Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Prince Of Persia



A 16-bit classic gets updated!

Prince Of Persia is incredible but today receives an audio upgrade which uses the DMA coprocessor to play the effects better. They sound a lot cleaner and without any slowdown because the DMA is a coprocessor, working independently of the main CPU. This means that the gameplay is actually smoother than the original release. Which is pretty cool :)

Download right now. Yes, now!!

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Adventurer's Box Art



Check out my new games!!

You all know that I love sharing my Atari ST collection with you guys. If you didn't then click here right away because that link contains lots of games I've managed to save from soulless eBay sellers! Okay, today is an extra special day because I'm not sharing one... or two... or even three Atari ST games. No sir, I'm sharing four of my latest fuji purchases!

All four games are (hmm) sorta new to me if I'm honest. Don't get me wrong, I've played them all at some point in my life but, not for long. Either I was confused (no instructions with menu disks haha) or I probably just died all the time. And if you scroll down, I'm sure you can guess which French RPG game that was in! (Such a cruel and unfair game!!!)

Okay, do start the downward scrolling now to see what games I bought. Are any players out there with these games? Tips, help, and advice are always welcome so let me know in the comments below......... ttfn




- HEIMDALL -

First up, is Heimdall with its excellent cartoon-style visuals and a funny storyline depicting life as a Viking demi-god on a brave mission. Three silly tasks need to be mastered before you can choose a decent crew of dodgy-looking characters - I dare you not to giggle during that axe-throwing contest! This is absolutely insane, like a Monty Python sketch!

Sadly, this feels like a lame Amiga port that was rushed. I feel a lot more could have been done - especially considering the Ram requirements. So it makes no sense about the lacking sampled sounds and poor scrolling... However, this doesn't distract from what is ultimately a humorous and crazy adventure through Norse mythology.

A cheap Amiga port but, I think I'm gonna enjoy it.






- DRAKKHEN -

Drakkhen was a Christmas present from my wife and is in beautiful condition. The box I mean, not the wife! ;-) Okay, there are a few scuffs on the rear but I shouldn't complain because it's pretty neat and with all contents too!

This is a real-time RPG which involves four chosen characters and much dragon slaying. Most certainly one of my prized possessions and something I strongly recommend. However, it's damn hard due to incredibly unfair mechanics that sometimes make no sense. I hope to take on board the challenge and play it properly one day very soon!






- XENOMORPH -

Now, this is a game that could so easily be overlooked as a meagre Dungeon Master ripoff set in space. But it's far more than that and offers a great real-time RPG set onboard the Atargis, an abandoned space station.

The dude on the cover makes me think of Speedball... Can anybody see that? Okay, ignoring that amazing tidbit, this should be an engrossing game in its own right. Regardless of being verrrrry similar to a typical Dungeon Master. I am quite excited to play this someday soon....... (I really need to retire to have more spare time!!)






- OOZE -

Finally, we have an illustrated text adventure which is something old school and very popular pre-Atari ST when resources were obviously limited. This has a creepy cover but oddly one of the silliest of storylines I've ever heard: you are (wait for it) "Ham Burger" and Mr Cheez has given you a house in Salom's Lot which is rumoured to be haunted by lots of scary things going bump in the night. How freaky is this? I'm Ham Burger LOL!!

I must admit to being a little disappointed with my copy because the condition isn't great at all. In fact, it's a bit of a wreck with lots of dents, breaks and scuffs. But this is a rarity and something special to me so one day I'll find a mint copy, I'm sure of it. (Yeah, Yeah). Until then, I am proud to own this weird adventure.

Update:
I've since played this excellent adventure and featured it
here. Click to read!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Chaos Strikes Back



More audio clarity?

Following on from yesterday's wonderful news of the Atari STe enhanced update of Dungeon Master, Peter Putnik has now improved the audio for Chaos Strikes Back. Once again, this news is making me jump up and down with joy!!! So why not make your Atari STe just as happy and download this DMA audio upgrade right now? Enjoy!! :-)

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Dungeon Master



Crawling with audio clarity

Peter Putnik has just updated Dungeon Master to use the DMA Audio hardware lurking inside the Atari STe. This is huge news for fellow adventurers! Playback is now much clearer and this won't impact on the computer's performance. Peter informs me that Chaos Strikes Back is next in line for the STe treatment - and I cannot wait!!

