Spellfire The Sorcerer

Yeah, we're a wizard!

Spellfire is a scrolling platformer developed by Dave Semmens for Code Masters and is set in a time long ago: a time of myth and legend when knights patrolled the woodlands and magicians were the cool guys. We're a wizard called Willy and our beef is with an emperor who is holding captive (wait for it) Fifi The Fairy in his tower so our valiant quest is to rescue her.

Fifi can only be rescued from the dark fortress by collecting ten magic eyes that are scattered across the levels. Yup, it's the usual quest through lands filled with monsters and demonic guardians. Will you help Wizard Willy?

Come on, I know you will so let's check out the first screenshot from the game...

The graphics are great but sometimes it feels cluttered with umm too much going on?

It all sounds incredibly original, right?

He begins his journey in a forest that leads to the castle where she is imprisoned. This is a great start which introduces us nicely to the gameplay mechanics: our hero can walk, leap, climb trees, shoot fire bolts and even mash up magic spells using a rather large cauldron. Health status is displayed at the top of the screen and will decrease if you happen to touch enemies or a dangerous object. Gold coins can be collected (after a kill) and these are used as currency inside a cauldron that can mix magical power-ups, ammo, or health.

Collecting the magic eyes allows us to battle the first guarding boss - a wasp-like critter who isn't exactly intelligent and therefore makes for an easy kill. This grants us access to the castle via the dungeons which are creepy but the guardian is a bit of a bonehead (you will see why). This castle takes us deeper into our quest but continues with the same theme, with lots more tricks and traps to fool you. I really am enjoying this journey!

This ain't no rushed port and the quest is massive so let's celebrate with another screenshot...

The first boss is a giant wasp who is a bit dumb and quite easy to kill. I like bosses like that!

Aesthetics

Spellfire has some stunning visuals and I love the contrast between the lush nature and medieval environments. Sadly, it can feel a little cluttered and I dreamt of a background without so much going on. However, the game is very colourful using a gradient sky which is gorgeous. I also liked the erupting volcanos and awesome skeletons when raised from the dead. Everything you see is complemented by smooth scrolling that never lags and keeps up with the pace.

The audio is almost as impressive and can be set to chip music or effects. Whatever you decide, you will love it.

Isn't it great when something looks and sounds as great as it plays! Screenshot time...

Watch out for tricks that will catch you out which makes for great replay value.

The CryptO'pinion?

I have enjoyed playing Spellfire The Sorcerer which reminded me of a cross between Stormlord and Chronicles of Omega. It's very easy to get into so instantly entertaining with good levels, excellent monsters and power-ups that work nicely. However, I did feel that the screens were a little too (visually) cluttered albeit very, very pretty.

I'm grateful this isn't a lazy Amiga port and one which plays every bit as good as it looks. Code Masters released what I can only describe as a hidden gem that will appeal to fans of the genre. Not perfect but a fantastic platformer!

Grab the HDD version @ 8BitChip or disks @ Stonish.

Kult

Let's play something a little different!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... No, wait, wrong game!! Okay, let me start again, many moons ago a good friend of mine [Tom!] surprised me with a gift sent all the way from the land of the Vikings. Inside was a beautifully preserved -sealed- copy of Kult, something I had never played before in my life. He was adamant that this was a true 16-bit classic and I remember it receiving good reviews, with Atari ST User rating it a perfect ten.

You are Raven, a psionic mutant, who saw a bunch of other mutants destroy a village and now wants to fight back! That's the gist of this story for what is a most confusing adventure with lots of cunning puzzles to solve. Kult is a game like no other I have ever played and has an enormous learning curve to learn, especially the user interface. Graphics are creepy-cool and all sound effects are samples, love the speech effects!

How did I do?

[updated Saturday, May 27th]
I've been getting to grips with this game today but the hard drive version fails to work for me (I think it's my SD Card) so I went for the floppy version, linked below, by Zuul and this worked perfectly. Well, after a couple of hours, I am blown away by this incredible and captivating game. The user interface might first appear confusing and quite laboured but in fact, it's actually anything but because navigation is a breeze. I also love how the rooms are titled, which certainly helps me a bunch!

