Buck Bumble

About Buck Bumble

Buck Bumble (1998) is Argonaut's Nintendo 64 shooter in which a cyborg bumblebee battles an army of mutant insects born from a chemical spill in a London garden, set to a speed garage soundtrack.

Buck Bumble in Depth

A chemical spill at a factory in London mutates the local insects, and several kinds band together as the evil Herd, determined to take over the garden and then the world. The player is Buck Bumble, a volunteer bumblebee fitted with cyborg technology and a member of the Resistance. His nineteen missions include destroying Herd radar dishes, defending the Resistance base, raiding Herd supply lines through the sewers and finally fighting the mantis-like Queen. Completing an objective triggers a teleport to a mission summary and save screen.

The camera sits behind Buck as he flies freely, limited only by a height ceiling and level geometry, or walks on the ground. The screen shows a radar for enemies, a damage meter, the equipped weapon and the current objective, and Buck can carry up to eleven weapons, such as a stun gun, laser or rocket launcher. Flowers provide nectar to restore energy, some levels are split into areas linked by teleporters and gates, generators keep releasing beetles and wasps until destroyed, and water drowns Buck if he stays under for more than a few seconds. Two-player modes include Buck Battle, an aerial deathmatch, and Buzz Ball, a football game played with a zapper and rocket launcher.

Making Buck Bumble

Argonaut Software developed it and Ubisoft published it for the Nintendo 64 in 1998. Carl Graham said his flight simulator test "evolved into a flying bee, and the horror we know as Buck Bumble today was born". Scharvona chose speed garage because techno and jungle seemed overdone and he wanted something futuristic and "not cutesy, something a bit harder". Reviews were lukewarm, with even positive ones noting technical shortcomings: critics such as IGN and N64 Gamer felt it fell below contemporary Nintendo 64 standards. The soundtrack was praised, though, and the game has since gained a following despite its relative obscurity.