I thought I would post a short review of
BOH, since it's really nice to have a new, boxed game for the Amiga. Since I don't have OS4, this review is based on the Windows version, but I don't think there is any difference between the Windows and OS4 versions.
For those who don't yet know, BOH is a top-down puzzle/shoot-em-up which involves exploring dungeon-like mazes, solving puzzles, killing enemies and ultimately destroying a "Master" at the end of each level. Alien Breed and The Chaos Engine are cited as influences on the gameplay.
The controls in the game are pretty similar to most basic FPSs: walking forwards and backwards, turning left and right, and strafing from side to side. BOH differs from games like Alien Breed and The Chaos Engine in that when turning, the player remains static and the map rotates around the player. This is quite a nice visual effect, and forces you to re-orientate when turning - something that is very easy if the map stays where it is.
In my opinion, what really sets BOH apart from games like The Chaos Engine is the extent to which you can see the map. If you are looking down a corridor, anything beyond the end of the corridor is black. If your character can't see round corners, why should you? ;-) If you walk to the end of the corridor and turn around, what lies beyond it will be revealed to you. This creates some really nice atmosphere, as you don't know what's coming up (compared to TCE and AB, where you can see around corners and through walls).
The sometimes disorienting movement of the map and the realistic view of the level combine to create a thoroughly atmospheric game. The levels feel claustrophobic because you can't see what's coming up. If you collect a short- or long-range detector, you will be given an audible warning when enemies are approaching. This takes the form of beeps which get closer together the closer the enemies are. This can create some heart-pounding moments when you are in a tiny room, you can't really see what's in there with you or how to get out, and the sensor is beeping faster and faster as something is approaching.
Some of the levels in BOH are huge, and it's easy to get lost. In this respect, as well as the atmosphere, BOH reminds me of Doom. You'll be wandering down a corridor and get to several doors. You take one, and find yourself in a room with three more... There is lots of scope to get lost if you don't know your way around. This leads to one of the few annoyances I have with BOH: the automap, which charts the level as you walk through, is far too small to be very useful. Perhaps it's just me, but I found I had to squint really hard to make out where I needed to go to find my way out of where I am.
Puzzles in BOH seem to focus around doors. You may start a level and see the locked exit right next to you, and are forced to explore the dungeon in order to unlock it. But you usually have to open several other passages first to get to the switch to open the exit. Again, this is quite reminiscent of FPSs like Doom. There are other doorways which are open by default, then close permanently when you have walked through. This has the potential to create some nice puzzles, and also creates tension when you find yourself sealed inside a dark room. However, it is possible to get stuck with no way out, and no option but to abort the mission and start again from the start. This is quite annoying, especially seeing how I have on a couple of occasions "brushed past" one of these doors causing it to close before I have gone through, meaning that the level is impossible to complete. Other doors are controlled by switches, remote control, keys, or timers.
As you walk around, you will find crates littered around levels. Some of these contain a shield recharge, but you have to search for them. This basically involves walking in to the crate to "search" it. You keep walking until the search is complete, at which point you are either given a recharge, or told that there is nothing there. This creates some nice tense situations where you have to decide between staying still long enough to search for a shield, or getting out of there before some enemies arrive. This is especially fun when you have the sensor, as you can hear the enemies coming and have to decide when to do a runner!
Sound is used really well in BOH. Your footsteps change depending on which material you are walking on, and as discussed the sensor adds to the atmosphere. The sound effects are echoey, and the echo seems to change depending on the size of the room you are in.
The graphics in BOH are intentionally old-skool. I think if you could see the whole level then this would not work as well as it does with the restricted view you get. The atmosphere created by the blind corners and spooky sound effects mean that the graphics become less important in creating a tense atmosphere.
To summarise, BOH is really successful in making the player feel anxious about creeping around its dark mazes. The only things I would change are the size of the automap and the behaviour of the automatic passages. Also, the levels are listed in alphabetical order and labelled with a difficulty rating from "Very Easy" to "Very Hard". It would be nice if there was an option to sort by difficulty. By the way, the levels can apparently be edited by creating or modifying text files. I have had a look at the mission files and can't work out how to do this, but apparently a guide is going to be published at some point giving details. So, if you're looking for a spooky, atmospheric shoot-em-up and you have access to Windows or OS4, I highly recommend BOH. It also apparently works under Linux using Wine, but I don't have a Linux installation to test this out.
UPDATE:
I have to say the production quality of this game is fantastic. The box comes wrapped in cellophane, and the case inlay is professionally printed. The CD is properly pressed and printed (not a CD-R with a paper label), and the full-colour paper manual is really nice. This really adds a lot to the quality of this product as a whole, and I can understand why Saimo wanted to produce the game in this way.
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moto