I'm currently getting to grips with the locations and examining everything I see in the rooms. Objects are often tripped-out and plain silly - I've just polished the eyeballs on a fountain to get it working, why I'm not exactly sure yet but I've done it. I have also chatted to some strange looking fellas, so I followed them and used the attack function. Won this battle but then his friends ate the corpse!

I laughably love using the brain to select various instructions, such as inspect, attack, and talk. What a strange yet oddly obvious way to make decisions!! I've also learned not to trust people, I walked into a dark room and somebody told me to follow them. Stupid that I am, I did just that and promptly fell through a trap into a water-filled pit. Here, I was eaten alive by some kind of monster! Great...

This game is so different to anything I've played before. I love how its storyline is deep and involving but never overwelming. I feel that I've only just scratched the surface of what will be a unique experience!

Grab it while it's hot!

 - 8BitChip has created a version to be installed on your hard disk which is just brilliant.
 - Various floppy disks feature Kult and I recommend Zuul #195 via Stonish.
 - Wasabim has recorded a brilliant youtube video.
 - Atari ST User scored Kult 10/10 - wow!! [AtariMania]

Guardian Angel

Dimamic get Dynamic!

Freddy Hardest is our Guardian Angel for Dinamic's scrolling beat 'em up in the Big Apple, which actually ain't too dissimilar to After The War. Manhattan always seems to be the perfect setting for a grim future with crime and gangs. I don't know why but it's got that deathwish vibe and setting nailed so perfectly.

Anyhow, I've always had a soft spot for Dinamic and I think it's because I played their Army Moves via disk (instead of tape) back in my Spectrum +3 days (a short-lived machine as it died after a few weeks... sigh).

They've released some good Atari ST games also and many you can find by searching at the top of this web page. Anyhow, we begin our Death Wish at the docks and are instantly assaulted by waves of 80s-styled thugs! Some have brought along their toys, like baseball bats and knives. Where's Charles Bronson when you need him?

Ahh, nuts! That guy is big and I hear sneaky footsteps behind me!

Yee Aw that sucka!

Being a beat 'em up, we get around crime-infested streets using left/right. The fire button performs a punch, which you'll find is only good against the weaker Sailors. Pulling down allows us to stomp on rats but offers little benefit against tougher dudes! Finally, pushing up will unleash the fury of your infamous high kick which is your only powerful move. Energy levels will automatically replenish IF you get a chance to stand still for a moment.

Guardian Angel doesn't take itself seriously and has you laughing at the silly antics you see on-screen. I love how the baddies turn into zapped skeletons for a split second when dying - it's like a Tom And Jerry cartoon. Watch out for "Death Star", a forklift trucker called Ricky Chang who is probably the world's worst driver. However, my favourite is being kicked out of your cute yellow boots when suffering a final death blow. Hilarious stuff.

That's this game to a tea, it's stupid but incredibly entertaining. The kind you play after a bad day at work!

What? You think ganging up is going to scare me away - not on your nelly!!

Aesthetics

The gameplay window is small with much of the screen being -mostly- pointless decor. However, I do like the detailed backgrounds, even if they're too colourful for a bleak city scene! Sprites are large and well-detailed with basic animation but there are some cool scenes and Ricky Chang will always make me laugh. Fantastic!!

Forget the terrible theme tune. Okay, thankfully, all in-game sound effects are made from good and meaty samples with the chainsaw guy being superb. In fact, I really love the excellent variety of sampled sound effects.

Now, this is a proper title screen with great artwork.

The CryptO'pinion?

Guardian Angel sure has some good qualities; a bucket load of humour matched by responsive controls, superb sprites and sound effects. Sadly, it's typically Dinamic and too tough!! Only having one decent attack spoils any long-term potential but, I must admit, I enjoyed it with a trainer enabled! But that's a bad thing, right?

I think you guys need to play this beat 'em up regardless of the need for a trainer. Damn good fun!!

Stonish has Medway Boys #85 Floppy Disk.

