Rockford is the man! (or ant)
This is the original, and for many the best, installment, in a truly classic series that is still going strong today. It's got all the appeal of other industry legends like Lode Runner and Bubble Bobble, and packs an amazing amount of entertainment into a great package which deserves to be played by any serious gamer. The concept here is as simple as they come, and sees you in control of Rockford, a bold ant explorer. You must venture through an extensive series of dungeon-style levels, which are just packed with diamonds begging to be collected. Once you've got them all, the exit opens up, but this isn't as easy as it sounds, as there are also dozens of rocks and bad guys roaming around, just waiting to take your life. Digging out the dirt around the rocks causes them to fall, destroying the enemies and opening up your path, but be careful as they'll also kill you. The whole thing is played against the clock and the only real point is to rack up as many points as possible and get to the end, but this is one journey which is huge amounts of fun even without a story to back it up. Perhaps the greatest thing about Boulder Dash is the fact that you can play it almost how you like. If you just want to race through with barely a pause for thought, you can, and it's truly exciting to do so. However, if you're more cautious, you can take it slower, planning your moves and working out where the boulders will fall, but still with an eye on the clock, and this too is immensely satisfying. The visuals might look basic today, but when the gameplay is this good, it doesn't really matter, and if you haven't tried this, you should rectify things immediately.