Download the new upgrade from 8BitChip.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Scott Clifford

As many will know, I've been a friend of Scott's for a while now, even though he's from Yorkshire I've never held that against him! Anyhow, I've always been eager to know what he's working on, from those humble beginnings with a Turrican music disk to a near-perfect arcade version of Frogger (and to think he's not been coding for that long... Quite incredible!)

But, then, he decides to take on the immense task of a Raiden conversion for the Atari STe. His plans are to make full use of the Blitter, DMA audio, hardware scrolling, and more. Such fascinating enthusiasm! Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, I asked for an interview in the hope it would be interesting to anyone who doesn't yet know the guy behind Frogger along with the upcoming Raiden project. My thanks to Scott for this interview and I hope everyone will enjoy reading this... just keep on scrolling... :-)


- Scott Clifford - the interview -

Tell us about yourself

Where do I start? Heh.. Let's skip ahead to Christmas 1990, that's where the real fun begins with the introduction into my life of the Atari STe. I never really had any 8-bit systems, this was the first for me, bearing in mind my age. I turned on the STE, stuck in a disk and for the first time in my life was immersed in the world of Indiana Jones. (Kids these days... Tsk!)

From then on, I only really used my ST for games and some school work, but soon started looking into other uses as a teen. One thing I will remark on though was the ease Automation disks were very easy to get hold of... That is another story, by that I mean, wait for the Automation/DBUG DVD ;)


Coding hiSTory?

I only recently started “coding” on the ST, about 2 years ago, roughly 2014/2015 I started messing about in STOS and found it really easy to program and soon enough I was writing small routines, asking for help on the Atari forums, and generally messing about. At the same time, I was trying my hand at everything, music, games, art, programming and getting into the hardware side too. I now have an STe (Of which there is a certain unnamed person I should thank!!! - He knows who he is) and started coding in STOS full time before moving onto ASM for Frogger, which gave me credibility or notoriety.

The Turrican Music Disk was created simply because I am a fan of the game. I just wasn't very good at it, to be honest, and found it far too difficult beyond the “spaceship” levels so that kind of put me off... My music demo started because I did enjoy the tunes but didn't fancy loading the actual game disk each time, and what's more impressive is the fact that this is the first time STOS has used SNDH convincingly I might add. A point missed by a lot of people - the player routine was developed by me and might be the first time STOS has ever used SNDH (note big ego trip here!). As far as music disks go, I did have the idea for a UMD style music player but it never went beyond the ideas stage. 



Frogger for the Atari ST is arcade perfect and possibly the best home computer version ever.



Why the peculiar handle?

A nickname was given by a dear friend who is no longer with us, referring to my overuse of the colour black, right down to the nails and eyes. Yeah, I was a goth, but I'm now more immature than anything. :) I suppose I tend to lean on the darker side of life, metal music, Gothic architecture (Prague is awesome, need to go there!) and other such “out of the light” topics. But there is the bonkers side of me too, the sort of person that is bubbly but not annoying... by that I mean I can jump down the stairs backwards when I'm bored!


You must be proud of Frogger?

Frogger, to me, is the epitome of a decent arcade game - full of colour, noises, damn hard gameplay, and it doesn't involve rescuing a princess or collecting gold. I wanted to write Frogger initially in STOS because as I was playing it on #cough MAME I realised that the ST was the perfect platform for it. The game itself is simplistic enough but not rubbish AND didn't require some glorious technical ability - there is no scrolling, no bullets, and nothing beyond the ST capabilities.

The fact that I got really close (using STOS) to releasing it just goes to show how easy, in terms of computing, the game was handled by the ST. Unfortunately, like all simplistic programming languages, BASIC was eventually thrown out and I started (with the huge help of Xia!!!) the process of writing the game in assembly - faster code, closer control over the ST and I could use the computer more reliably. STOS is great, but not for this due to too many things on the screen.

I'm so proud of Frogger. It might not be F1 by Geoff Crammond or Anarchy by Psygnosis but it's mine, and it's my first assembly program that works. At this point, I must thank all the people involved in its creation, there are so many who gave support, ideas and actual assets I could use, like music and SFX from Zerkman and Dma-SC. Immense support and patience from XiA too .. I did get some criticism for not making it 21st-century, but I always wanted to replicate the original and never to out-do it.



