Rocks and Diamonds is a Boulder Dash clone for Windows, Linux and Macintosh computer systems. The game is not a 1:1 copy of the original Boulder Dash game, as it introduces new elements to the game. But first the basics.

You control the miner with the cursor keys. Left Control is used to clear an adjacent field without moving into it, while Right Control to drop an element in inventory, like dynamite.

The game is highly configurable, all controls can be changed in the setup input menu. Here it is furthermore possible to change other settings, like in game music, resolution and quality.

The game ships with level sets. It comes with a custom level set created by the designers of the game, and level sets of original Boulder Dash games, including Boulder Dash 1, Emerald Mine, Sokoban or SupaPlex. That’s a lot of digging and mining. The original Boulder Dash set alone offers 99 levels of fun, enough to keep you entertained for days, if not weeks. Even better; Unlike the original Boulder Dash where you had to start from the beginning, Rocks’n'Diamonds comes with a level selector to start at a later level directly.

The game itself plays just like the original Boulder Dash. I have not tried the Sokoban and Emerald Mine levels and cannot really say how they play. The music has been taken directly from classic Amiga demoscene tunes, which is an incredible idea. If you have been part of the demoscene then you will surely love that idea.

Rocks And Diamonds comes with a level editor to create new levels. The editor is easy to use. You see the current level on the left side and can use controls on the right to add, edit or remove items from that level. You can place enemies, rocks or diamonds there for instance among other things.

The game is well done and lots of fun. Especially the original Boulder Dash levels bring back memories. One thing that is not optimal is that there levels are not automatically switched. You always go back to the main menu where you have to click the start game button to play the next level.

Users who would like a dose of one of the most popular C-64 games of all time can download Rocks And Diamonds from the developer website.

I taught myself Commodore Basic back then and started programming a football manager. Time constraints and some advanced programming issues killed the project in the end. But hey, I was ten or so.

The C-64 gave birth to lots of classic computer games, from the notorious Commando to Sid Meyer’s Pirates, Airborne Ranger, Maniac Mansion to Impossible Mission and arcade conversions like Bomb Jack.

The website C64i lets you relive your memories if you happened to play C-64 games back in the 80′s, or explore them if you never came in contact with them before. The site uses Java to run the games in the browser. A recent version of the Java Runtime Environment is all that is needed to run the games.

Just head over to the website, pick a game that you want to play and wait until it is loaded in the browser. It should not take more than a few seconds to load in most cases.

C64i has a top ten list of games that are the most popular on the site, which is probably a good place to start, unless you know exactly what you are looking for.

In the top 10 are all time classics like Commando, Great Giana Sisters, Bubble Bobble or Paperboy. Each game is displayed with a thumbnail image. If you are into action, you may want to start with Commando, if you like jump and run games you may want to pick Giana Sisters or Ghost n Goblins.

Controls are always the same. You use the arrow keys to move, the Ctrl key as the fire button and space as a secondary button which was not available on the C-64. The secondary button simplifies some actions in certain games, for instance throwing grenades in Commando.

Games are sorted into categories listed at the top of the page. You can use it to pick your favorite gaming category to see all the games listed there. The site has a beta category as well which lists untested games that may or may not run. The beta list alone is bigger than all category listings combined. Worth checking out.

Many games throw error messages currently, at least when played in the Chrome browser. Commando worked fine, Giana Sisters on the other hand threw an error message and refused to load correctly.

The sister site, Dosdose uses the same layout and concept to offer online access to PC Dos games. Games like Indiana Jones, Moonstone, Ultima V or Airborne Ranger are playable on site.

The games on this site work better, I did not encounter a single one that refused to load.

Both sites offer lots of entertainment, especially for people who have played C-64 or PC Dos games in the past. You will encounter games that may not be working correctly, but there are so many to chose from that it should not make a huge difference.

Have you played C-64 or PC Dos games in the past? If so, which games were your favorites back then?

Without further ado I’m going to present the games that I enjoyed the most from that competition. All games are free to download and play without registration hassles. Have a nice time and let me know if you found another one that is worth mentioning or if you enjoyed one tremendously.

