Midi Maze

Midi Maze hit the shelves in 1987 thanks to Xanth FX and was an early taste of multiplayer first-person gaming. We're inside a maze of smilies who hover about looking for our blood so ignore their happy faces because they're anything but nice. Shoot them before they shoot you and the last sphere "standing" wins!

The walls might be paper thin and without any texture or ambient lighting, but do remember just how old this game is. Frame-rates are fast with exceptionally smooth movement and I was impressed to see the baddies have a shadow thus adding perspective. Sound effects aren't going to win any awards but they do their job well enough.

The controls are rather straightforward and easy to learn using either joystick or mouse - I personally think the joystick works the best. Those without midi cables can play in Solo mode which allows up to 15 computer controlled bots using three levels of AI. Those with midi cables and other Atari STs can invite friends over with the potential to link 2-16 computers, which is quite staggering!!

There is nothing I enjoy more than a first-person shooter and Midi Maze certainly packs its own unique punch. Single player is welcome and works very well but Midi Maze comes into its own when linked with other Atari computers. Midi Maze is one of the best games I have featured here on AtariCrypt. A true Atari ST gaming legend.

LINKS

 - Check out this Midi Maze fanzine (It's in German but Google Translate will help!)
 - Here is a PDF document of the original game manual
 - Atarimania has all three games listed in their Atari ST database.
 - Floppy disk images are available from Old Games Finder.