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Any reader of Zzap! will know about the little stick person, Rockford, cavorting about in the margins. In this, Melbourne House's conversion of their own arcade game (under the Arcadia banner), he has a more human form, but holds onto the style of play found in Boulderdash.

Rockford, in his new shape, must travel to far off locations to retrieve lost treasures, from the hidden land of El Dorado to the cold blackness of outer space (Oooh!) - one of five quests may be selected on the opening page.

All the nasties of the original Boulderdash series are here, depicted in a separate graphic style for each location (for example, the rocks of the original are planets in space). If Rockford collects enough treasure, he can leave the location and travel elsewhere.

The Boulderdash theme, I thought, was running a bit thin by the time of Boulderdash III, and when I heard about the release of an arcade game, it seemed to be a bit of a joke.

However, the game did reasonably well, so a home version looked to be very much on the cards. Rockford is nicely presented, with pretty graphcs and a chirpy overall sense of humour, but there is still that feeling of deja-vu lurking in the background.

There are only a few games of the type on the Amiga, and 16-bit owners may wish to have at least one clone in their collection - but when all is said and done, it comes down to just how sick you are of this format.

In the coin-op, and so in this conversion the in-game Rockford appears as a smaller version of his previous title screen appearances in the Boulder Dash series, and in a number of different outfits.

I much preferred his original look - in Rockford, the game, he is sickeningly cute instead of endearingly so. The game itself is just the usual series of Boulder Dash caves with diamonds, boulders and nasties adapted to be visually appropriate to the level scenario.

The graphics are well detailed, especially for their size, and add a new slant to the trusted formula without distracting you. Fans of the C64 versions will find this hard to resist, and newcomers will warm to the addictive play.

Presentation 79%
Nicely put together with some humorous pieces.

Graphics 78%
Well defined, but not wonderfully animated.

Sound 53%
Average music and wishy-washy effects.

Hookability 71%
Boulderdash fans already know what to expect.

Lastability 47%
It's quite tough but there are only five screens.

Overall 54%
A competent arcade conversion but the actual game is too derivative.