Game Review: Bomb Fusion (Commodore 64, Mastertronic / PAL Developments)

Bombfusion (as it shows on the inlay) and Bomb Fusion (as it shows on the title screen) was the first in a series of games released by Mastertronic on the PAL Developments range. These had a catalogue number starting with PAL. This was the first game of this short-lived series, hence the catalogue number of PAL CM1 – with SA1 being the Spectrum / Amstrad flippy, and AT1 being the Atari 8-bit version.

The plot of the game has a thinly disguised reference to the Sellafield (formerly Windscale) nuclear plant up in Cumbria, by referring to it as the Sellerscale Nuclear Processing Plant. Here, you, as an ex-super hero after the “Boris affair”, need to go in and save the plant, and potentially the whole Northern Hemisphere, from destruction. Unfortunately, the computer control system inside has malfunctioned too, causing even more problems. That computer system controls the movement of fuel capsules from its ejection port to the packing case for storage. Each of those capsules has its onboard locking computer which locks on to you when in range, so you can guide it to that packing case. There are bombs to defuse (hence the game’s title) and in a light touch sense of humour, you pull up in your customised Sinclair C5 with supposed go faster stripes. Ho ho.

Funky Bombs

The game does not have a loading screen and the title screen is fairly basic, with a nod to the programmer of this conversion, and there is a decent piece of music by Julian Potts, aka Japmaster. That is quite funky, and when you press fire to start the game, there is a little interlude, which you also see between levels, where you board your Sinclair C5 and head off to the door to enter the plant room. Each room has a number of platforms to jump between, as well as pressure pads which can propel you into the air a lot higher to get to the other platforms. On the left-hand side is a radioactivity gauge, which goes up if either a bomb goes off, or you collide with the Balloid. At the bottom you have the bomb’s countdown timer, how many capsules remaining to transport, and the number of lives left.

Straight away you can see that there is a small bucket (in cyan) which is the ejection port where the fuel capsules come out. You can lock on to these and they will start to follow you, reminiscent of the arcade game Flicky, and your task is to locate the crate, which is coloured purple, and deposit the capsules. The more you deposit, the less trips you need to make. There of course is the fact that you can fall through the floor and appear back at the top of the screen, as it wraps around. This can be quite handy to not only get to other platforms that may be out of reach, or the crate, but also to destroy the bombs or avoid the Balloid.

A Load of Old Balloids

There are a number of bombs which are dotted throughout each level. They will start to play a sound indicating that they are about to go off, and you have nine seconds to locate the bomb, walk, jump or fall into it, and the bomb is defused. The bombs can go off sometimes two or three at a time so the eyes and ears are kept busy by attempting to locate those, and there is also one more obstacle to avoid – the Balloid. The Balloid has two purposes: first of all, it will have its own onboard computer which means that the capsules follow that instead of following you. In addition, if you collide with the Balloid, the radioactivity level goes up pretty quickly. It may be useful to locate some safe spots where the Balloid cannot reach you if you are working out a way to defuse the bombs at the same time.

Once you have deposited the required number of capsules in the crate, you need to head for the exit door, which is coloured white. The only indicator you have is the status showing the capsules left at zero, and the door colour does not change or flash. That may have been useful in the heat of battle to be able to locate the exit. Once you exit, it is back in the C5 and off to the next level. There are thirty-two levels in all, with different platform layouts, bombs in more difficult to find places, and the Balloid being more dangerous as it tries to track you down. Oh, and the crate can sometimes be located by falling through the floor to come back at the platform at the top.

Capsules and Crates

The key aspect of this game is the responsiveness of the controls, which makes a difference in the gameplay. When you do jump, you can jump fairly well and land on other platforms, but the use of the pressure pads for extra height is nice. Throughout the jumps and falls, you can move your character left or right meaning with the right amount of inertia applied, you can land on the platform you would like. Colliding with the bomb to defuse it is quite generous: the bomb to defuse is easy to spot on screen, and this means that you do not have to be fully pixel perfect – a sensible design decision here.

The pace of the game is also about right – you do not jump or fall too fast, allowing you to be able to respond well to the situation in place. You can also jump over the Balloid as much as you are able to so that you can avoid colliding, which works fine on platforms, but if the Balloid is falling from above, you do need to have your wits about you. The number of capsules to collect is a fair number too, starting low to begin with so you can get into the mechanics of the game, and then increasing and making it a more difficult exercise later. This does allow you to get into the first few levels and get used to the gameplay too, and again, another sensible design decision.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Bomb Fusion are a mixed bag: your character, the Balloid and the capsules are well defined and you can easily see them. The platforms, bombs and everything else are in high resolution which does make the game look more Spectrum-esque in its feel. The backdrop to all levels is black with the odd starfield, which does make the game clearer and easier to play, so a sensible design decision made there. The movement is smooth and the wrap around of the level works fine. The music is good on the title screen and a nice backing track in-game, and the sound effects are very useful, especially when you can hear the bomb countdown start to tick off, so you can locate the bomb and having no audio when there is no countdown is sensible and enhances the focus.

Final Thoughts

Bomb Fusion is a very good port from the original Spectrum version of the game. Whilst there are some minor graphical enhancements on the main character and Balloid, the look is still very high resolution. The frenetic gameplay action does remain though, so avoiding the Balloid and managing to defuse the bombs in time becomes a more urgent exercise the further you progress. There is a good high score challenge to aim for, and the pick up and play aspect means you can soon get into the gameplay, with some very good playability and responsive controls. It may not play as well as the Spectrum version, but it is still a very good effort and one that, if you are willing to devote the time to, reaps its rewards.

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