You gotta check out this music disk, especially using the Atari STe!!


Raiden is humungous

It is!! I had the idea again from playing it on mameUi64 (Plug right there folks!) and looking at it, I wondered if it was possible. I wrote some routines, originally in STOS, and found it far too slow (this is before I started with assembly language and Frogger). So, after Frogger and after I'd gained some knowledge in ASM, I went back to it. I wrote some routines in assembly language and started to learn about the STE specific hardware scrolling. 
All of the music and sprites you see in Raiden are taken directly from the arcade but, because of the 16 colour limitation, I've had to look at the Megadrive version for the level's graphics. This means the levels are quite dark in colour and maybe a little too washed out - at the moment. As far as technical difficulties go, the oddest thing... the tanks are actually the most complicated, after the player, to write code for.


What games do you play?

I'm kind of notorious for it in my house haha! Although I've recently been putting myself through the Forza experience on the Xbox One (a close second to pride and joy, the Atari STe). I do love the ST and Shadow Of The Beast 2 I have been playing a lot of lately, cant seem to get very far though lol. I'd say I'm not a huge fan of RPGs or fantasy stuff like Ishar, could never get into it, although it's very pretty. But certain consoles for me hold certain games, so for instance, Shenmue on the Deamcast, the Lotus Trilogy (yeah I have the actual boxset) for the Atari ST. I need to get some friends with STs and have a four-way … hahahaha obviously in Lotus :P



Raiden, a WIP conversion for the Atari STe... Will it ever see the light of day?


Who inspires you?

This is a strange one because most of my inspiration for coding comes from, not the current scene but from the days gone by. People like Wayne Smithson who, at the time, were cutting edge and mostly “on their own” releasing games like Anarchy. Even its title “it cant be done” says it all lol. The bedroom coders also hold a certain nostalgic feeling too, like the guys over at DMA or even some of the pirate groups like Automation and the Pompey Pirates, what they DIDN'T do for games, they did FOR the ST … if that makes sense? 
I think nowadays it should be looked back on as part of the ST and not the reason for its downfall, Atari did that themselves. I also like niche programmers, those that don't tend to conform to whats expected, Excellence in Art is a prime example of what I'd consider coding for yourself and NOT for the masses. It's probably one of the reasons me and the leading guy there get on so well, even if we do disagree about binary - haha (in-joke)


Any future plans?

Haha, where Do I begin... Flashback (Delphine) is another do-able game, despite reservations from the “scene” ;) I'm also thinking Mortal Kombat... However, whatever I do, I think it will definitely be game related. I don't consider myself a demo writer and although I've put some code into demos I don't think I'd actually write my own. I'll leave that to the pro's like DHS, their “Sea Of Colour” demo is awesome!! Games require a slightly different process to demos and I feel like I'm more suited to the games really.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Everyone's A Geek



Top Of The Pops!

I've just been contacted by Robin, of Robberie who are an acoustic indie group. Their latest record is all about retro gaming and features numerous devices like the Atari ST and ZX Spectrum. In fact, an Atari ST even played a role in the production using VideoMaster and this alone is mind-blowing. I was extremely fascinated by the ST's role in the production so he kindly sent information and pictures... Clickety-click to visit the Robberie website!


 


- ROBBERIE'S VERY OWN ROBIN SAYS... -
"My 1040 STE plays a starring role in the robberie video for Everyone's a geek, helping to create the pixellated monochrome shots. To do this, footage was recorded on a video camera, which was then fed through a Microdeal Videomaster cartridge. The software has a live preview mode which displays a quarter-screen feed of whatever you play in 16 shades of grey. So the recorded footage was played back and then I recorded the output from the computer's screen on my smartphone in order to get into a format compatible with editing software on my Mac.

There are some other Atari relics in the video. There are some shots of Roadblasters on my Lynx, which is modded with the brilliant replacement LCD colour screen. The shot of Pong is I'm afraid not original hardware but comes from an Atari classic tv games joystick.


And the Powerplay Cruiser joysticks are the ONLY ones that I could properly play Kick Off 2 on! You can find out more about the other retro hardware to be found in the video on the robberie website."

