C&VG


BC Bill

Publisher: Imagine
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #32

BC Bill

If I told you Imagine's new game for the Commodore 64 was a million years behind every other computer game I had ever seen, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a scathing criticism. In fact, it's quite a compliment.

BC Bill is the story of a young caveman trying to make an honest living in a harsh world full of dinosaurs, flying reptiles and nagging wives.

Armed with a wooden club, Bill roams the countryside outside his cave looking for some food to whack over the head. For a caveman, his diet seems remarkably modern and includes hamburgers, sausages and crinkle-cut chips.

B. C. Bill

Once he has clubbed the food, he drags it back to the cave to feed his wife and the growing army of children. If Bill doesn't produce enough food to go round, his wife will leave him without hesitation to find someone better to live with.

But if things are going well and all the children have been fed, Bill's not the least bit shy of dragging any cavewoman he finds back to his cave. But no amount of Bill's charm will entice her to stay if he hasn't collected enough of her favourite hamburgers!

Bill's progress is hampered by a convoy of dinosaurs thundering past his save. If he is wise, he'll stay out of their way but occasionally he will pluck up enough courage to sneak up behind a Tyrannosaurus Rex and try to kill it.

B. C. Bill

The game has some nice touches, including the changing seasons - for instance, it is more difficult to survive during the bleak winter months. Also a pterodactyl takes the role of a prehistoric stork by dropping babies into the cave.

The game's originality is matched, if not bettered, by the graphics. The character of Bill actually looks like a stocky caveman dressed in animal skins and the whole game has a cartoon image rather than the crude jerky graphics we've all seen too many times.

BC Bill couldn't be more different from Arcadia, but I'm sure Imagine are heading for just as big a success with BC Bill, especially with a super low price of £3.95.