Boyan's Crystal

.: By: Mike :: Device used: iPAQ H3650 :: July 30, 2000 :: Buy this game :.

The original author of Tetris, Alexei Pajitnov, has a lot to answer for. Tetris is the game that spawned a thousand clones, some good, most not. It is to strategy games what Doom or Wolfenstein 3D is to the 3D shooter; it's where it all began.

As you might have guessed by now, Boyan's Crystal is a Tetris offshoot. To be fair, it's quite a long way removed from the original, but the Tetris influence is definitely there and fortunately, in this particular case, that's no bad thing. If you've ever played an arcade game called Puzzle Bobble, then you'll know what Boyan's Crystal is all about, for the latter is essentially the same as the former.

The object of the game is to match up similar coloured bubbles at the top of the play area by "firing" bubbles from the bottom, using a bubble-firing gun which you aim manually. On the iPAQ, aiming can be either through using the stylus (a method I found to be a little slow) or the joypad. The colour of the bubble which you fire varies randomly with each shot, although there is a helpful indicator telling you which colour bubble is coming next and you can of course tell which colour bubble you are about to fire on your current shot. If the bubbles get too close to the bottom of your screen, then you lose. All pretty simple so far.

The twist, however, is that the bubbles descend en-masse over time, adding an action element to the game. Not only do you have to watch your aim, but you also know that taking too long could prove fatal. An extra twist is provided in the strategy department with the fact that any bubbles which are left unattached to any others after you remove some of another colour (by lining up three or more together) are removed from play. This means that in some cases you may want to risk firing a bubble to a position nearer the bottom of the screen in the hope that it can be removed in this way, rather than firing it to a potentially safer position at the top.

If this all sounds a little complicated, don't worry! That's due more to my poor explanation than the game itself which, once you get accustomed to, is like all great puzzle games - easy to play, difficult to master. Being a Jimmy Software production, the presentation is top-notch, with superb graphics and a nice introductory sequence. My only slight gripe on this side was that there wasn't a way of turning the sound off within the game - the accompanying tune is not exactly a musical masterpiece - although you can of course turn your device's sound off manually before starting the game.

The gameplay, however, is where Boyan's Crystal really scores. To my mind, it's as addictive as Tetris - once you start playing, it's very hard to stop. The game alternates between showing you a "guidance" line showing you where your bubble will end up, and not displaying any help, whereby you have to work out your aim more carefully. This helps to balance out the gameplay, giving you more of a chance to complete a level which you failed, as well as adding a touch of variety to proceedings.

One slight problem that I noticed on the iPAQ is that it was a little easy to fire a bubble by mistake by hitting the action button, which is in the centre of the joypad. Other than that, despite the infamous "simultaneous buttons problem" (see the news item entitled "iPAQ: Pressing button problem!" on the Previous updates page if you don't know what I'm referring to), I found no problems at all playing using the joypad and fire button combination. As mentioned previously, you have the option of using the stylus if you wish.

As you might expect, there is a high score table, which gives you something to aim at. There are a hundred levels in the game, although you are given the choice to carry on from your highest level reached, although your score naturally still starts at zero. Just be aware that selecting "No" by accident could mean that a lot of hard work is undone in a flash! Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly!), I haven't yet been able to complete all one hundred levels, although rumour has it that there is no end sequence or congratulatory screen which, if true, would be a shame.

Boyan's Crystal isn't perfect, but it comes pretty close. Assuming you like Tetris-style games, there's no good reason why shouldn't love Boyan's Crystal. The presentation is excellent and the gameplay is fantastic, making it a joy to play, and nothing short of a classic.

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