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Raiden



Grab a joystick!

It's been almost a year since I first mentioned news of Raiden under development for the Atari STe by none other than our favourite Frogger dude, Scott Clifford. Sadly, his commitments forced the project to be put on ice temporally... But, good news, he has now restarted it and is making good progress.

The initial work behind the scrolling, backgrounds, and sprites is all coming together. Also, the enemy sprite routines and placements are now being coded. Quite incredible for a one-man effort and it's a very exciting project to see in progress. I wish Scott well and cannot wait to see the next update (hurry up mate). Watch this space folks!

Okay, here is Scott's feature plan...
- Hardware scrolling is used for the entire screen - no status panel.
- DMA hardware for the playback of authentic arcade music.
- The Blitter will be utilised for the larger sprites.
- YM chip will be used for the sound effects.
- Support for the JagPad controller can be implemented.
- Please note that my video was recorded using emulation (better on my Atari STe)

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Operation Garfield



Wolves are better than cats!

I've been browsing through the Floppyshop archives and I've stumbled upon a game called Operating Garfield which was (shock) inspired by Operation Wolf. Developed by Dave Brankin, it sparked my curiosity because of its support for the Atari STe as it utilises the Blitter for 8-way scrolling and the sprites and audio is played using the DMA. Basically, he was tired of the commercial gaming companies ignoring the enhanced computer!

Aliens are invading Earth but this time they've oddly disguised themselves as the fat lazy cat from the TV. Why do I hear you cry? Well, because they have watched our broadcasts and felt that we would forgive them if they were cute and cuddly invaders. Yep, the storyline is a stretch, and very silly, but whatever works, right?

The game takes place over a cityscape littered with invading Garfields who fire bucketloads of rockets!! Use the mouse to avoid or kill these whilst also looking for ammo caches, smart bombs, and even the England flag proudly flying. To help, there is a near-useless Defender-style map at the top/left of the screen - but I didn't care for this.

What lets the game down is the difficulty level which is extraordinarily high so rarely did I get the chance to fully appreciate the game before dying! I also thought the framerate should have been a lot better considering the hardware being used but most irritating of all was the T2 sample which grated after a while.

Of course, Operation Garfield isn't to be taken too seriously as it provides nothing more than a few minutes of stress-busting gun love! However, I fear the gameplay has little to offer other than a short, albeit gratifying, Garfield-killing spree.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

GEM Desktop



When wallpapers weren't a standard...

DeskFX is a GEM utility that I thought was pretty cool and entertaining, if annoyingly flawed. It replaces three parts of our beautiful GEM desktop - the default font, a choice of wallpaper, and an animated mouse pointer. As you can see, above, the wallpaper feature only updates every 2/3 seconds which is a little lame compared to DeskPic. However, the new fonts are superb and (like a big kid) I just loved playing with various animated pointers!

It appears the author had an STFM and DeskFX worked fine on my computer in both resolutions. Sadly, I couldn't get it to work on my Atari STe in LOW resolution - only in medium which is probably better anyhow? Not in the sense of available colours but in terms of functionality, who uses low to work? Who still works on their ST? ;-)

I thought this was a nice utility to share and you'll find it on disk UTL-4410 over at Floppyshop.

 --> Wanna read about more cool warez? Then check out our "Software" group :)

Monday, January 23, 2017

Grap


Marko Latvanen, of AtariMania, kindly sent me a game developed by Tangram programmer, Mark Luthe, for the German magazine ST Magazin. Grap first appears as a Tempest clone but is actually a puzzler which I'm sure will appeal to the brainiacs? It was originally sold through the publication as a "budget" mail-order back in 1990 but hasn't been available since. I am very excited by this rare and fascinating find and I hope you enjoy playing it :-)

The only place you shall find Grap is on the excellent AtariMania website.
Computer Magazine Archive has more on ST Magazin (you'll need Google Translate)
Thinkers might wanna check out our "Puzzle" section right here on AtariCrypt :)

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Falcon


It's very satisfying to finally complete a favourite collection of something we love and I have just managed to complete the Falcon trio. Sure, there are the limited and classic releases that bundle the lot but I've never been much impressed with many compilations as I've always wanted the original, individual, games. And now I finally have 'em!