Fuzion #185

Fuzion #185 is a cool intro which gave us Ork, by Psygnosis. I love this intro because it presents itself particularly well with lots of colour and an adaptation of one of the most memorable chiptunes ever created. It also makes use of the Atari STe hardware for even better results, but happily works on either machine just fine.

Monitor Switch Box

Okay, it's not exactly a modern option compared to what's available but I love my old monitor switch box. If there's one thing I dislike about the ST (no, it's not the joystick ports) but it's swapping the cables when going from colour to mono. So, this little device works wonders for me but perhaps it's time I looked to upgrade?

However, next on my wish list is a graphics card for my Mega STe. Can anyone help me with that??

Kid GP

It's time for Munsie magic!

This is the third Dave Munsie game to be featured on AtariCrypt but it's one I'd never previously heard of. The idea is to frantically run around each screen avoiding the baddies and collecting all of the diamonds. Originally aimed at the younger audience but I have found it incredibly fun so there's hope for all of us... Or I'm just simple?

Collecting diamonds may sound easy but there are a variety of whacky creatures zipping about the screens. Each one loves getting in your way whilst others are looking to give a good chase. However, bump into one and a life is lost!! So it's a good job we can use a hammer to smack these blighters and send 'em packing. Yeah!

The game rewards your vicious hammer attacks with lots of bonus fruits - before respawning them once again. Magic mushroom power-ups are available for a range of cool effects that may boost or alter your visibility. A bonus timer is counting down and, if you manage to finish with time remaining, then you can build up points by grabbing lots of extra goodies? What this lacks in (ahem) originality is more than made up for in brilliant gameplay!

Come on, I think we need to see a colourful screenshot with cute critters with beady eyes...

Okay, it might look ...umm... rather familiar but the gameplay is rock-solid awesomeness!!

Bubble... Rainbow... What?

Graphically, this is one sexy-looking game with bold colours and the cutest sprites. Those big-eyed blue faces will always make me smile - especially after I've clubbed them! This is exactly how an arcade game should look. Sure, it (ahem) might look familiar for any number of reasons but who cares about originality when it looks this gorgeous?

Interestingly, you can flip between 50/60Hz and also three game speeds, at any time.

The audio is slightly less impressive because there are no background chiptunes. I think that would have been really nice, so is sadly missed by me. Thankfully, the sound effects are fantastic and very zesty for a game of this ilk.

Screenshot time and how about one with some fruit? No? Well, here you go anyhow...

Wow!! Look at all that gorgeous colour and beautiful fruit. Yum Yum get it all eaten up!

The CryptO'pinion?

Kid GP is exhilarating!! Manically running around, collecting lots of diamonds and fruits, whilst avoiding the silly-looking nasties is surprisingly brilliant. The controls are perfect; always responsive and I loved the ability to have two different jumping options - because the hammer only works horizontally. Which is the only (meh) gripe I have.

Dave Munsie may have originally intended this game for kids (my 7yr appreciates that) but there is no denying the positive effect that it has on this big kid. Yes, I loved Kid GP a bunch. What a fantastic and addictive game!!

Stop whatever you're doing!!

Download this wonderful game right now.

EasyAraMiNT

Putting old hardware to good use...

Aranym is a piece of software by Petr Stehlik that helps create a virtual Atari computer capable of running GEM software at lightning speeds. However, most find Aranym rather awkward to set up from scratch so a fella called Philippe Noble has made something called EasyAraMint. This is a ready-to-go installation using EasyMint 1.18 which provides an incredible multitasking environment using the power of the host, be that a Mac or PC.

As you can see in my expertly recorded video, I'm using an old Mac Mini that was recently donated to me (thanks Mum!). My video shows me using unix 'scp', viewing images, reading a PDF, listen to cool tunes, and playing Doom before ending with a little web browsing. Yes, this is as geeky as it gets. Love it!! :-)

EasyAraMint can be installed in minutes and comes pre-installed with Atari programs. Philippe has done an outstanding job with this ready-2-go multitasking OS. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

Both Aranym and EasyAraMiNT can be downloaded and tinkered with so let me know what you create!

