BLOCKHEAD

£14.99

Applaud Software announce that their latest release, Blockhead, is available now. It works on all Amigas with at least 1.5 meg memory, and you can get it from the address below for the all inclusive price of £14.99.

So what is it? It's a variation on a theme that has been done many times before. You manoeuvre all the blocks into the holes before the exit will open. Then you go to the next, slightly harder, level and do it again. Boring, eh?

No! This may be an old style of puzzle game but the original idea is an entertaining one, and Applauds additional ideas have enhanced the gameplay considerably. The graphics are in the style of Aplauds previous release, DNA, but they are nice and clear, attractive, and depict the objects and obstacles very well.

It's a top-down view where you control a little man who's job it is to push or pull the different coloured blocks into the correctly coloured holes. However there is ice to contend with, energy draining squares, lightning emitting squares, a time limit and more. On the more positive side, there are sticks of dynamite to blow away some walls, energy replenishments, fruit to collect for points, ice skates, timer resets, etc.

Plus there is a tutorial available from the title page which is useful to introduce you to the basic gameplay. The more advanced elements are introduced into the game the further you progress. These come in on a trial and error basis, some have obvious uses, some don't. Considering you start with only three lives, you have to be pretty careful in choosing how to use some of the items! You can also check the high score table to see if your efforts were worthy. Or exit cleanly back to the workbench (an option missing from so many games).

There is luckily a password option (which I think was an oversight in DNA) to help you along the way and I tell you, you'll need it. The tutorial and first few levels lead you nicely into the way the game works, you'll get your head round the logic of it and work out what the first few important helpfull items are for. This is important to your progress, you have to learn as you go, decide what the new item will do for you, then test it out. If you get it wrong this will probably mean that you'll forfeit the level, get it right and you progress a little further.

I've seen this type of game loads of times before, big versions, small versions, Workbench versions, but this is one of the few that shine above the others. All the little extras that most of the rest don't have, make this a very playable and interesting game. If you like logical puzzles as well, then this is worth the asking price. I hope Applauds future releases will be as good as this one is and look forward to seeing them.

Score = 87%