• Froggy Ribbit

Do you remember the game Frogger ? It was developed by Konami and made its debut in the arcades in 1981. It was ported to many systems including my first video game system the Atari 2600. Sega created a unoffical sequel called Ribbit which explains why the game is called Froggy Ribbit.

The task of this game is pretty simply. You are a frog starting at the bottom of the screen who wants to reach his home which happens to be at the top of the screen. A motorway with nasty cars and a river with floating wood are the main obstacles that need to be crossed to reach your home safely. You do loose a life if you are hit by a car or drop in the water. The ultimate goal was to occupy all five homes with your frogs.

• Montezumas Revenge

You are Panama Joe, an adventurer who wants to stay alive and find as many jewels as he can find in a labyrinth of the Aztec emperor Montezuma. The goal of the game is to reach the last room of the labyrinth, the treasure chamber which holds the treasure of the emperor Monetezuma himself.

Montezumas Revenge is a plattform game that has its fair share of jumping, puzzle solving and treasure hunting. It was a great success when it first came out.

• The Goonies 20th anniversary

Whenever a successful movie hit the cinemas a game was shortly after produced to use the effect of the popularity of the movie name. Many times the games were bad, real bad but sometimes games would come out that would stick out and would be fun to play.

The Goonies was developed by Konami once again and it involved five stages of jump and run action. After each stage a keyword was given to the player which could be used to continue the game from that stage on.

• Wings of Fury (J.e.r.!)

Wings of Fury is a game set in the Pacific during World War II. You are a US pilot onboard an aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Your task is to defeat the Japanese war machinery by bombarding bunkers, turrets, battleships and soldiers on the ground.

The machine is equipped with torpedos, rockets, bombs and a machinegun which had to be replenished on the carrier. The player also had to take care of the fuel of his plane. Wings of Fury was a violent game at this time and created some controversy.

• Ghostbusters

Again a game that was produced because of the highly successful movie. It was not the usual arcade game that most movie adaptions would become but a game that had some nice twists. You had to buy equipment like traps or upgrades for your vehicle with the money that had been earned from catching ghosts.

Ghosts would try and reach the temple of Zuul and the player had to stop those ghosts before they would reach the temple. If a ghost would reach the temple the psycho kinetic energy level would rise and if it would reach 9999 the game would be over.

• Green Beret

Green Beret, also known as Rush’n Attack was a side scrolling arcade game developed by Konami. The player takes on the role of a member of the United States Elite Force trying to infiltrate an enemy military base to destroy the enemy’s secret weapon.

Throughout most of the game the player is only using his knife to defeat the enemy masses and finds the occasional power up – handguns, grenades, bazookas – which aid him in his quest to destroy the weapon.

• Ghouls and Ghosts

Ghouls and Ghosts is one of those game series that exist for a long time but still make a appearance in remakes of the original game. You control the knight Arthur whose task is to restore souls, including the one of this bride, by defeating Lucifer himself.

Arthur may find different types of weapons while he advances in the six levels to finally meet his adversary. Great game and graphics.

• Star Wars

The dream of every Star Wars fan came true with the release of the original Star Wars game. Be Luke Skywalker, defeat T-Fighters, attack the Death Star itself and finally destroy it by flying the same path that Luke did in the first episode of Star Wars.

I’m not sure about the original game which the coder used to make this remake, if you know please let me know. If you are a Star Wars fan this remake has been made for you, enjoy it while you can.

• Implausible Mission

Another visitor. Stay awhile… staaaaay FOREVER! This line spoken by the evil professor Atombender was one reason why Impossible Mission became such a successful game. Epyx, the creators of Impossible Mission were one of the most famous companies that produced games for the C-64 including other smash hits such as Winter Games and Summer Games.

The player has to find password pieces in furniture that are guarded by robots. Once in possession of all pieces he would need to assemble them and use them in the control room.

Make sure you take a look at the massive Beta page where most games are hosted. Its not 100% sure that all beta games work normally but as of now, all did work for me.