Bounty Bob Strikes Back Review

By Kristan Reed Published 26 October, 2007

Raging against the machine.

Version tested: Retro

It's long been acknowledged that Miner 2049er inspired Matthew Smith to develop the wonderful Manic Miner, but its superb 'official' sequel never seems to get the credit it deserves - so let's put that right.

Admittedly, the horrendously blocky sprites did almost nothing to inspire confidence in the C64's graphical capabilities back in 1985. But those who saw beyond the chunky pixels and bleepy sound effects were treated to one of the best examples of old school platform gaming.

Unlike most platformers of the day, the game wasn't merely about collecting all the keys, but making sure Bob covered the ground of each and every platform. Walking over each portion of a platform would effectively colour it in, while picking up the various artefacts dotted around allowed you to 'eat' enemies for a brief period, Pac-Man style.

'Bounty Bob Strikes Back' Screenshot 1

Failure to time jumps correctly or bumping into enemies inevitably resulted in instant death, so picking it up these days can be a tad frustrating. Saving your progress as you go along via an emulator or the trusty Action Replay on the real thing, there's still plenty to admire about this inventive, cunning and addictive platformer.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (3) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • monkie_king #1 4 years ago

    i remember this for the easter eggs and cheats you could access. and the high score entry where a crane picked your initials off a convey belt, then a bunch of birds flew on carrying letters to build the high score table. lots of cute attention to detail.

  • darc #2 4 years ago

    Wow Miner 2049! That brings me back... (Though for me it was an Atari 400, not a C64.) These were really great games for their time. I'm loving these new retro entries, just seeing the screenshots is a hoot.

  • cawley1 #3 2 years ago

    Well, nobody will read this now, but Bounty Bob Strikes Back might have been ported to the C64, but it calls the Atari 8-Bit range home!
    If you are going to play this on an emulator, do yourself a favour and do so on an Atari one!