Boogey Man

Bogey or crow?

Scouring through the ST archives, I found something silly called Boogey Man, by Anthony Hamilton. The screenshots reminded me of an old 8-Bit game but, if I'm honest, it really isn't anything close to what I expected.

This is a tough one to describe... but... we are Burt, a guy who loves to collect snot. Yup, you heard me - snot. And there is plenty of that popping up all over your screen in both small and large doses. There are nine levels in all which might sound too easy? It's not because the controls are super-sensitive which makes the entire experience very chaotic as you agonisingly attempt to carefully navigate, avoiding the nasties. Yes, it's as mad as it sounds but, great fun.

There are bad guys which come in two flavours, a Blob and a Spike. Touching either kills you instantly so beware. Watch the timer, which is just another way to lose a life - and you can see that happen to me near the end of my recording. A boogeyometer is shown bottom/right of the screen to display how much snot remains to be collected. Once accomplished, an exit door appears on the right and we can leg it to the next level for more snotty fun.

Right, it's time for a screenshot so let's begin with an informative one...

Burt seems to love snot for some peculiar reason but look out for the nasties who wanna stop you.

Aesthetics

The visuals are basic and very 8-bit, which is something I often admire because it works very well from a more simplistic time. Well, it works here too. Interestingly, this game runs in Medium resolution which explains the fine details and lack of colour. I liked the sprites, especially Blob, but there's nothing here pushing the old ST of course and that's fine.

However, the audio will certainly entertain - the kids. Ohhhh, and the big kids too - like me. I absolutely loved it but I should say nothing more to spoil your surprise other than Anthony made excellent use of MasterSound!!!

Struggling to understand just why I played this game? Better check out this screenshot then...

Gameplay relies on fudgy controls to make it feel quite chaotic. Can you beat level nine?

The CryptO'pinion?

Whatever you're thinking when you see the screenshots - stop. Since when did cinematic visuals ever matter? The idea and gameplay are simple but humorous and incredibly entertaining. Yes, the controls initially feel too snappy, but you will get used to that and anything different would just make the game far too easy. So it's perfect as is.

Boogey Man is a ridiculous game and one I'm sure your kids will love for all the obvious reasons. I know that I loved every second of it and I've just heard there's a Boogey Man II listed on AtariMania... dare I try the sequel? LOL