You must collect all the diamonds in a dangerous mine filled with monsters, boulders and deadly explosives in this 2D adventure. Version 1.2 features a few new sound effects and a couple of bug fixes.
Bouldermouse is a variant of much-cloned gem hunting game Boulderdash. In this outing there are 3D rendered graphics and a spoken introduction sequence, but the main game is much the same. Move Bouldermouse around each level, collecting all the diamonds and avoiding the monsters. Dig through dirt and watch out for falling boulders, though a falling diamond is just as lethal. Both Bouldermouse and monsters can be killed by them. Boulders and explosives can be pushed if they have nothing on the other side to obstruct them. If you accidentally destroy a diamond, you'll need to restart the level by pressing Escape and losing a life. You get a level code when you finally expire so you don't need to restart from the beginning. Options to change graphical effects and whether windowed or full screen are available in an externally run config program.
The very simple controls are deceptive. Many of your lives will be lost by using the Escape key, having accidentally let a diamond be destroyed or trapped yourself. As boulders cannot balance on top of each other and dirt stops monsters there's a small amount of strategy involved with the routes you dig. Bombs and dynamite are both very dangerous, so be careful.
Graphics are 3D rendered and the 3D effect is shown off whenever you start (or restart) a level. Animation is smooth. Simple music tracks make the game more enjoyable, sound effects are nice too, from digging noises to the grunts as Bouldermouse pushes objects to the rumble of rolling rocks.
This is a game that will last you some time. You can continue from the last level you reached by noting the four digit code when you finally expire. There's a level editor included with the full version but it takes a little getting used to and lacks more advanced features. Object selection is possible with both mouse and keyboard.
My overall impression of Bouldermouse is that is still a beta version of a fantastic game, when is finished, it will be great.
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