Handheld Games - Bombsweeper

Handheld Games

Bombsweeper

Any retro gamer worth his salt will at the very least be aware of Nintendo's famous Game & Watch range. Most of them will probably own one at the very least. But if you've never heard of them, they're a pretty simple concept: Combine the best parts of LCD-based gameplay with the features of a clock (including an alarm). Except, most LCD-based games were pretty crappy.

Nintendo, however, got some things right... Simple concepts and simple games make successful games. Well, they did back in the good old days.

Bombsweeper was one of the best LCD based games (pre-Gameboy) you could buy. And guess what... it was a simple concept.

In fact, it's kind of like Pengo or whatever variation of that you like to call it. The naughty Jack has decided for some reason to jump down into the sewer and plant a load of bombs. The policeman on hand is highly useless, but allows John Solver (that's you, by the way) to dive in after him and defuse them all.

The gameplay mechanics are simple enough... reach one of the bombs (hidden in the walls) before time runs out. This may mean negotiating a maze, or it may mean pushing walls around a bit. Simply enough, you can only push a wall if there's no wall obstructing its path. Logic is needed in abundance. The thing to remember is you only need to reach ONE of the bombs, some may just be Red Herrings.

And that really is it. Almost.

There's two variations to the game, Game A is a series of set puzzles with a 40 second time limit. These are much more taxing on the old grey matter, but generally leave you with plenty of time to complete the puzzle and gain points aplenty. Every ten levels you will then face a scrolling level, where you must avoid being crushed by walls as you attempt to reach the end and the one single bomb. No time limits on this bit.

Game B generates mazes in a random order. Each one can be completed rather simply and in a matter of 2-4 senconds. Doesn't sound like a challenge? At first, it isn't. You start off with a 40 second time limit, but this steadily decreases until you're down to just 4 seconds for each level. Oh, yes, this is a d-pad tapping frenzy from one level to the next, with NO let-up whatsoever.

BUT once again, the simple and frantic gameplay pays dividends. It's a marvellous little hand-held game. If you see one at a car boot sale, it's worth a punt. Trust me.

Handheld - BMX Flyer

 Handheld Games

BMX Flyer

Back in the good old days, before the advent of the Game Boy, Game Gear and the real boom for handheld gaming, there existed a number of devices that allowed you to play just one game. The main players in this market were Nintendo (surprise surprise) with their Game & Watch series of handheld games, but they weren’t the only ones involved. Grandstand had a wide range of handheld and tabletop games available, as well as companies like Systema, CGL, and many others.

I owned several handheld games. If I had to pick the best of the bunch, it would probably be Bombsweeper by Nintendo. But a close second would definitely be this little gem by Grandstand.

Using simple LCD technology, boosted by a bright backlight and with a coloured overlay, the “graphics” looked superb, in fact some of the best LCD graphics games ever made used this style of graphics. Unfortunately, this was at the expense of battery life, but I tended to use the adaptor anyway, so I really didn’t mind.

Onto the game itself, then… You are the “BMX Flyer”, a BMX-riding stuntman type person, and your mission is simple, get from the beginning to the end of each course without crashing. This would be a very simple game if there weren’t plenty of things along the way that would cause you great pain and misery, not to mention the loss of a life.

These range from cans (at least I think that’s what they were meant to be) on the floor, to short pits, long pits, and birds, and that’s just the “natural” hazards. There’s also a couple of people out to get you, i.e. the bomb-dropping helicopter pilot (a bit extreme for a BMX game, perhaps), and the evil rider who either slows down in front of you for which you must jump, or comes up behind you every now and again, but you can simply fart in his face to get rid of him.

Sorry, did I say fart? I meant to say throw dirt. But I know what it looks like.

Anyway, although the game throws a lot at you, there are a couple of things to help you along the way. There is an energy meter, which can be replenished by means of Water Bottles along the route. Certain actions, such as jumping and throwing dirt, use your energy, so it’s important to keep your energy levels up as much as you can. Also helpful is the balloon that comes along every now and again. Jumping and catching hold will give you a nice bonus as well as a free ride past several obstacles, dropping you off almost at the finish.

But as a game, is it any good?

Oh, yes. The game forms a nice little challenge, obstacles come at you in varying degrees and with alarming regularity. The choice between expending a little energy with the dirt or avoiding your enemy by means of using the obstacles to help keep him at bay can often mean the difference between survival and “death”.

As an 80s handheld game, it’s certainly a collectable bit of history, and if you did manage to find one working (like mine, it still works! In fact, I’ll try and get it videoed.) you’ll soon be humming the chirpy little tune it plays, which I’d quite like to pay tribute to by means of XM music.

As far as handheld gaming goes, prior to the advent of the Gameboy, this is as good as it gets.

See one, want one, get one. Simple as.

Interestingly, I’ve found a Flash remake of this game, unfortunately the gameplay isn’t quite as accurate as I’d like, but it gives you a good indication of how the game played and looked.