Only previewed in YS never reviewed, Hammerboy is an interesting game which should have been released in the UK. Apparently there's a comic and (at least one) movie based on the character. I've never heard of Hammerboy, but that's not the issue here.

So what's the game like?

Hammerboy is split up into four single-screen levels. The idea is that you - as Hammerboy himself- have to defend your area from invaders. The area and the invaders change depending on which level you're playing. For example, in level one, you're standing on top of an American Old West fort and you're defending the fort against native Americans. Level three has you defending a Middle Ages castle against knights.

To stop the invaders from climbing on top of your platform, you have to hit them with your hammer. Well, given the title this is a bit obvious really. If you let more than two invaders on top of your platform, they sneak past you and remove the flag which is behind your building. In the Old West fort the native American burns the flag whilst the knight clambers past your castle and steals the flag. It's a neat effect which adds a bit of character to the game.

In addition to invaders, you've got to stop projectiles from landing on your building. Again, the level changes what type of projectile is fired at you. The Old West level has small fire-bombs which start spreading if you don't stop them. By hitting them with your hammer, natch.

And you've got to survive 100 seconds of mayhem in order to progress onto the next level. 100 seconds? Easy you may think. Er, I don't think so! You get a few seconds to 'warm up' and get used to the game - ie you only have one set of enemy to deal with. Then the kid gloves are off and you've got invaders coming from one angle and projectiles firing at you from another.

So you've got to react quickly. Bash the invader climbing the ladder, dash over to where the projectile has landed, rush back to another invader and so forth. It's completely manic.

The game does give you a little in the way of concessions. When an invader gets to the top of the ladder or a projectile lands, they flash for a second or two. This gives you a little extra time to try and get them before they become a penalty against you.

It's a short simply style of game, arcade action and very Game & Watch. Which is no bad thing. You only need three keys to play the game, which thankfully are definable. To be honest if you had any more it would detract from the game. Besides, other than left, right and hit, what else do you need? As befits a Dinamic game, the graphics and sound effects are of a high quality. In fact the graphics are very stylised and cartoony. The backdrops and the building graphics are also of a high standard with spot colour used to good effect. There's a pleasant bouncy tune played during the game. Whilst there aren't many sound effects in the game the 'hammer smashing' noise is effective.

Playing the game is manic. It's also good fun. Trying to survive for 100 seconds is no mean feat. Like most Dinamic games, Hammerboy is spread across two separate loads.Thankfully you don't need a password to access the second load as otherwise I wouldn't have got any different screenshots!

So it's a bit tricky. I wouldn't say it's Stupidly Tough as each time I've played Hammerboy I've got better. As you should with a reasonable game. Usually I can tell if the game's difficulty level is pitched like Mount Kilimanjaro or if I'm just a bit crap at it. In this instance it was the latter.

Overall, I like Hammerboy. It's fun to play in short, frantic, bursts. In retrospect I couldn't have seen Hammerboy being released as a full priced game in the UK when it was originally released in 1991. This due to the limited nature of the gameplay. There's just not enough to justify a full-price moment.

It would certainly have made an exceptionally high-quality budget game though. Hammerboy is definitely a game you can pick up, play for a short time and put down. Then pick up again and get a bit further. And do it again.