Boulder Dash Game
Boulder Dash is a gem of a game that anybody who owns a PC or Game Boy Color can play. It is a physics based gem game that puts players in the shoes (as a character) of a blimp that crashes through obstacles and mazes in order to score points. The controls work a little bit differently than the old school Mario or Sonic games. For example, you will find your character holding onto a rope as you hit an obstacle and then release it when you hit a wall. There are a few other dynamics as well, but those are the basics. The best thing about Boulder Dash, however, is that it runs very well on both Windows and Linux, and it is one of my favorite PC games because of its solid level design and cute little graphics.
It was a PC game released in 1995, and as you can imagine, it wasn't well received by gaming enthusiasts at the time. It did, however, find a following among gamers who loved the cute, physics-based gameplay, as well as the great music. It was a fairly popular PC arcade game for a long time, and after the transition to Dreamcast, the game was ported to the darker side of the spectrum, where you would find a bright, colorful world, complete with neon colors and rippedadoes. The visuals are pretty much identical to the original Boulder Dash, and that is a good thing, since we want to keep the old fans happy! Today, Boulder Dash is still very much a graphical showcase of Sonic's unique abilities and never-ending platforming mechanics.
One of the best parts of the Boulder Dash series is its level editor, which allows you to edit each level. By selecting a different map style (some have an overhead view of the action, some are isometric), you can modify your level to be anything from a simple puzzle to a massive attack on every enemy you see. Even if you're not into playing the custom games, you still have the ability to make your own custom levels! There are a lot of really cool tools that allow you to create new levels and even upload them for other players to try. Overall, the level editor is one of my favorite things about the game and helps to make sure you never reach a boring level.
