Zinger Burger, anyone?
Rodney is a chap who loves his Atari ST and meeting up with fellow nerds. One day, he was on his way to the Dullsville copy party when he had his compact disc collection stolen by the KFC Gang. No, not the fried chicken place, but a mob calling themselves Klepto Foreign Chickens!! So he went back home, determined for justice. Grabbing an anti-chicken gun, he headed to their hideout for revenge - and his floppy disks!
In case you're wondering, they are ST compact disks and not CDs. Think Automation, Replicants, Fuzion, Pompey Pirates, Elite, Dream Weavers and others - that you can find on Atari Legend.
The plan is to kill the chickens and reclaim his disk collection, but he's only got a few minutes before the bus leaves him behind. And he doesn't want to miss the copy party! Yep, it sounds like a lame '90s dream, but let's help Rodney get his collection back. Then he can meet up with his mates and copy lots of ST stuff.
It's like going back in time, alright, so let's check out the first couple of screenshots...
Chickens everywhere should be scared of Rodney with his anti-chicken gun!
Rodney should have locked his disk box!
As you've guessed, this is a platformer in a similar mould to Magic Pockets/etc. Infiltrating the gang's hideout is easy, to begin with. The place is inhabited by the thieving scumbag birds who robbed all our floppies and then foolishly scattered them about their lair. Thankfully, one shot is all it takes to kill them, and if you see your disks, then grab 'em quick! Walk, jump, shoot, collect disks - that's about as complex as it gets.
Interestingly, Padman coded the game in GFA Basic for all 1MB computers. It's best when run on an Atari STe thanks to the extra colours, DMA sound effects, and gorgeous music!
The controls are superb and responsive: left/right walks and pushing upwards leaps Rodney - with diagonal support. The fire button blasts a puny gun that sends the chickens to a slaughterhouse - press once, instead of repeatedly bashing the button. Hey, dying cluckers make a funny noise, which I love.
Don't dawdle with idle exploration or listening to the chickens die. Remember that bus we need to catch? Yep, there's a timer, and it's immensely restricting without any allowance for mistakes. So, if you need to backtrack after missing a ledge, don't bother. It's best to restart, as you'll never make up for the lost time!!
Once all disks are collected and the KFC is dead, you can head towards the exit and then catch the bus to see your ST mates at the copy party. This quest is straightforward: locate the disks and kill the KFC gang members. I won't knock that simplicity because this is fun, and the map is huge with a superb design.
It's that time again. You've guessed it! Let's take a look at a couple more screenshots...
I love how the chickens have beady eyes and fall off the screen when shot.
Aesthetics
Graphically, this game is great, with a murky palette to represent the KFC's underground hideout. The sprites are few but humorously bright and well drawn - I love the chickens! All animations are excellent, and I adore how Rodney's quiff flaps as he walks (a ripped sprite from an unreleased Amiga game?)
The scrolling is smooth in all directions, but it's a shame that the Atari STe wasn't utilised more. Perhaps I'm being harsh because Padman miraculously used GFA Basic, so the results are outstanding in one respect. However, the cynic within asks why the Blitter/hardware scrolling wasn't used for better movement.
For the audio, we have excellent sampled sounds used for dying chickens, disk pickups, and a 'ugh' as we jump. Okay, it's no Death Chase, but what we have, I like. However, it's the music that sets this game apart from the crowd, thanks to terrific chiptunes. TAO's in-game music (Atari STe) is absolutely phenomenal.
The last screenshots before I give my much-desired opinion that you all crave so badly...
Liking the subtle stamp Padman placed here. Let's turn that chicken into a curry!!
Can you beat my high score? In fact, this was my first-ever attempt. So beat that! :p
The CryptO'pinion?
I’ve enjoyed trying to help Rodney recover his Atari ST disk box, but a few things narked me. Firstly, there’s no indication of the remaining disks to collect, leaving me feeling blindsided and wondering what I’d missed. Secondly, I want a LOT more chickens to kill. Worst of all, the time limit was absolutely dreadful.
Perhaps there is someone out there who can hack it and remove the timer?
I don’t want to be too harsh, as this isn’t a commercial game and is better than some of the rubbish we’ve seen from some companies. Rodney vs KFC is incredibly playable, and while I doubt I’ll ever find all the floppy disks, it keeps me coming back for that "one more go". A cool platformer that is so addictive! Play it.
- Grab the floppy disk from Atarimania.
- Check out this excellent video by Gears Of Games.
Amazing fun game, that keeps me up to late in the evening.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it. It's a tough game (I hate the time limit!!) but it's so playable too. Cheers for stopping by the website matey :D
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