Guess what I've been playing?

Oh yeah, Manic Miner!

Yep, I've had a bundle of oldskool fun with the Atari ST remake of the classic platformer by Matthew Smith, Bug-Byte. I've been playing this since I was 12 and figured I should share a few pics from today's escapade. Do you remember when this was released a few years ago by Peter Jørgensen? Sadly, he's struggling with his health so didn't finish it but it's incredibly close to completion and as enjoyable as the 1983 original.

So, I booted up my Atari ST, cranked up the volume, and loaded Manic Miner (the tunes are thumpingly superb btw). I captured a few photos using my iPhone so don't expect any professional clarity because each was taken one-handed because I had forgotten which key paused the game. Darn it, why do I feel so stupid? Check 'em out...

During the title intro, press 1, 2, 3 to change the music.
Also, pressing R will display a CPU usage raster for the geeks.
In-game, use the cursor keys to walk and he jumps when slapping the spacebar.
Kill Willy anytime by hitting the K key.
Don't make the same stupid mistake as me, hit P to pause.
The crazy fools who don't like the thumping tune can hit M to mute.

Without cheating, I can usually reach level 14 - Skylab Landing Bay. However, I've never beaten that terrible level on either the ZX Spectrum or Atari ST as it's a killer and blows my mind. Today, I only reached level 12 - Return of the Alien Kong Beast. Well, I am getting older and slower... ahem... that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!

Anyhow, this has been a cracking day and I've enjoyed playing Manic Miner which is a great remake with authentic design and mechanics. That means you can experience each screen without feeling it's changed in some odd way: movement and timings are replicated superbly. Easily one of the best Atari ST games in recent years.

Waste no more time, Manic Miner requires 1MB RAM and is downloadable from over on AtariMania.

Personally, I find the first level to be one of the hardest in the game. Weird, right?

I love Peter's humour with the extra graffiti. Plus who can argue about the Amiga Poo bit?

I can remember the very first time I saw this amazing screen. Check out those ghosts!

The slutch might be the wrong colour but everything here plays exactly as it should.

Oh, those wacky Amoebatrons aren't anything to worry about but watch out for them later on!

I've no idea why, but The Endorian Forest is possibly my favourite of all the levels. Love it!!

An irritating level that's actually very easy to complete. Why did I lose a life then? Grr!!

Classic kong level I've done a million times. But today it ended my run. Sigh...

Rather than replicate the original, our Squisher is far more sinister. Love that hairy leg!

Can you beat my high score? Come and take me on, if you're hard enough!!