What child of the 80's doesn't know Bombjack? Many a coin vanished into Bombjack arcade machines in the 80's, and the game can still hold its own even these days. However it is not a deep game indeed, it is very simple and requires little thought beyond "which way is that baddie about to move?".
So what is Bombjack? Basically a single screen, non-scrolling platform arcade game, in which you control a man with the amazing ability to jump very high and then float back down again.
Your aim is to collect the bombs on the screen while avoiding the flying nastiest, which are out to stop you. If you collect the bombs which have their fuses lit, (of which there is only one at any time, so you have to collect them in order), you defuse them and you get a bonus score. You can defuse unlit bombs, however you do not get as many points for them and the total bonus for the screen is reduced. Also it delays the appearance of bonus items that appear such as the 'power-up' that allows you to destroy the enemies. When all the bombs on the screen have been collected, the level ends and a new layout of platforms and bombs will appear.
And
no, the lit bombs do not explode... they are merely their for bonus purposes.
Each level has a backdrop of a famous tourist destination, such as Egypt and Hollywood. The backgrounds, and the levels, do repeat eventually, however they also get more difficult too.
Bombjack was widely considered a classic when released, and as a result has been ported to many home computer systems since 1985, including Sega, C64, Amiga, Gameboy, MSX and PC. Incidentally, for all those Beatles fans, Bombjack's round 2 music on the arcade version was the Beatles' "Lady Madonna".
