Ohhh, yes!!!
This game is classic arcade fun - pick up that joystick and instantly you're having tons of fun leaping over the landscapes and pummelling monsters into oblivion. Each level not only looks superb but is really interesting to explore: I love the mechanics of clinging onto ledges to fire or leaping towards higher places in a dingy, creepy world. What a great adventure - arcade-style - and this is proving to be every bit as good as I remember.
However, I must say that the joystick controls are what impress me the most which is no easy task for the Atari one-button design. It is very responsive so therefore keeps the action going as fast as it should. The range of monsters is brilliant and what's better than powering up with ridiculous weapons to crush your enemy?
Graphically, this is a stunner and considering no STe hardware scrolling is (sigh) utilised, the old STf keeps up with the pace just fine. Sure, it's not as zippy as the arcade but it works, so I'm impressed with how good it moves considering what's going on. The sprites are ace - I love those wonky old skeletons the most. Overall, the design is something I adore because it works perfectly, so feels like a belting arcade experience.
Yep, this is pretty faithful to the original and I feel US Gold did us proud, especially considering they ignored the STe hardware... sigh... That would have been a huge deal with a little help from the Blitter. Still, as is, Black Tiger is fantastic and one of my favourite arcade conversions. This means it scores top marks from me!!
Grab the floppies via Old Games Finder or HDD by Klaz!