I accessed another Mac via FTP and chatted online with a friend. What a geek I am!!


The command line might not look much fun so I jazzed up this screenshot with PixArt...

Not all websites display perfectly but what do you expect for free? Good enough, I say :o)


After browsing the web, why not read a PDF document and listen to some background tunes too!

Jug

When in the hands of talent...

Jug is a scrolling shooter by one of my favourite companies, Microdeal. It's set in the distant future and we are tasked to save Spiraeus, a living planet. That's suffering from a nasty tumour that urgently needs to be eliminated. However, an autoimmune system thinks you're a threat so unleashes its defences intent on your demise!!

Yeah, I know. This sounds really silly but stick with me because Jug was programmed by Paul Hunter (Armour-Geddon) and is no lazy Amiga port. In fact, quite the opposite and certainly pushes our old STFM to the limit.

Playing Jug is a strange and frantic affair, as it combines elements from games like Blood Money, Droid, and Return To Genesis. Sometimes combinations like this fail and somethings they work! Check out this screenshot...

Some eye candy is pretty ghastly whereas others are great examples of beautiful pixel art.

One smooth shooter

Our ship moves left or right but also has the ability to fly. However, this is affected by gravity, similar to Alien World, and also requires fuel top-ups. The controls work well but movements are a little slow thus making it difficult avoiding the nasties without losing precious energy. The action is relentless with lots of baddies constantly zipping across your screen in various attack waves; it's frantic hell and never seems to stop. Great!!

However, they aren't the brightest bulbs and appear to move/shoot blindly with little AI thus it's almost like they aren't even aware of our presence. Weaponry is an upgradeable mixed bag: however, the plasma gun is mounted far too low to be fully effective. Replacing that with a laser cannon is lots of fun!!

Playing Jug is never dull and always fun. It will take some practice because of the map layout which I found a little bemusing at first. The enemies increase gameplay to a crazy pace and this makes the whole journey exciting and a thrill to beat. Or at least try to - this is a tough game that will eat away the hours.

Look out for teleporters... And when death comes it's pretty demoscene'y. Which I love!

Aesthetics

The best thing about Jug isn't its humorous name (based on the ship's barrel-chested assets!!) but its visuals which are gorgeous by Martin Kenwright. It boasts ultra-smooth parallax scrolling using a cool metallic palette so you should use a real Atari ST to fully appreciate the graphics breezing across your screen.

Theme music is a masterpiece, by Paul Shields. So leave the main menu be, to enjoy the incredible chiptune! In comparison, the in-game sound effects are totally overshadowed, but they do their job good enough.

Arghh, not again? Is it me? Am I actually this bad at games? How could this be? O_o

The CryptO'pinion?

Jug has all the ingredients to be a brilliant shoot 'em up but incorporates some weird mechanics that hogged my desire to continue. I would instead recommend any of the above-mentioned games along with Uridium, Cybernoid, or Sideways!! The gameplay difficulty is far too overwhelming and the map layout is quite confusing too.

Technically superb but I'm also on the fence because it's left me with mixed feelings. Plus the need to use a trainer, which is wrong. Or am I wrong?? What do you guys think about this game? Well, let me know in the comments below...

If you have a hard drive or Ultrasatan then grab this download which is so cool.

Floppy disk addicts can find Jug on the Stonish website.

Finally, and untested by me, here is how to get infinite energy and extra lives:
 Press and hold down the ESC key on the title screen and then use the mouse to click on the right-hand edge of the screen. This should help the game be a little more achievable, you'll need it!!

Chicago 90

Chicago 90 was released in 1988 by Microids. It has superb cover art that portrays an exaggerated car chase scene which is a fantastic example of cool Atari ST box art (even though the loading screen has a different car!). I originally reviewed this last summer and, although I found it far from perfect, I still had tremendous fun. What a great racer and something I felt was like an early take on Driver in some respects, which is cool. Highly recommended.

LINKS

 - 8bitchip have a fantastic hard drive installable version to download.
 - If you instead require the floppy disk image then take a look at Old Games Finder.