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Bob is the sort of performing dog you would normally expect to find on That’s Life. He is cute, has large floppy ears, a stupidly lovable face, and he has got a talent for flying bomber planes. He does this remarkably well. Why a canine with such cute sad eyes should want to partake in an all out offensive against similarly well trained pets is beyond me, and I cannot turn to the instructions for clues because they are all in Italian.

Bomber Bob is a vertically scrolling shoot em up. It does not offer anything new in the game design stakes other than its cuteness, which makes even the characters in New Zealand Story look like burnt New Zealand lamb chops. It also plays brilliantly. I would not be surprised if it appeared in coin-op form – it is that good.

As you travel through the many levels waves of enemy aircraft and a smattering of ground attack silos attack you. Enemy planes attack from different height but you have to match their altitude to shoot them down. Hitting enemy targets earns money which can then be used to buy extra weapons at the end of each level.

Before the money can be spent, however, you have to get through ‘The Tunnel’, a 3D section not a million miles away from the trench sequence in Star Wars. This time the tunnel has more twists in it than a Cadbury’s Spira. I found this section to be taxing, yet learnable, but I cannot understand why the tunnel gets brighter as it recedes into the distance.

Graphically, BB is top class. Vaguely reminiscent of an ST game, the graphics are brightly coloured, perhaps a little too bright, and instantly lovable. The full screen scrolling gives a true arcade effect, and the simplistic, if tiny, status window gives the game an uncluttered look.

Soundwise, Idea have created some interesting spot FX. Unfortunately, they take up a lot of memory so their use is limited.

It is difficult, granted, but the attack waves can be learnt, and slowly but surely you will find yourself flying through the game. Three cheers for original product!
Tony Dillon