Falcon is a brilliant flight sim with awesome graphics and many interesting locations to fail its many missions! So here is my special 3x cover feature for our Box Art section. Why not take your own F-16 for a spin today?

LINKS

 - AtariMania features every Falcon release within their ST database :
     ~ Falcon
     ~ Mission Disk 1 Operation: Counterstrike
     ~ Mission Disk 2 Operation: Firefight
 - 8BitChip has done it again and adapted a Falcon bundle for hard drive installation.
 - Old Game Finder has the floppies for those poor souls without the original disks or a hard drive! :p

Friday, January 20, 2017

Harris Went Skiing



Horace?

Today we rewind the clocks all the way to 1982 for a skiing adventure with an odd 8-bit hero, Horace. Developed in STOS by a couple of brothers calling themselves OllySoft and released (I think) a whole decade after the ZX Spectrum original. However, for his Atari ST appearance, he didn't want to upset Psion so changed his name to Harris to avoid confusion!

Anyone old enough to remember the original will feel right at home with Harris who is once again looking to enjoy a skiing trip. However, it's not started off well... Harris finds himself in a pickle as he didn't bring along any skis so must hire replacements from the resort - who built their shop on the wrong side of a busy highway.

The Frogger part is way too easy in comparison to what I remember! Simply waiting for a large gap in the traffic allows Harris to run all the way across the road - in one go! The skiing part is great and with many obstacles to avoid. Once the skiing is finished, somebody robs your skis so you head back to the hire shop to repeat everything...

OllySoft has done a great job with Harris Went Skiing and playing "Horace" again has certainly brought back lots of warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia. The Atari ST game is simple and very silly so is highly recommended if you're bored.

Grab the download of Atari Legend and game like it's 1982!!

Hang on, don't go!! There are even more OllySoft games to play. But looking at these makes me think that the boys had serious issues or a belting sense of humour. I'll go with the latter. Take a peep at their other games...

Who Maimed Roger Rabbit

Imagine Operation Wolf but set in President Trump's backyard which is overrun by weak rabbits! Aka lefties. So grab your gun and let's fix this once and for all. A successful hit turns those rabbits into a bloody mess of gore which I'm sure animal lovers will really appreciate. Overall, it's a simple game but also quite enjoyable, if repetitive.




SubHunt

A pointless two-player game so rubbish alone and possibly rubbish anyhow. Well, I didn't like it whatsoever if I'm honest. However, it does feature a cool hidden easter egg and that's worth the download. Brilliant!!

 



Ayatollah Invaders

An endless supply of angry ayatollah chaps running down your screen - straight into the path of your tank. It's mind-numbingly boring after a few minutes but I gotta admit that those somersault deaths are fantastic.




Motorway Death

Perhaps it's time to lower the bar to the lowest of low extreme levels? Is that even possible? Okay, how about a game of hit and run! Yep, you heard me right. And, on this road, people appear glued down so drive into them and watch blood splatter as their bodies spin off into the air. It's really funny... well... for a few minutes!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Head Over Heels



Going back to my Your Sinclair days!

I stumbled upon Head Over Heels by pure chance today. It's been donkey's years since I played this on my old ZX Spectrum and seeing it again is a heartwarming reminder of my 8-bit days. However, I shockingly cannot remember completing this tough isometric adventure and I certainly don't ever recall playing the Atari ST version!

Head Over Heels is far more complex than it first appears, two characters who each have their own skillset solve the puzzles. It's superb to see this again after all these years and anyone that loves the "filmation" genre will surely be in heaven. The graphics are Spec-tacular with superb details and more colour than my old rubber Speccy could ever have dreamt of. A huge and intriguing adventure offering many sleepless nights!

AtariMania features this within the ST database including an interesting tidbit too! Download Head Over Heels from 8BitChip as this supports a trainer and hard drive installation. Also, here is an extremely interesting website for the ZX Spectrum version with maps, videos, and more which should prove helpful.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Nebulus



Pogo the frog? Oh boy, this is gonna suck

Nebulus was released in 1988 by one of my favourite gaming companies ever, Hewson. It features an armed frog with big eyes called Pogo. But he isn't too happy with the thought of eight large sea-based towers and decides they need climbing and blowing up! Essentially, this is a platformer with some interesting pseudo-3D mechanics that provide a pretty unique visual style within an ingenious design. This is class programming as you will soon discover...

