It's puzzling time!
Another week rolls around and it's time for another Boulderdash clone to show up on the desktop, and this week it's the rather obscure Rock Man which gets its turn in the limelight. However, this one is a little more thoughtful than most and offers a bit less in the way of frantic action and more in the way of considered puzzling, making it well worth digging out for fans of the likes of Sokoban. Instead of diamonds, this one has you collecting butterflies, which makes a nice change, although you're still stuck in a dreary old cavern. Picking up all the butterflies in the level opens up the exit to the next one but actually achieving this is a bit trickier in practice than it sounds on paper. What you have to do is move the boulders which litter the screen so that they form ladders, thus allowing you to climb around and reach the butterflies. However, the catch is that you can only move around one boulder at a time, so you need to be particularly cunning in your movements if you want to catch everything. There are a few items which you can grab to help you out, including a pick axe and rope, and you're really going to need them as the fifteen levels included here are pretty challenging stuff. While it might not be overly visually appealing, with its simple sprites and minimalist backdrops, Rock Man is a surprisingly enjoyable little head-scratcher. The concept is simple enough to get your head round pretty quickly, but which proves to be both tricky and stimulating, with puzzles that are immensely satisfying to solve. It might not be deep or original, but if you enjoy the likes of Chip's Challenge, there's much fun to be had here.
