Midi Maze

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

The controls are rather straightforward and very easy to learn. You can use either the joystick or mouse - but 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 with 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 for an 80s deathmatch!!

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 some perspective. Sound effects aren't going to win any awards but they do their job.

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 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.