Bomb Jack - What works
Moderators: mknott, NickThorpe, lcarlson, Darran@Retro Gamer, MMohammed
- Darran@Retro Gamer
- Posts: 6773
- Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:34 am
- Location: Bournemouth
- Contact:
- theantmeister
- Posts: 3440
- Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 8:36 am
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Two words: Lady Madonna 

Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Its simplicity and playability. You think it's easy...but it's not!
For retro news, full articles, retrospectives and a gallery of my work check out http://wizwords.net/
Wizwords on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wizwords
and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wizwords
Wizwords on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wizwords
and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wizwords
- markopoloman
- Posts: 11657
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:03 pm
- Location: Poole, Dorset
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
It is just too bloody addictive. In the arcade I'd lose too much money, at home I had a C64 and that gets slaughtered by people for being mega chunky and ugly - but as it was the version I had to play, I loved it (and the music was brilliant too).
OFF TOPIC DISCUSSIONS - http://retrocanteen.boards.net/
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
The constant striving to get a Perfect on each level to crush the spirits of your friends. The cheerful sprites and smooth frenetic action. The satisfaction of just squeezing past a particularly tricky mob of baddies to snatch the last bomb from underneath their noses. The victory dance at the end of each level.
Get the latest version on the MSX2, it's a treat.
Getting Perfect on the Spectrum HERE, Tricky.

Get the latest version on the MSX2, it's a treat.
Getting Perfect on the Spectrum HERE, Tricky.

- DreamcastRIP
- Posts: 9376
- Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:40 am
- Location: England
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Except that isn't 100% 'perfect'. I only watched until the 2m15s mark but at approximately 2m10s you'll note the player misses collecting one of the bonuses from having killed the enemies. Train spotter award?r0jaws wrote:Getting Perfect on the Spectrum HERE, Tricky.

Own: Jaguar JaguarCD Lynx 7800 Dreamcast Saturn MegaDrive MegaCD 32X Nomad GameGear PS3 PS PSP WiiU Wii GameCube N64 DS GBm GBA GBC GBP GB Virtual Boy Xbox Vectrex PCE Duo-R 3DO CDi CD32 GX4000 WonderSwan NGPC Gizmondo ColecoVision iPhone PC Mac
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Oh, go on then.DreamcastRIP wrote:... Train spotter award?

Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Speaking solely for the fabulous Speccy version: superb playability. Sure, it's only black graphics on a coloured background which graphics fascists won't accept; but so what. It is just so insanely playable - nothing else matters.
Last edited by Sputryk on Tue May 08, 2012 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Simplicity & purity of the gameplay. Bombjack himself controls sublimely, whizzing around the screen, changing directions in mid air. If you lose a life you know it's your fault & not due to the game design itself.
Oh and if you want to do little social experiments on our forum don't post about them on your own you plum - Darren@Retro Gamer
- DreamcastRIP
- Posts: 9376
- Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:40 am
- Location: England
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Sputryk wrote:Speaking solely for the fabulous Speccy version: superb playability. Sure, it's only black graphics on a coloured background which graphics fascists won't accept; but so what. It is just so insanely playable - nothing else matters.
Spot-on x 2!Nemesis wrote:Simplicity & purity of the gameplay. Bombjack himself controls sublimely, whizzing around the screen, changing directions in mid air. If you lose a life you know it's your fault & not due to the game design itself.
The Speccy conversion of Bomb Jack, for me at least, remains one of the true timeless classics of 8-bit gaming. Right up there with the likes of Bubble Bobble and Tetris, imho.
Own: Jaguar JaguarCD Lynx 7800 Dreamcast Saturn MegaDrive MegaCD 32X Nomad GameGear PS3 PS PSP WiiU Wii GameCube N64 DS GBm GBA GBC GBP GB Virtual Boy Xbox Vectrex PCE Duo-R 3DO CDi CD32 GX4000 WonderSwan NGPC Gizmondo ColecoVision iPhone PC Mac
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
It's smooth, it's very playable (we are talking keyboard every time!) and it's very addictive!
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
2 points make Bomb Jack almost the perfect platformer.
Firstly the tactics. The game can be played two ways, whether you play for levels or you play for score changes the game drastically.
Secondly the hover mechanic. This gives you such control over how Jacky flies around the screen that elevates the skill level and avoids the dreaded pixel-perfect jumps that plague other games.
Firstly the tactics. The game can be played two ways, whether you play for levels or you play for score changes the game drastically.
Secondly the hover mechanic. This gives you such control over how Jacky flies around the screen that elevates the skill level and avoids the dreaded pixel-perfect jumps that plague other games.
- gmintyfresh
- Posts: 5955
- Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:28 am
- Location: Leeds England
- Contact:
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
I think the thing I like about bomjack is the sheer pace the game whips along at, jumping from platform to platform, avoiding enemies, and collecting items is a mental as well a physical test. Graphically those backgrounds are still striking and I love the vibrant colours,the game stands out for me when I think about it's comtempories.
Re: Bomb Jack - What works
Being an utter wimp here, but those bird things are just so damn sinister. I haven't played Bomb Jack for what seems like twenty years & I'd forgotten how scary they were.
When playing it again over the weekend I was reminded just how good the game still played.

Re: Bomb Jack - What works
To use a well worn cliché it's easy to pick up but difficult to master. Any fool can get into it, but if you've the skill, the hand-eye co-ordination,the patience, the time & put in the practice you can rack up those ridiculously high scores like stvd.
Also it's like Sir Clive said, there's something there for the high score chasers & something there for the level progressers.
Like the vast majority of games from the golden gaming era of the mid 80's, you don't have to plough through instruction manuals or sit through frustrating tutorials or mind numbing cut scenes. This would mean nothing of course if it wasn't for how goddamn fun it is to play.
Also it's like Sir Clive said, there's something there for the high score chasers & something there for the level progressers.
Like the vast majority of games from the golden gaming era of the mid 80's, you don't have to plough through instruction manuals or sit through frustrating tutorials or mind numbing cut scenes. This would mean nothing of course if it wasn't for how goddamn fun it is to play.
You can follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/DaveySloan
Sponsor Me http://www.justgiving.com/daveysloan2014
OR type 99 to continue
Sponsor Me http://www.justgiving.com/daveysloan2014
OR type 99 to continue
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests