Bomberland

Commodore 64 Developer: Samar Productions (2013)
C64 Publisher: RGCD (2013)
Copyright: Samar Productions
C64 Coding: Michal ‘Skull’ Okowicki
C64 Graphics: Michal ‘Skull’ Okowicki
C64 Design: Michal ‘Skull’ Okowicki
Music/Sound Effetcs: Owen ‘Conrad’ Crowley
Box Design: Steve Day
PAL & NTSC Testing: David Simmons
Game Mode: 1-5 players
Game Format: Cartridge
Genre: 2D Action / Puzzle

Gameplay:

Bomberland is a 2D action/puzzle type game. The mission of the game is to guide our hero through Bomberland, fighting hordes of enemies that loyally protect the main objective – Lord Bomber. Bombs are the only weapon you have access to, so grab as many as possible. Placing bombs are done by pressing the fire button on the joystick and they detonate after approximately 2 seconds. Bombs cannot be defused so once planted they will explode and the blast will kill you if you don’t run…

Brick walls are placed throughout the levels. They act as corridors and are useful as protection against explosions and enemies. However, they can be destroyed by bombs if they are in your way! Some brick walls contain power-ups and the EXIT portal which is needed to get to the next level. If you clear all brick walls in a level, an award will be rewarded in form of additional points.

Monsters have been placed throughout the game and they all have their own unique behaviour. Some are slow and quiet while others are aggressive and fast. The monsters will get more and more  sophisticated as you progress through each level. The game comes with a ‘monster sheet’ that describes the monsters in further detail! Take some time to get to know your monsters as this will ease the kill!

Using power-ups will make it easier to kill enemies. These are scattered across the levels and include increased blast range, additional bombs, speed boots, bomb passing and kicking, remote bombs, shields and the ‘lucky dip’ skull suprises.

Time is always an issue and each level must be completed within a certain time which can be seen in the upper left corvner of the screen. When time runs out, Time Guards will hunt you down and attack you from all sides. They can be killed but it is extremely difficult and time consuming.

Adding points to your score can be done by killing enemies, clearing all destructable walls and/or keep your player alive for an extended time. An extra life is awarded when you reach 100.000 points.

Levels:

The game contains a total of 36 levels which are divided into six worlds, each with a different theme (the Brick Factory, the Swamps, the Rockies, the Snowy Foothills, the Laboratory and the Castle of Lord Bomber). Each world is completed by killing an end boss. The overall objective is to clear each level from enemies and exit through the Exit portal. If the portal is blown up by mistake, evil creatues will awaken and have to be killed before continuing. The game climaxes in Level 36 when facing Lord Bomber in his castle.

Here are the intro screen and some screen dumps from the single-player campaign of Bomberland.

This is what it looks like when 5 players tries to eliminate each other in Deathmatch.

In-game Video:

This is a trailer of the game made by rgcd.

Original Game:

The physical format of the game is on a Commodore 64 game cartridge. It is compatible with the C64 Games system as all controls can be made with joystick inputs (a C64 with a keyboard is needed for 5 player battles, though!). The game was sold out in its physical format, so I opted for the download and made a cartridge myself. The download includes pdf’s of a poster and extensive information of the monsters. The .bin file needed for making the EPROM is also included in the download and the cartridge PCB can be bought on Ebay. To complete the physical game, I got a modified plastic Universal Game Case with a custom made foam insert and an orange cartridge shell. This is the final product…

When I received the package from rgcd with the Universal Game Case, they had included a printed copy of the poster – thanks 🙂

4 Player Setup

Bomberland supports several 4 player adapters including the CGA from protovision (link) and the HIT from Excess and Hitmen (link). It is also possible to play the game with a keyboard, but who wants to do that, huh? I used two ZipStiks, a The Arcade and a Competition Pro for testing the game.

I have a copy of the 4 player adapter that I got from Individual Computers (link). I had a case 3D printed to make the adapter look a little more finished as described here (link). The port numbers on the case have been swapped for some unknown reason by the guy who designed them. No biggie when the lights go out and bombs have to be planted!

Verdict:

For several decades the fast paced gameplay of the Bomberman series has entertained gamers around the world. The final version of Bomberland for the Commodore 64 (following Bombastic Benny & Bomberman 64) is very captive, fast-paced and the soundtrack is awesome! I spent hours playing the single-player campaign of Bomberland. Despite the fact that my bombing skills never got me anywhere near the last stage with Load Bomber, I never found the game annoying or frustrating to play. Most of my Bomberland games ended because of my poor abilities to place bombs (and get out of the way) or I simply ran out of time. The multiplayer part of the game (Deathmatch) is an awesome addition to the gameplay. Playing Bomberland with a couple of (nerdy!) friends will definately cause shouting, cursing and some good laughs.

Bomberland is a very addictive game. So go get your explosives ready and see if you can take out Lord Bomber!

Bomberland game verdict

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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