Bomb'X

The mid-nineties held one thing consistently without exception — when publishers didn't know which category to put a game in, they figured nobody had to worry about it. Bomb'X is exactly that kind of piece that doesn't grab you right away — which is precisely what makes it interesting.

It's a puzzle game where bombs rain down from above and you have to shoot them or stack them into groups so they break apart. It's not Tetris, and it's not Space Invaders either. More like someone took the foundation from games like Columns or Puyo Puyo, added shooting, and figured they'd sort it out as they went along. The screen is simple — rows and columns, your cursor at the bottom where you shoot, stuff falling from the top. The grid fills up gradually and your only bet is constant destruction to keep it from spilling over the edge.

The mechanics sound simple, but in practice it's a bit different. There's not much time to think, things fall fast, and it's not just the same little balls — you've got different colors, different effects, and it's not entirely clear whether something breaks from clustering or if you just have to hit it precisely. That's both a flaw and a strength. You don't get the complex chains that Puyo built on, but it's still plenty intense. The game grows on you gradually, which isn't fashionable anymore, but back in the nineties you took it in stride.

Bomb'X never achieved the fame of Tetris or Klondike, and no wonder. It's not a bad game, but it's not particularly good at anything either — just an average drop-and-shoot that someone threw together for a while and then forgot about. The sound is what you'd expect from 1993 on a PC without a Sound Blaster. Without any real identity, you'll only remember it until you play something else.

These days I play it mainly to see what all got crammed into computers in the nineties. Nothing against it, but it's not a game you'd notice if it didn't exist. It's the digital equivalent of doodling in a waiting room — pleasant, but forgettable.