid being hit. Collect enough diamonds and the exit will appear. It could be anywhere, keep an eye out. Make your way quickly to the exit and on to the next level.

Features

• Exciting new game features such as remote controlled gates toggled by magic switches; 90° rotation of the screen; many new enemies; growing amoebas and deadly lava; tricky doors and keys; and much more...
• 5 new worlds (Candy Land; Swamp World; Mexican Desert; Arctic Iceland and Scary Cemetery).
• 100 Game levels and 20 Tutorial levels.
• New tools and weapons including detonators and dynamite; timed bombs; the ability to kick objects and boulder-smashing hammers.
• Various doors and matching key combinations.
• Cool sound effects and two different soundtracks!
• Perfect cave solutions awarded extra scores and trophy cups!
• Save/load game feature which lets you save and continue your game anytime/anywhere!
• Eight 'beamable' save slots!
• Ability to post high scores to the Internet, high scores and Saved games can be beamed... even between different platform releases via Infrared or Bluetooth!
• Portrait or landscape mode, player controlled Hints System as well as the option to play as either
• You can play as either Rocky or his sister, Crystal

I have been playing Boulder Dash for many years. Several clones have appeared of the game, but it’s tough to beat the original. Pocketnapalm and First Star have done an excellent job upgrading an old classic. The graphics and sound effects are first rate. The best thing about this game is the ingenuity of the new and updated levels.

Boulder Dash® – Pocket PC Extreme™ offers some great features and some I wish they would implement. Version 1.01 became available nearly immediately due to a storage card installation problem. I’m anxiously waiting for the next release. It’s supposed to offer better stylus / button control. Right now, you have to use the style for the menus and moving the character.

During the actual game, you can use either stylus or the D-Pad for movement. Eight save game slots allows for several players or multiple saves. In the main map, you will move onto the next mine and you’ll get a diamond if you find all of the diamonds. In the lower portion of the screen, you will see the number of diamonds that must be retrieved along with the remaining time, lives and score.

The game sells for $19.99. That’s not a bad price for a game that will give you many hours of enjoyment. A trial version is available for download. Be sure to uninstall the demo after you’ve purchased and downloaded the full version. 3MB of storage space is required as well as 8MB of RAM for playing the game. It does require either 2002 or 2003 Operating system. Versions are available for X-Scale, ARM, MIPS, SH3 & SH4 processors. Try it or buy it here.

Special thanks to Pocketnapalm for sending us a full version to review.
This game was tested using the Samsung i700 Pocket PC Phone Edition from Verizon running Windows Mobile 2003.