Funny where I end reviewing games sometimes. I was out the other day with my wife and mother-in-law, both of them were shopping at a very busy street for curtains. Due to the lack of parking spots, I opted to wait in the car (with the engine off) at a back lane, and pick them up when they were done. It was during this time I completed my review of Boulder Dash-XL for the iPhone.
I would classify Boulder Dash-XL as a modern day remake of a classic 2D action-puzzle game. You take control of one of two rather cute mining robots, and each level is a cave where you’ll need to mine a certain number of diamonds before the exit opens up. Video games are rarely straightforward and the same goes for Boulder Dash-XL; there’s a clock to beat.
And like mining in real life, which is fraught with dangers (collapsing mines, gas leaks, explosions, etc), Boulder Dash-XL mines have their fair shares of dangers as well. Digging your way through the caves, you may end up triggering falling boulders, and this may be a good or bad thing since you may not be alone in a level. Players can use these to destroy monsters that they encounter, or to open up paths to diamonds…just remember to quickly step aside when stuff starts falling down.
Those folks passing by at the back lane the other day would have heard me saying “Crap, crap, crap” the first few times my robot got crushed by boulders (the hint to avoid this from happening is already in the game’s title: “Boulder Dash”.. so much for not paying attention) since I had the window down. There’s also the option of blowing monsters up with dynamite, or simply run (again, the dash part).
For me, Boulder Dash-XL represents plenty of awesome value with its over 100 levels, and is pretty much geared for casual gameplay, with levels easily done in a minute or more. The gameplay represents a nice, fun challenge to players, partially due to the level design as well, and there are 5 game modes to choose from. The game’s graphics, which according to the devs are similar to the Xbox 360 and PC versions of this remake, which further adds to the arguement on why do I need a console anymore (and this is why my brother gets to keep the PS3..which I have 3/4 ownership of).
Boulder Dash-XL gets a 4.5 out of 5 as this retro remake comes out a winner and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Published by HeroCraft, the game is available on the App Store for USD 2.99, check it out over here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boulder-dash-xl/id543561520?mt=8
A review code was provided to Nineoverten.com for the purpose of this review.
