One or two players control safari-suited characters armed with harpoon guns, who must destroy the numerous different-sized balloons that litter each stage. When hit by a harpoon, the balloons break down into smaller fragments, in a similar fashion to Atari's 1979 classic, "Asteroids".
Players can only fire the harpoon guns virtually upwards, but can move left and right, as well as climbing the ladders that appear on many of the levels. Each of the game's fifty levels is played against a backdrop of one of seventeen famous world landmarks. All balloons must be destroyed before players can advance to the next screen.
The game's levels each contain a different layout of blocks. While most of these are permanent fixtures, some disappear when shot, while others reveal hidden bonuses. Food item bonuses occasionally appear that can be collected for bonus points.
Player start each stage armed with only a single-shot harpoon, but some balloons, when popped, release special weapons that drop down to the bottom of the screen. Players then have a few seconds to collect the power-up before it disappears. Available power-ups are:
* A twin harpoon that allows two shots at once.
* A grappling hook that will stay attached to the ceiling or block for a short period of time.
* A rapid-fire gun.
Other non-weapon bonuses include:
* A force field.
* An hour-glass that slows the balloons' movement.
* A clock that freezes the balloons for a short time.
* An extra life.
* Dynamite, that will pop all remaining balloons down to their smallest size.
This game is known in Japan as "Pomping World" and in US as "Buster Bros".
The bootleg version was released in 1990.
Pang was an updated version of a game Hudson Soft originally released in 1983 in Japan and UK for the Sinclair ZX-Spectrum. The game was called 'Canon Ball' in Japan and Sinclair Research limited released 'Canon Ball' in the UK as 'Bubble Buster', under license from Hudson Soft.
- TIPS AND TRICKS -
Balloons are popped even when they run into the side of the harpoon and trailing chain. A good strategy for destroying low bouncing balloons is to shoot a harpoon near the balloon and move away from the balloon as you wait for it to run into the trailing chain.
