Six Feet Under

The Good
There is quite a bit of visual appeal for the graphics in the game. All the textures and objects are realistic and recognisable. And while the lack of animation is apparent on the creatures you encounter, the main character’s walk animations not only add to realism, but they also let you know that the character is pushing a boulder and that you’re not stuck. Keeping with the atmosphere of the levels are the midi music tracks (some based on well known tunes), reflecting the mood of the level’s elements. The sound effects work well too, especially the announcements for collecting an extra life and time.

The first twelve levels gradually introduce new elements to give new players an idea of what to expect and how to solve puzzles. The difficulty for the most part is well-balanced, and where levels seem to present too far a challenge, there is always the option to skip levels with passwords (which are easily available on the internet). One big advantage is that the player can farm for virtually infinite lives by losing after collecting extra lives. Experienced players can experiment to find new ways to get more points than what is required to beat the levels.

The Bad
While the game mechanics hold out, there are certain oddities that upset the flow. One of them is the Zoom-In effect, which does magnify, but seems to put the frame rate out of sync so you’ll end up losing a life, such as grabbing a gem right next to lava and getting fried before you can make a clean escape. You also have to time your movements perfectly in zigzag passages so that the walls don’t slow you down from going to the next empty space, making the ability to outrun creatures and hazards a really chore. Another issue is the way creatures work. With grid-based movement and positioning, timing has to be precise to strafe past a creature without getting eaten. What is lacking in the game is that you don’t get extra lives for getting a certain score like most arcade-style games. And lastly, there’s no level editor, but you can edit the existing levels if you’re feeling adventurous.

Apart from gameplay, it feels as if some of the levels lack though and proper challenge such as level 15, while others such as level 24 are incredibly unfair due to being literally surrounded by creatures and there isn’t a convectional way to pass it. It gets samey when you see so many symmetrically structured levels. Sometimes the game uses the same music tracks more than once, in a couple of instances for two levels in a row, which kind of ruins the mood of 5e game. The developers could have easily included a few more extra midi tracks.

The Bottom Line
Not every variant of a known game comes as a complete knockoff. EnQue definitely found a way to make this Boulderdash variant interesting and imaginative. I guarantee you won’t call this one “Balderdash”. Chances of getting the registered version today are slim, and the game is not compatible with modern Windows computers, but for what it is, there is a lot anticipation for novice gamers, and many means to exercise arcade skills for intrepid gamers. Mac and Linux gamers could have enjoyed this one, had it been ported. This game really needs to be brought back into the spotlight. If there is ever a community workshop to make new levels and game mechanics for a HD version of this game count me in.