All towers are cylindrical with several platforms dotted all around the outside and nifty tunnels which offer a great way to quickly access the opposite side - if the current route appears a dead end. The world certainly revolves around little Pogo because he remains at the centre of the screen with horizontal movements causing the screen to scroll in a "three-dimensional" circular motion. Thus turning the tower around into view, it's quite brilliant.

Sounds rather insane, right? But let's ignore that initial opinion to check out this colourful screenshot...



Talk about going the extra mile and NOT sticking to 16 colours! Absolutely superb.


Frogs love water, right?

Getting through any of the towers will never be easy thanks to a barrage of unusual nasties to either shoot or avoid - and one that flies by to conveniently get in your way. Access to the top will involve careful strategy because your route is broken thus forcing you to use opposite sides of the tower depending on where you are. Always consider the option of using these tunnels to quickly nip through, they might come in handy to avoid those flying obstacles!!

Nebulus may sound easy but, it's actually very challenging and a brisk time limit allows little room for error. Bumping into an enemy will drop you down to the previous ledge, which is fantastic because that doesn't necessarily mean a frustrating loss of life, nor will it impede your momentum as you pick yourself up to try that part of the tower all over again. However, if there isn't a ledge to land on, you might fall even further down thus requiring lots of hefty backtracking, which could prove too much if little time remains. Ohh, the pressure!!

Falling further still (and into the water) is strangely fatal for this froggy - the only frog ever to have existed who can't handle the deep waters. Yup, that means we lose a life! Also interesting is a bonus game is featured between the levels - this has Pogo travelling to his next tower via a nice horizontally-scrolling level. It's a shooter with lots of Psygnosis-busting smooth parallax scrolling! It should have been longer because I really enjoyed it a bunch.

Right then, you guessed it! Yep, it's time for another cool screenshot...


Another day and another tower to climb. Ahh, this one looks too easy, right?


16-Bit Sex Appeal!!

Throughout our adventure, the visuals are utterly tremendous. Nebulus is programmed by legend, John M Phillips, who also helped treat us to a lovely display of great artwork and ultra-smooth framerates. Not only that but he spared no idle cycles to burst the colour limit with a ton of extra shades for the backdrops. The end result is a game that puts others to shame. Isn't it incredible what the Atari ST could crank out - when programmed by somebody with talent and commitment?

The audio is equally impressive with gorgeous sound effects that are zesty and sharp totally suiting the gameplay styles. Also, a beautifully unique chiptune that I could leave running all day long... it's captivating. Totally enchanting audio.

This is how all 16-bit games should look and sound. And that was all in 1988 too. Wow!!


Okay, ignore my jerky capture because this part scrolls so smoothly. And is great fun!!


The CryptO'pinion?

Nebulus can feel daunting thanks to its hefty learning curve which is steeper than you might first expect. With lots of practice, I guarantee hours of addictive gaming because Nebulus is a real firecracker. I love how it integrates both arcade action and strategic thinking using a fascinating visual style. I think in many respects this game was ahead of its time.

Yes, it's pretty tough at first, but you will soon get the hang of this rather unique and wonderful shoot 'em up. In fact, I would personally rate it as an Atari ST classic thanks not only because of how it looks and sounds but the addictive gameplay. Enjoy this beautiful piece of JMP magic which is nothing less than an icon of the 16-bit era.

Floppies are available on Stonish
and 8BitChip has a hard drive version!

Monday, January 09, 2017

Donkey Island



Monkey Island?

All the way back in 1997, Ed Cleveland (aka Eddie Cat) spent many moons working on a comedy adventure called Donkey Island. However, the latter end of the 90s were bitterly cold days with most of us having sold up and moved onto the world of Mac/PC. Sadly, it appears he got little feedback from us all and thus, decided to call it a day. I'm gutted!!

Well, that's my take on what I read. Whatever happened, it's a shame because his talent and dedication were on the way to creating something rather special. Yep, it's disappointing but at least he released this final/beta version work. This was very kind of him and, as is, it's more-than-worth downloading and playing.

