Mudpies

Time for a Food Fight!

Mud Pies is one of the oldest Atari ST games there is - please - don't go off graphics. This game stars a kid called Arnold who loves the circus. Until it came to his town, so he threw a pie at one of the clowns. Unfortunately, these clowns aren't known for having a sense of humour and chased after him! There's only one thing left to do... No, we aren't running off to tell Mum - we're gonna throw more pies!!

Each screen represents a tent from the circus with an invading army of clowns - they're like jelly monsters dressed up as Ronald McDonald! They wander, waving their arms and chucking juggling pins. This invasion lasts forever but the pies won't! Look for an open door to another tent full of mud pies - and more clowns.

Throwing a mud pie at a clown will see them flying off the screen (even more will score extra points). However, try not to get yourself trapped in a corner otherwise, you might receive a juggling pin knockout blow!

I can imagine this is starting to sound insane? Well, check out the 1985 graphics and try not to laugh...

Just imagine the look on today's kids if you show 'em this 1985 game. Will they "get it"?

Simple, yet brilliant!

Challenge rooms are a bit different from the standard tents because they have no mud pies but instead, lots of clowns to avoid whilst grabbing the prizes - for 1000 points. Every 20,000 points, a secret door will appear for the chance to enter into a Mudslinging Round where you have 30secs to throw pies at wandering clowns!!

Don't clown about too much! Getting hit isn't good for your health and dying shows your body being carried away on a stretcher to the first aid tent. That can happen only three times before it's game over. Talented pie chuckers will be delighted that freebie lives are awarded every 10,000 points, which is a nice bonus.

Keep an eye on the health meter displayed top/left - this is split into three segments with the middle one enabling you to run very fast. However, this speed is reduced if you become too hungry or if you've over-faced on burgers and fries. The trick is to keep your health a nice happy medium throughout for maximum agility.

Come on, let's pause this reading and take a look at another quality screenshot...

Always frantic, always fun and so addictive. This game is eternal!!

Aesthetics

Graphically, this isn't stressing the Atari ST in the slightest. But remember that it was developed and released in 1985 before programmers knew how to push our computer. Having said that, it's got a certain Charley Chuck charm to it and, as a gamer since the early 1980s, I love its retro feel. No, I absolutely love it :)

Spot-sound effects are fine, but it is best to leave the music on. Again, this isn't anything near the quality we are used to hearing but it's still surprisingly enjoyable. No complaints, it's an old game remember!

Come on guys, how a game looks and sounds never really matters. Mudpies certainly proves this...

Oh, just take a look at the high-score table!! Can ya' beat me??? ;-)

The CryptO'pinion?

It's impressive that MichTron (Philip McKenzie and Jeffrey Sorenson) knocked this out for a computer that was practically unknown back in 1985. I can't imagine how exciting that was - and daunting too. But when Mudpies came along it must have been a breath of fresh air to all those rich people that could afford an ST!

Think what you will, but Mudpies is a terribly entertaining take on Food Fight with silly gameplay that transports us back to our youth. Abusing clowns is never boring - I can't imagine a better way to spend an afternoon than slinging mud pies at them. This is so much FUN and that's what matters most. Play this.

Grab a piece of this old skool action for either floppy or hard drive. Enjoy!!