Revelation
£9.99 SAM disk
PO Box 114, Exeter, Devon EX4 1YY
Reviewer: Simon Forrester

If you want to know about Boulder Dash style games, talk to me. If it's diggable, I've tunnelled through it. If it falls, I've avoided it. If it's collectable, I've picked it up. In short, I know Boulder Dash. We're like that. (Crosses fingers in complicated fashion.) So when Jonathan asked me to review Wop Gamma, I couldn't turn it down. I live for Boulder Dash. Another Boulder Dash game to me is like, like, another diamond to that bloke in Boulder Dash.

So - the game. It's a straightforward 2D romp around underground caverns, where everything is affected by gravity; the idea being to dig around the place, avoid falling things, and collect diamonds. It all sounds really simple and heartily reflex-y, until you add the puzzle element (waagh - another SAM puzzle game!) with strategically placed obstacles that will quite happily plummet on your, er, sort of shiny green dome thang as you chug around. Oh, and there are the baddies, of course, but they're a bit lacking in the old brains, so you can lead them a merry chase.

Now I don't know who knocked together the levels, but I wouldn't like to play him at chess - this man can create problems with a few obstacles and a diamond that'll have your head aching in under four seconds. But with a little trial and error, and a lot of patience, (and a few friends - Boulder Dash is the original socially interactive game, after all) you should pull through with your nervous system intact.

The graphics. Mmmm. Very nice. Awash with colour, stuffed with objects that have depth, shadows, and just a smattering of cuteness for good measure. Movement is fluid, with smooth scrolling and no eye-blasting flicker. Sonically, you can't complain either. The one thing this game has got is music. And more music. A bit more music, and a few more little tunes just to make up the numbers. Almost makes up for the lack of sound effects, really, does the music.

But back to the gameplay. A couple of people have bemoaned the loss of the YS final verdict categories, so, er, I'll make up a couple now just to placate 'em. First, a gentle probing in the, um, Grab Factor area, not that it's really needed. The puzzles will intrigue you, so much so you'll definitely play again, and again, until you manage to get that last diamond. But what about, er, Staying Power? Think of it like this - with a lot of puzzle games, the solution to a puzzle can be so contrived, and unfathomable (on account of it being completely stupid), that as a player you're turned stone cold, and your machine will be turned off. Not so with WG. Each time you play, you'll figure it all out a little further, and each time you take a fresh look at a particular problem. Of course, it helps if you've got 10 or 15 close friends at hand to offer conflicting advice and boo you if their plans go wrong.

You'll also find that you don't have to play the same levels over and over again - there are 99 of the blessed things - thanks to a nice little password system that gives you instant access to every tenth level, without having to trudge through the graveyards of the stupid. It does take a few levels to really get going, y'see, which is one of the very few faults. There are a couple of others, but they're more sort of petty quibbles, like, shouldn't there be some indication when you've got enough gems to finish the level? As I say, quibbles really, so we'll diskard them uterly.

Wop Gamma is well worth buying. It's fun and addictive, which is about as good a recommendation as you can get. Yes indeedy, if I were to be reviewing this game, which I am, I'd give it quite a good score, which I have.