App review: Nicky Boom

Price: £5.33
More info: www.clickgamer.com
Verdict: 8

Nicky Boom was originally out all of 15 years ago on the Amiga, which perhaps explains its peculiar retro charm. Surprisingly, though, it plays just as well today. The plot, for what it’s worth, involves your eponymous hero saving his granddad from a witch – unlikely perhaps, but an adequate thread to get you through eight levels and four themed worlds.

As a platform game, you can run, jump or climb your way around, with certain obstacles needing special upgrades to overcome. For example, a log upgrade allows you to build bridges across open water, red bombs activate broken ladders, etc. And of course, there are keys for locked doors to find, usually by back-tracking halfway across a level. All this is smoothly animated and bursting with detail.

In terms of weapons, you’re restricted to a rather underwhelming apple core. Throw them to reveal hidden pathways or knock out enemies. You can also jump on monsters to stun them, which reveals extra food icons, and there’s a limited supply of bombs to do even greater damage if you can find them. In fairness, a few more imaginative weapons might have been helpful, but with the screen so busy with enemies and background animation, there’s plenty for your stylus to be doing already.

Special mention has to go to the music, with a series of cool, catchy tunes that remind you of Japanese console themes or Rob Hubbard’s psychedelic anthems of the past. Either way, they form a great accompaniment to the action. Perhaps you have to be an old-school gamer to really get Nicky Boom, as so much of it harks back to the glory days of the Commodore 64 and SNES. Flashy, addictive games that pushed the hardware to the limit. Nice!

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