Return To Genesis

Dream Team?

Firebird released Return To Genesis the same year I got my Atari ST and it was developed by the incredible "ST Dream Team". Yup, Steve Bak, Pete Lyons and David Whittaker: three masters in their own field. These guys aimed for quality and always pushed our computer without ever resorting to excuses or using a lame Amiga port. #respect

RTG is basically a funky take on Defender where Mechanauts have forced scientists into slavery. We've gotta rescue each of these guys which means jumping into a spaceship to skim the surface of 50 psychedelic worlds. At great speed!!

Wanna see the first bunch of screenshots? Then wait no longer because here they are...

Can you see the Mechanauts? Not easy, is it? Wait, now I see a scientist waiting to be picked up!

I'm getting too old and slow

If you've ever played Defender then you should be right at home with RTG. It only has a tiny learning curve - hold fire and kill everything. But let's play properly? It's worth slowing down to pick up the scientists rather than killing them: once onboard, hit the HELP key to see what cool power-ups they might provide. These guys are useful and could improve weaponry, shields, invisibility, and so much more. However, Festus might be less than fun as the master of self-destruction!!

A scanner shows the location of each scientist but this sadly falls short of detailing the level layout. I don't know why, but this doesn't work well for me. Sigh... how many more times must I be rebounded back and forth like a yoyo. Yes, this is one incredibly FAST shoot 'em up that has you on the edge of your seat. Blink and you're dead!!

Screenshot time and here are twelve scary-looking people from the future...

This is an incredible idea that uses who you rescue in a positive way for the next level. It's superb!

Aesthetics

Pete Lyon designed everything you see but I'd be lying if I said this was his best work (I personally think Zynaps won that accolade). Don't get me wrong, RTG looks lovely but it's also pretty gorky and I sometimes found it difficult to distinguish the aliens against those funky backgrounds. The scrolling is smooth to prove, once again, that the Atari ST needed no custom chips when in the hands of talented people that care about the product they're working on.

Audio is such a treat. Dave Whittaker sure knew how to get the best heard from our computer - his work proves "chip" will last forever. Okay, it does sound <cough> familiar but it suits the gameplay perfectly. Heck, our ST talks to us which is a zillion times better than Gold Runner. Dave certainly gets the YM processor rocking in ways only he could achieve!

It looks, moves, and sounds superb so certainly a dream team production! Here are a couple more screenshots...

Oh, look, a weapons upgrade. I knew it was better to rescue these guys rather than blasting 'em!

The CryptO'pinion?

RTG is one of those games that has it all - it looks, scrolls and sounds absolutely brilliant yet I'm still unsure. I love a good Defender but this is too difficult thanks to its blistering speeds which means hitting lots of objects and suffering humiliating deaths. However, the scientist's power-ups are a wonderful idea that compensates for the difficult gameplay.

Return To Genesis is an iconic shoot 'em up for most Atari ST gamers! But, it's way too furious for me and thus another Anarchy. Sorry, but give me Xenon or Menace any day of the week. Overall, I like it but, I don't love it.

Return To Genesis is available on floppy or a hard drive device.