For anyone who has ever owned a Commodore 64, get ready for a blast from the past; Boulder Dash is back with a new name for a new platform. Feeling nostalgic yet? Lately, there has been a slew of classic games reappearing for the PC; from Lode Runner to Frogger to Asteroids. Are the game companies running out of ideas or are they just cashing in on concepts that were successful a decade ago? Most gamers may not remember the golden days of computer gaming; where text was abundant and graphics were a bonus. Back when Infocom ruled the gaming scene and rich storylines or addictive arcade games were abundant (and an FPS was unheard of), games like Boulder Dash were a dime a dozen. Now however, these design principles have been swept aside (though not entirely) for texture-mapped graphics and 3D sound. Prism Leisure’s Bawlda Dash is basically the original Boulder Dash but revamped for the ‘90s gamer. In retrospect, the graphics in Bawlda Dash are phenomenal, however, when compared to today’s titles, they’re rather plain and two-dimensional. Chances are the visual limitations of this game are due to an effort to recreate the original as closely as possible.

The fact that the sound isn’t coming from the PC speaker will already delight Boulder Dash fanatics. The background noise is appropriately eerie with the odd scream thrown in here and there. The gaming atmosphere is reinforced by the sound which greatly helps to draw the gamer into the diamond filled caverns along with the [miner].

This hybrid of the C64 classic handles multiplayer games identically: two players, one computer. Turn based multiplayer play was effective then but can prove to be disappointing for those of us forking out oodles of cash for high speed internet connections.

Through either the keyboard or joystick, players can move in four directions on their quest for adventure, and of course: diamonds. The puzzles get progressively harder and the enemies more difficult to defeat, as any game of this genre should be. The object of each level is the same: get the diamonds and don’t get crushed. This title will challenge most players but entertain less since the puzzles can get frustrating and death results in you restarting the level. For those players who enjoy the old arcade games, Bawlda Dash will not let you down. Now if only they’d redo Bonanza Brothers...