Bombuzal
Encyclopedia
Bombuzal is a computer puzzle game designed by Antony Crowther
(credited as Ratt in the game) and David Bishop for Image Works
. The game was released in 1988 for the Amiga
, Atari ST
and Commodore 64
. It was also released in 1989 for MS-DOS
and 1990 for the Super NES
, with the North American version renamed as Ka-Blooey.
called Charlie Blast's Territory
re-made by Scott Kim
and released by Kemco
producers of the Super NES version of Ka-Blooey. Among its notable features was the ability to play using either an overhead or isometric
view.
To complete each of its 130 levels, the avatar has to destroy all bombs on the level. He must stand on top of the bomb to light it, then is only able to take one step away before the bomb explodes; he can also pick up and move bombs, but only the ones that are on Rail tiles. Bombs come in different sizes and it is only possible to ignite the smallest kind without dying. In most cases, the bombs have to be set off using a chain reaction
to prevent the avatar from being killed in the explosion; at other times, separated small bombs can be destroyed one at a time.
Each Bomb/Mine has a reaction zone. For example, a Small bomb will only destroy the tile it's on, but will affect any other Bombs/Mines one tile away in the four main directions. A Large bomb will destroy 13 tiles, and its reaction zone will be one tile farther away than the tiles destroyed in each of the four directions, and diagonally between these four points.
The Amiga version of Bombuzal was included as a fully working game on the cover disk
of the first issue of Amiga Power
.
Riveted floor tile : Like the normal floor tile, but cannot be destroyed.
Dissolver : A floor tile that disappears after you step off it.
Ice : A floor tile covered in ice. Stepping onto an ice floor tile will continue travelling in that direction until you meet a non-ice floor tile or fall off the map.
Spinner : Stepping onto a spinner sends you off in a random direction.
Teleport : Teleports you to a pre-determined square. Though you de-materialise before any explosions, re-materialisation occurs only after all bombs on that move have exploded. Landing on a tile that has been destroyed will kill the avatar.
Switch : Causes a change in the tiles (eg, blocks appearing or bombs changing size) in pre-determined places; using it again reverts the changes. Switches can be destroyed.
Rail : Bombs can be picked up and moved along connected rail tiles.
Power temple : An immobile object that absorbs all explosion of an adjacent medium to large bomb or mine. Only the tiles with the explosive and the temple are destroyed, and the bomb chain damage is nulled. This makes manual blowing of medium to large bombs completely safe next to power temples.
Small bomb : A bomb that destroys one floor tile. The only bomb that can be set off without dying.
Medium bomb : A bomb that destroys five floor tiles: the one it's on and the four above, below and to either side.
Large bomb : A bomb that destroys thirteen floor tiles: the tile it's on, the eight connecting tiles, and the second tile away from it in each of the four directions.
Swell bomb : It grows from Small to Large and back again; the size of blast is determined by the size of bomb at point of ignition.
Aerial bombs : Same as the regular bombs, but when one Aerial Bomb blows up it sends a signal to all other aerial bombs and they also explode.
Small mine : Like the small bomb but will explode immediately upon touch.
Large mine : Like the medium bomb but will explode immediately upon touch.
Bubble : A drone that can be used in place of your avatar to ignite one bomb or mine. When Bubble dies, control returns to your avatar.
Squeak : Like Bubble, but stupider. Will explode the first bomb it touches.
There are also two enemies, Sinister and Dexter, appearing on some levels. These continuously travel along the level, with Sinister always turning left and Dexter always turning right. Neither Sinister nor Dexter actively pursues the avatar, but contact with either is fatal.
magazine for the C64 and Amiga versions respectively, compared to a review in Commodore User
magazine awarding a mere 49%. The former reviews applaud it as an addictive puzzle game with "cute" graphics, while the latter criticizes gameplay, graphics, and controls.
The game was released by Spotlight Software and distributed by Cinemaware
in the compilation BrainBlasters with Xevious 2
for the Amiga
. This compilation was reviewed in 1991 in Dragon
#165 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave BrainBlasters 5 out of 5 stars.
, Andrew Braybrook
, Geoff Crammond
and Jeff Minter
. Jeff Minter's level blew up to leave behind a llama dropping a pile of dung.
Antony Crowther
Antony 'Ratt' Crowther is a former designer, programmer and musician of Commodore 64 games. During the 1980s he worked for Alligata, Gremlin Graphics and later Crowther's own company, Wizard Development....
(credited as Ratt in the game) and David Bishop for Image Works
Image Works
Image Works was a publishing label of video games publisher Mirrorsoft created in 1988. The first two games published under the Image Works label were Fernandez Must Die and Foxx Fights Back...
. The game was released in 1988 for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. It was also released in 1989 for MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
and 1990 for the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, with the North American version renamed as Ka-Blooey.
Summary
This video game had a sequel/remake available only for the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
called Charlie Blast's Territory
Charlie Blast's Territory
Charlie Blast's Territory, or is a puzzle game developed by Realtime Associates and published by Kemco...
re-made by Scott Kim
Scott Kim
Scott Kim is an American puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author. He started writing an occasional "Boggler" column for Discover magazine in 1990, and became an exclusive columnist in 1999, and created hundreds of other puzzles for magazines such as Scientific American and Games, as...
and released by Kemco
KEMCO
, sometimes referred to as Kotobuki System Co., Ltd., is a Japanese video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as a subsidiary of Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd, located in: Seika, Japan....
producers of the Super NES version of Ka-Blooey. Among its notable features was the ability to play using either an overhead or isometric
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
view.
