I could listen to chip-tunes all day. I saved up my allowance for years, and in junior high bought a Commodore 64 with the money. It’s SID sound chip was way beyond what the Atari, IBM, Apple, and Spectrum competition offered, so I earned a fine appreciation for quality chip-tunes. Without exaggeration, “Diamond Caves” is worth it to me just for the soundtrack itself, as the developer’s done some good chiptunes work here and the songs appear to be unique to this game, unless I miss my guess.
But as it turns out, there’s also a good game here. A 2-for-1 value! It’s Boulderdash, but on steroids (and then some). Forget the cramped, non-scrolling levels on the 8-bit computers of the ’80s, here you have huge sprawling levels. A local multiplayer mode for two players is present as well. It’s good fun navigating the big levels collecting gems, avoiding traps that would harm you, dropping bombs, and finding your way to the exit. It costs $1 Canadian, and something similar in your local currency.
Here’s what the developer (diamond productions) has to say about the game:
“In Diamond Caves you just have to collect enough Emeralds and Diamonds and then reach the exit in time. Sounds easy? Then watch out for Bugs and Spaceships, Bombs and Dynamite, Keys and Doors, Acid Pools, Teleporters, Conveyor Belts and much more obstacles to conquer. You can play this game alone or in cooperative teamwork mode!”
On a side note, today’s number is reminding me that I really want a Nokia Lumia 1020.
And on a second side note, I’m going to end this with possibly the best-ever SID-chip infused chiptune: The Last Ninja. This absolutely blew my mind in the ’80s.
Writings of Mass Deduction 