Back in 1984, a small software company, CDS Microsystems, released Timebomb for the 16K Spectrum. It required basic puzzle solving combined with arcade game reflexes, and, despite its very simplistic graphics and awful rendition of Fur Elise, it had a huge following. The idea is very simple - defuse the bombs before the timer reaches zero and the bomb goes off. In doing so, however, the squares you walk on disappear, so you can't directly retrace your steps. You can also collect bonus points, but must avoid walking on the skulls or the moving baddies from level 2 onwards. You can also scroll the whole row of tiles you are standing on if there are no moving baddies on the row, and the game features full wraparound, adding an extra element to the puzzle.
Sounds simple, doesn't it? Indeed, the basic idea is very simple, which is the way all good puzzle games should be. However, you will find that the gameplay starts out easy, but gets hard fast, so I hope you've got your fingers primed and your brain ready for action!
Update: Due to an oversight there was no timing code included in the original release, causing the game to run like lightning on some machines (oops!) This new version fixes that bug. |
