The plot is your typically clichéd premise for a platform game. In this case, you play the part of Nicky Boom, a kid trying to rescue his grandfather from the clutches of the evil witch Zoldrane. The truth is, this game doesn't really need a plot. It's good old fashioned platforming at its best, and that's enough of a drive to make it through each level. All the basic mechanics are in place: you can run, jump and climb to get to various parts of the level. Sometimes, however, there are sections that require special items to get you through.

Along the way there are bodies of water that you must cross over, and even though Nicky apparently can't swim he's good at building bridges. When necessary you will find a log upgrade that will allow you to add planks to bridges to get over the water. In addition to the bridges, there are some ladders that aren't immediately available. They are curled up, and you must use a red bomb to make them uncurl so you can use them. Then there are your typical locked doors that require keys, and hidden passageways that can be revealed by tossing rotten apple cores at them. Occasionally you might even need a red bomb to open up a passage or uncover a hidden object. There are even ladders that aren't revealed until you step over them or jump up into them.

Speaking of apple cores, that's your main weapon in Nicky Boom. Enough tossed cores will defeat any monster, or if you're brave enough to get close you can jump on top of them as well. When you jump on a monster they will leave behind food that can be collected for additional points. Shooting a monster can be safer, but will net you no bonus food points. Along the way you will get a brown bomb every once in a while, which when used will destroy all monsters on a screen. This will also remove any destructible rocks, which can help you reach items that you can't jump to.

There is a lot to do in Nicky Boom. In fact, if I had to offer my chief complaint, it would be that sometimes it feels like there's too much to do. There is no map for a given level, and the levels can get overwhelming at times. The game probably would have been better served with more and smaller levels, though as a port that might have been a little much to ask. However, the inclusion of a map would have been nice, and could have simply been avoided by "purists" who wanted to play the game "as is". Since I've never played the original, deviations from the source wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest.

The controls were a bit awkward for me at first. I'll admit that my device isn't particularly suited for gaming, as it has a very small directional pad that's almost useless when you really need to try and maneuver in a game. Add to that the fact that I need to use the center press of the pad to fire my apple cores, and I was pretty much forced to use the stylus to actually move Nicky. Normally I would not like that for a platform game, but in this case it actually worked out rather well at most times. When absolutely necessary I could fall back to the directional pad, like when climbing up ladders. I do wish I could have experienced Nicky on one of my other devices that has better hardware control, but my XV6700 was the only one that met the OS requirements (WM 5/6).

The graphics in Nicky Boom have vintage Super Nintendo written all over them, and for a portable device that's just fine with me. The backgrounds are finely detailed and vary nicely between levels. More importantly, though, are the immense variety of creatures that you face in each level. All the creatures are nicely designed and well animated, and it never feels like they took the same design and simply colored it differently to make a new creature. Really, the most disappointing part of the visuals is Nicky himself. I like the design on the splash screen much better than the actual in game character.

The music is a treat as well. I'm not sure that every level has it's own tune (with my skills I made it part way through level 2, but conveniently placed save games allowed me to view several other levels), but there were at least three distinct tracks, and they were all beautifully orchestrated. The sound effects fit the atmosphere to a tee, and while nothing extraordinary, they did help enhance the overall experience.

Ultimately, I would love to see some fresh stellar content on my mobile Windows devices. I know it's possible, because I've seen what some really talented developers can do on these machines. In the absence of titles that are unique to the Windows mobile realm, however, I'm more than willing to be content with high quality ports such as Nicky Boom. While some tweaks to the overall level size or a better location management system would have been nice, I don't think there's much that could have been done to make Nicky Boom a more enjoyable experience. I look forward to conquering the rest of the levels and rescuing Nicky's grandfather.

Overall Score: 9/10
You can try or buy the game for $9.95 here
Watch a YouTube video of Nicky Boom here

Images courtesy of ClickGamer