Donkey Island is a graphical adventure that is quite different from what I was first expecting. Think of something vaguely similar in style and content to Lure Of The Temptress or a Sierra On-Line game and you get the idea. But with a comical twist: we are Fred, a geek who loves playing games on his Atari ST. So he's a smashing lad and life is obviously TOS-taSTic!

However, that changed when he found out that Donkey Island, a game he has been eagerly awaiting, had been cancelled. Fred is crushed and cannot accept the news so he powers off the little green desktop computer and begins exploring his hometown to find out why it was cancelled. (Sigh, a feeling not new to ST gamers in the 90s!)

That's depressing, isn't it? Well, let's check out a screenshot to cheer us all up...



The cartoon design works really well and some drawings are superb!


He looks familiar O_o

Fred is controlled using the cursor keys which is very simple and effective. The keypad is used to interact with your surroundings and characters - who are incredibly entertaining and interesting, to say the least. It's now that I feel even sadder that this game wasn't finished because the style and sense of humour gone into making Donkey Island is quite beautiful. Although incomplete, there is a large town to explore with some cute surprises to discover.

In its current form, this is pretty much a broken adventure game but one we can still fully play. Getting around Fred's town is a cinch and we have all the abilities to investigate this horrifying gaming incident. Roam, explore, and never forget to chat with the locals. They're nothing like you are expecting and their humour is often superb!

Although unfinished, full exploration is possible and many characters are available to knock up a conversation with. Some rooms are complete whilst others are in an unfinished state. Yet, they are still available for us to rummage through, which is brilliant. I'm so happy this "beta" was released yet, at the same time, I am gutted. What a game this almost was!

Yep, we will never know what may have been. Here is one of the unfinished locations...



Sadly, some areas of the game will never be finished but at least they're left in for us to play.


Aesthetics

Each location is depicted using a cartoon style similar to a comic book which Fred walks through in a rather crude but functional fashion. The artwork isn't exactly brilliant but the amateurish quality works wonders and the characters are superb. I love the way we communicate with others and our surroundings which is quite unique in style.

The sound effects are good but what I really love is the technique used for speech - it reminds me of Charlie Brown's teacher. Come on, tell me you can't hear that too? Well, I think it's superb :)

So, visually and sonically superb so here is another screenshot. My daughter says he looks like me...



Exploration is always the key to success and there are lots of (hidden) locations.


The CryptO'pinion?

Donkey Island had incredible potential and I imagine it would have ended up being a hugely fascinating adventure. It still is of course, albeit unfinished. I've enjoyed playing what is potentially a killer product that offers a different approach to the genre whilst being thoroughly entertaining with a wonderful sense of humour, strange locations and the silliest characters.

Trust me, this is a hidden gem and something truly brilliant. I wholeheartedly recommend you play this!!


Wednesday, January 04, 2017

Motor Massacre



Mad Max with choppy graphics?

Motor Massacre was released by Gremlin Graphics and feels like a wicked blend of a number of my favourite games. The action takes place in a grim post-apocalyptic future where each city is suffering from the devastation of war and resembles a Mad Max movie! All food stores were destroyed in the holocaust so people were starving until Doctor A. Noid came up with a substitute called "SLU" to help the waning populous. This all sounds great, right?

Why are these masterminds almost always qualified doctors? Anyhow, it was all a trick because SLU tastes like poo and turns people into zombies! So it's up to you to rescue the city from its psychotic drivers, explore buildings, and then battle in a demolition derby event to ultimately find the doctor and end this misery. See, it's basically Mad Max in game form :)



Pandy's Pork Palace sounds a lot better than it actually is!


It's Carmageddon out there!

Yes, this is more than one single game: the cities are explored from the comfort of an ATV - top/down similar to Chicago 90 but when inside buildings, it changes to something like Time Bandit or Gauntlet.

Driving around the city is tremendous fun because you are completely free to roam the streets and that also means blasting at anyone who might get in your way. All other drivers are out for blood and want you dead by any means and their road rage antics are vicious - so defend yourself using the cannon fitted to your vehicle.

Use this to blast the suckers into oblivion but also watch out for hazards such as oil spills and explosives carelessly left lying in the road. Do note the gun turrets which line many streets and are annoyingly highly accurate.



