  ow it is the start of a fantastic journey! Let's make a journey to the cave of
monsters! And so begins a strange and surreal adventure through 100 caves filled
with bubble-spitting Brontosaurii, horrific hostiles, exotic fruits, wonderful presents
and a large assortment of generally useful items. Each cave consists of a screen
filled with platforms, and progression from one to another occurs when the entire
screen has been cleared.
An initial decision is made between either one or two-player mode. Choose the
single player option however, and a second player can still join in at any time during
the action. When the start button is pressed, the Brontosaurii appear at the bottom
left and right. Shortly after, the hostile cavedwellers emerge and rush around the
network of platforms. These are deadly to touch, and should be avoided at all costs.
 The only means of defence are the bubbles which a 'saurus spits when the fire
button is depressed. A bubble travels forward a short distance before floating upward,
and any creature caught in its horizontal path becomes trapped, and is helpless about
its predicament. Now the fun begins - if the bronto jumps up and pops the bubble with
his tough horny head, the creature within bounces around the screen, stunned, and
turns into a banana which is collected for an extra score. Bubbles always mass at the
top of the screen, and a cluster of bubbled enemies can be bust at the same time,
resulting in different fruits worth bigger points.
Greed is a terrible thing though, and if a dinosaur waits too long for bubbles
to mass, the creatures can escape. Their constant struggling weakens the bubble wall
and they break through after 15 seconds or so. An escapee is a horrible sight, all
red and angry, and rushing around the screen in a complete strop, looking for the
brontosaurus responsible for his imprisonment.
 Another hazard which appears if a screen is not cleared quickly enough is the
dreaded Baron von Blubba. This indestructible horror emerges to track down the
heroic dinos, eventually giving his fatal touch if all the other creatures aren't
destroyed quickly enough.
Throughout a level, bubbles float up from the bottom of the screen. Some of these
are water-filled and cause a mini-flood when burst. This then pours down the screen,
sweeping away any creature that stands in its path. Other bubbles contain letters,
with an extra life awarded if the word E X T E N D is formed. On some screens,
bubbles containing lightning can also be burst to send deadly bolts of electricity
whizzing across the screen.
Goodies appear randomly, either giving extra points, or endowing the prehistoric
pair with special bronto-powers. Trainers for example, give a Bronto extra speed,
and a Lamp either gives faster bubble-producing abilities or extra fire-spitting
capabilities. Sometimes an object sets off a reaction - such as filling the screen
with water, killing all dwellers within, causing a huge explosion or sending huge
bolts of lightning from above. On very rare occasions, collecting an item makes all
the hostiles disappear and the screen becomes filled with objects - which are
collected within a 20 second time limit for a 100,000 points bonus.
 As the dinosaurs progress through the levels, all manner of creatures are encountered.
Early levels are inhabited by square-headed morons, whereas later screens contain
boulder-lobbing ghosts, flying fish, helicopter hippos, springing things, gremlins
and missile-dropping Space Invaders. When the 100th screen is reached, the extremely
large chief cave-dweller appears and is bubbled many, many times before dropping the
final curtain and joining the choir invisible.
Finally, there's a secret screen which is revealed when a special
fruit-collecting sequence is completed. Can you find it?
From  - 1987 |
his is a very enjoyable platform game and a faithful reproduction of the
arcade game. I have spent countless hours playing again and again, running for
fruits and bonuses, firing bubbles, fireballs and bolts of lightning. I also
like the funny backgrounds. Did you notice that the second snapshot represented
a Space Invader game?
