Previous Next

Jack is back! The youngest of the Bomb brothers has returned to fight the good fight against the evil King Demon Beelzebut (cousin of Beelzebub and half-brother to Beelzebum, presumably).

Merciful King Pamera, his Queen and Princess daughter have been captured by Beelzebut and are currently doing time in Beelzebut's pyramid fortress. Exactly why warped old Beelzebut is holding the prisoner is another matter, enough to say that they need rescuing, and pronto.

This task falls to young BombJack. Still as lively as ever, still practising his rather odd hobby of bomb-collecting, but now new and improved, having earned the title 'Mighty' somewhere between Bombjack 2 and here.

Anyone who's played the earlier BombJack games will immediately know what to expect. In his previous adventures, Jack leaps and flies around static screens, avoiding monsters and collecting the red bombs. Once he's cleared the current screen of explosives, he moves onto the next. This time, though, it's not so simple. Beelzebut's pyramid is made of 16 huge tunnels and rooms filling over a hundred screens which Jack has to progress through. These catacombs are home sweet home for a variety of floating, hovering nasties all of which, it has to be said, are beautifully detailed and very nicely animated. Pretty though they may be, they're all Jack killers and one touch spells instant doom to our caped hero.

Along the way there are a huge number of treasure chests just waiting to be opened. Jack jumps on these to flip the lid and then touches whatever bonus reveals itself. In this way Jack can earn extra power, extra lives and, for the greedier BombJackers out there, a vast wad of points.

On reaching the end of each corridor, there's a Royal Palace room which is very much a throwback to Jack's earlier adventures. This single screen has a set number of bombs, all of which must be collected before he's allowed to leave and continue his mission. However, if he dies in this room, Jack is sent to the start of the previous level. Horrors!

TMB is a worthy successor in the BombJack line. It has taken the already addictive gameplay and added several new dimensions to it. It's now less of an arcade reaction game. more of an arcade adventure. The large levels, intermediate screens and hidden bonuses put it on a par with titles like the legendary Super Mario Bros!

There are many ways to play the game: you can go for maximum points, hunt for the many hidden chests and rooms, or just try to explore as far as possible. In this respect, TMB is extremely addictive: the increasing difficulty is well graded and, just when you think you've seen everything, Beelzebut's pyramid throws something new at you!

Elite haven't released much on the C64 of late but this game has to rank as one of the best they've ever done. With above-average presentation, slick controls and classic gameplay, it would be a crime not to give The Mighty BombJack our highest accolade. "It's A Corker!"

1. Incredibly annoying soundtrack.

1. Stunning sprites, beautifully detailed and nicely animated.
2. Slick, responsive arcade quality controls - BombJack is highly manoeuvrable.
3. Huge vertical and horizontal scrolly levels to explore.
4. Secret traps and bonuses ensure that there is always something new to see.
5. Great array of power-ups and collectible bonuses.
6. Increasing level of difficulty is nicely graded.
7. There are many styles of play - choose to explore, play for points, or just survive!
8. Plenty of variety in the visuals, problems and puzzles.