To complete each of its 130 levels, the avatar has to destroy all bombs on the level. He must stand on top of the bomb to light it, then is only able to take one step away before the bomb explodes; he can also pick up and move bombs, but only the ones that are on Rail tiles. Bombs come in different sizes and it is only possible to ignite the smallest kind without dying. In most cases, the bombs have to be set off using a chain reaction
Chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
to prevent the avatar from being killed in the explosion; at other times, separated small bombs can be destroyed one at a time.
Each Bomb/Mine has a reaction zone. For example, a Small bomb will only destroy the tile it's on, but will affect any other Bombs/Mines one tile away in the four main directions. A Large bomb will destroy 13 tiles, and its reaction zone will be one tile farther away than the tiles destroyed in each of the four directions, and diagonally between these four points.
The Amiga version of Bombuzal was included as a fully working game on the cover disk
Covermount
Covermount is the name given to storage media or other products packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper...
of the first issue of Amiga Power
Amiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
.
Game objects
Normal floor tile : It is possible to walk safely on these floor tiles. Exploding bombs will destroy them.Riveted floor tile : Like the normal floor tile, but cannot be destroyed.
Dissolver : A floor tile that disappears after you step off it.
Ice : A floor tile covered in ice. Stepping onto an ice floor tile will continue travelling in that direction until you meet a non-ice floor tile or fall off the map.
Spinner : Stepping onto a spinner sends you off in a random direction.
Teleport : Teleports you to a pre-determined square. Though you de-materialise before any explosions, re-materialisation occurs only after all bombs on that move have exploded. Landing on a tile that has been destroyed will kill the avatar.
Switch : Causes a change in the tiles (eg, blocks appearing or bombs changing size) in pre-determined places; using it again reverts the changes. Switches can be destroyed.
Rail : Bombs can be picked up and moved along connected rail tiles.
Power temple : An immobile object that absorbs all explosion of an adjacent medium to large bomb or mine. Only the tiles with the explosive and the temple are destroyed, and the bomb chain damage is nulled. This makes manual blowing of medium to large bombs completely safe next to power temples.
Small bomb : A bomb that destroys one floor tile. The only bomb that can be set off without dying.
Medium bomb : A bomb that destroys five floor tiles: the one it's on and the four above, below and to either side.
Large bomb : A bomb that destroys thirteen floor tiles: the tile it's on, the eight connecting tiles, and the second tile away from it in each of the four directions.
Swell bomb : It grows from Small to Large and back again; the size of blast is determined by the size of bomb at point of ignition.
Aerial bombs : Same as the regular bombs, but when one Aerial Bomb blows up it sends a signal to all other aerial bombs and they also explode.
Small mine : Like the small bomb but will explode immediately upon touch.
Large mine : Like the medium bomb but will explode immediately upon touch.
Bubble : A drone that can be used in place of your avatar to ignite one bomb or mine. When Bubble dies, control returns to your avatar.
Squeak : Like Bubble, but stupider. Will explode the first bomb it touches.
There are also two enemies, Sinister and Dexter, appearing on some levels. These continuously travel along the level, with Sinister always turning left and Dexter always turning right. Neither Sinister nor Dexter actively pursues the avatar, but contact with either is fatal.
Reception
Examples for the mixed reviews the game received are 97% and 92% ratings from Zzap!64Zzap!64
Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....
magazine for the C64 and Amiga versions respectively, compared to a review in Commodore User
Commodore User
Commodore User, known to the readers as the abbreviated CU, was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. A publishing history spanning over 15 years, mixing content with technical and games features...
magazine awarding a mere 49%. The former reviews applaud it as an addictive puzzle game with "cute" graphics, while the latter criticizes gameplay, graphics, and controls.
The game was released by Spotlight Software and distributed by Cinemaware
Cinemaware
Cinemaware was a computer game developer and publisher that released several popular titles in the 1980s based on various movie themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.-Cinemaware Corp...
in the compilation BrainBlasters with Xevious 2
Super Xevious
also is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. As the name suggests, it is the sequel to Xevious, which was released 2 years earlier.-Gameplay:...
for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
. This compilation was reviewed in 1991 in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#165 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave BrainBlasters 5 out of 5 stars.
Trivia
The game featured level designs by several gaming celebrities, including Jon RitmanJon Ritman
Jon Ritman is a software developer, notable for his work on major 1980s video games. Working primarily on games for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computer range. His first experience with a computer was at the age of 13, and first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 that he bought in 1981.His first...
, Andrew Braybrook
Andrew Braybrook
Andrew Braybrook is a software engineer, a former game programmer. He created video games such as Paradroid, Gribbly's Day Out, Fire and Ice, Uridium and Morpheus. He also programmed the Commodore Amiga conversion of the arcade game Rainbow Islands.Braybrook started out writing accounting programs...
, Geoff Crammond
Geoff Crammond
Geoff Crammond is a computer game designer and programmer who specialises in motor racing games. A former defense industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain...
and Jeff Minter
Jeff Minter
Jeff 'Yak' Minter is a British computer/video game designer and programmer. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and his recent works include Neon , a non-game music visualization program that has been built into the Xbox 360 console, and the video games Space Giraffe , and Space Invaders...
. Jeff Minter's level blew up to leave behind a llama dropping a pile of dung.