C&VG
1st November 1987Skull-diggery
Ask anyone, who has been playing computer games for a few years, to name their top ten titles, and the name Boulderdash will appear with monotonous regularity. So it's not surprising that this most addictive of arcade classics has been reincarnated a number of times under various different names. The latest of these is Skull-diggery from Nexus.
The game, for anyone who really hasn't seen or played the original, puts you in a number of caverns (100 in all), each full of diamonds ripe for the picking. But, not unexpectedly, things aren't quite as simple as they sound, because the caverns are also full of bats, crazy ghosts and creeping vines.
As a bouncy cave mite, your staple diet consists, quite naturally, of diamonds, preferably in extremely large quantities. To get your fill, you must burrow your way through the caverns, avoiding anything that moves, and most things that don't. Any bats or ghosts that you accidentally set free will chase you along the tunnels you leave - don't hang around to make friends either, because any contact is deadly.
Skull-diggery runs on colour or mono ST systems, allowing it the widest possible audience. Although some companies like Rainbird already do it, it is good to see others like Nexus producing dual format ST games, and hopeful others will follow suite. After all, just because someone bought an ST primarily for word processing it doesn't mean they should be starved of fun too - look how many games have been converted for the Amstrad PCW.
Another welcome additional feature in Skull-diggery is the two player option, which allows to players to concurrently indulge in either co-operative, or competitive play.
As in all, the game is proficiently produced, but lacks the excitement and addictive qualities of the original, which is available on the ST already. Watch out for Boulderdash on the Amiga, it's truly wondrous!