It's demolition derby time when we can shove other cars into dark oblivion.


Explore and have fun!

An interesting "mechanic" is how your vehicle's appearance alters the more damage it endures, so I'm grateful the holocaust didn't destroy the repair shops which also offer a wide range of other services like fuel, weapons, and ammo. The mechanic working here scares me, but I like his T-shirt! There are some more places and these offer a good opportunity to collect goods like weapons and health, so look out for their location using the road markings (Pandy's Pork Palace is available right from the start and contains a handy ATV upgrade).

You soon discover that these various places are thriving with ghouls and other creatures lurking in the shadows. Nowhere is safe, but you're armed with a pistol so shoot first and ask questions later! Keep searching these areas and you should find an arena pass to the demolition derby. This event is pure Carmageddon and nothing beats pushing your opponents into a chasm! Success here, grants you access to the next city.



The mechanic is freaky. It's almost on a Chucky level here... (shudder)


Aesthetics?

Visually, this is a basic affair with crudely-drawn graphics and jerky scrolling to boot. However, I must admit being mightily impressed with the animation of the running men which reminded me of Impossible Mission.

Sadly, the sound effects are probably worse than the visuals. Truly terrible.



However, we need him because the roads in the future are just terrible.


The CryptO'pinion?

Motor Massacre has been a nice surprise. Sure, it's about as glam as a dog turd but I enjoyed the mix of arcade-style action with levels of adventure lurking below the surface. Also, being able to enter buildings adds that extra dynamic which I loved - and there's always something stupid waiting for you! So don't take it seriously and have fun.

I have enjoyed zipping around the city looking for my next victim. It's crude but fantastic and really enjoyable!!


Mel Gibson wannabes can download the floppies
Tear up the roads like Mad Max!

Monday, January 02, 2017

Lure Of The Temptress



I wanted to kick off the new year with something special and that means more cool BoxArt for one of my favourite Atari ST games, Lure Of The Temptress. I reviewed this last spring, it remains one of my most popular posts and for good reason. So, click that link!! Downloads are available for either floppy disks or, best of all, your hard disk.

Friday, December 30, 2016

Outrun New Year Demo



Goodbye in STyle

I'm going to end 2016 with a brand new release by a good friend of mine - Bionic Nerd - aka Peter Jørgensen. It is the Outrun New Year Music Demo which has just been released so I've recorded a little sample from each track as a teaser for you all. Clickety click to grab this cool music disk right now and enjoy it. :-) Here is a little background by Peter:

"Hi all, I made this little new year music demo because I always loved the music from outrun and I always felt that we Atari ST guys were cheated on. Firstly, there was a track missing. Secondly, it kept shifting between the two other tune every time one would die. Lastly, I do not think that David Whittaker did his best. The music files are YMT format running at 300hz and the reason the program file is so big. In the new year I will make a new sound format, still as fast, but be taking less space but you will need a 2mb Atari to run this. Thanks to everyone for listening and I hope you like this? Thanks, Peter."

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Droid


Out-of-date!
Update article here: Droid Special Edition


Droid is a platform shooter for the Atari ST by M.P. Lord about a robot who needs to escape from within fortified catacombs. It's a simple idea that looks (umm) familiar and it was a very popular public-domain game that had a sequel released in 1994. Sadly, neither made use of the enhanced hardware inside the Atari STe...

Well, rolling on in Jamie Hamshere (aka junosix) who has begun working on an upgrade designed to use the hardware scrolling, Blitter and DMA Audio. The results are outstanding and there's an early beta available to download. As a WIP, this is starting to look amazing and I cannot wait to see future updates!! Watch this space...

Update October 2020
  * WooHoo!! A brand new beta is available to download!
  * Jamie has also posted a new video on his YouTube channel.

Sunday, December 25, 2016

SantaFly


It's got to that time of year when I post something Christmassy! Here we have SantaFly by the awesome Reservoir Gods and regular readers will remember its sister game. Yes, SantaFly is every bit as frustratingly addictive but with a peculiar Christmassy theme. It's great fun and I advise you clickety click and download it.

Thank you to everyone who visited AtariCrypt throughout the year and I wish you all a Merry Christmas †
Luke 2:11
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!