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Data East have taken one of the most popular games of the early Eighties, dusted it down and released a brand, spanking new version for the Nintendo! Yes indeed, after a seven year absence, Boulderdash is back!

The game involves a tiny little miner called Rockford, who's on the look-out for jewels. Rockford likes jewels you see, and it's his life's ambition to have a suitably massive collection of such glittering crystalline items. To this end, he's decided to visit a number of mines across four remote words - all of them teeming with massive diamonds! The only problem is that each of these mines is a potential death trap, with plenty of boulders at the ready to crush the life out of poor old Rockford.

The action is displayed Dig Dug-style (remember that classic coin-op?), with Rockford travelling the four-way scrolling mines digging out earth to reach the jewels, looking out on the way for the evil sprites intent on depriving Rockford of one of his lives. The main problem comes in the form of the boulders. Dig some earth away from underneath the boulders and they'll fall. Rockford can rest boulders on his head, but if they drop a distance onto his unprotected scalp, it's curtains! Although Rockford can collect jewels, if these fall on his head, a similarly hideous death befalls him.

There's a time limit for each sub-level, and it's Rockford's objective to collect a certain amount of jewels and find the exit.

A lot of the time the diamonds aren't just waiting to be collected - Rockford has to earn them. Sometimes, there aren't any jewels at all, and this is where the problems start. Fortunately, if the enemy sprites have boulders dropped onto their heads they turn into a stack of jewels.

Some levels are populated by a multiplying mass of fungi; lead the enemies into it and they're immediately turned into diamonds! Collect these, and run for the exit!

He may not sing like Jason Donovan (thank God), but Rockford's mining overalls have the amazing ability to change colour at your command whenever you visit the map screen. So it's possible to colour co-ordinate Rockford with the scenery!

Boulderdash was one of my fave games on the C64, and it holds a similar place of honour in my Gameboy collection. Now, Nintendo have seen fit to release a new, improved version on the NES and it's completely skillful!

Boulderdash was never a game to impress graphically, but Data East have spruced up the original game with more variety in the backdrops and better sprites. Combine this with the classic playability (thankfully Data East have left this largely the same) of the older 8-bit versions and we've got an extremely impressive title.

Boulderdash is a trip down Memory Lane for me, mainly because the maps are identical to the old C64 original - and all the old tactics work too! In all, a great game that should have you digging away on the NES for ages to come.

It might be over six years old, but Boulderdash is still as fresh as ever. Data East have improved the graphics and added a neat front end, but have retained the same maps and gameplay that made the C64 version one of the classic games of all time.

It's massively addictive, calling on arcade skills and fiendish puzzle-solving in a way that draws you totally into the game. You shout with frustration as a wrong move results in Rockford being buried under a pile of boulders, then yell victoriously when you work out how to get those last few diamonds and finish the screen!

Boulderdash is one of the greatest games ever written - if you want a summer of glorious play, treat yourself to a copy as soon as possible.

Presentation 90%
Lively presentation screens, and polished action.

Graphics 75%
Pretty simple, but there's loads of different graphical styles crammed in and some nice sprites.

Sound 78%
Jolly tunes and effects that serve to enhance the atmosphere.

Playability 93%
The classic jewel-collecting, boulder-dodging action makes it to the NES in style.

Lastability 92%
Plenty of levels for Rockford to conquer, and very enjoyable they are too!

Overall 92%
One of the most original, classic games ever makes it to the NES. Check it out!