Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Black Tiger



Ohhh, yes!!!

Black Tiger is one of those games that I have loved since day one and today I got to play it once again after what feels like a lifetime ago! It's a good arcade conversion but sadly, my old joystick doesn't work well moving diagonally... So you will see lots of silly mistakes in my video recording. Honestly, it's the joystick!

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!

Leap your way through the labyrinth, killing anything and everything that moves. Perfect!!


Clinging onto anything sturdy helps you get to those areas other beers cannot reach!.

Oh no, skeleton monsters!!! They look awesome but it's best to KILL THEM!!


Hang on, there's a little old man here. Let's kill him... wait... no, maybe not?

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Atari STe demos

Awesome Atari STE demos!!

Circus BackSTage (link) (by BlaBLa, Cocoon & Sector One)
Appendix (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Cernit Trandafir (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Drone (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Massacre (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Strange roboTS (link) (by BlaBLa & Mandarine)
Summer Delights (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)


  

  

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Killing Spree



TLB made a game!

I always loved The Lost Boys, they started as England's answer to the Carebears! Their demos are outstanding and I still remember my jaw dropping to the floor when I saw Ooh Crikey Wot a Scorcher - a masterpiece!!

And that "main menu" system used to access each demo screen? Impressive, to say the least? Hmm, but what would happen if it was adapted into a game? Would it be good enough? Why not take a look for yourself at Killing Spree because I think its potential was absolutely insane. Like an early Cybermorph... sigh... what might have been?

Finally, Demozoo features a massive page dedicated to The Lost Boys and their fantastic ST catalogue.