Cisco Heat

Another racing gem

Here is an arcade game that gets slammed for its jerky framerate and bizarre 90-degree turns! Rightly so, eh? Well, hold on... Similarly to Power Drift, we have a racer that uses the Blitter chip within the Atari STe for a much-needed power boost. It also utilises the extended palette and features incredible DMA digidrums to bop along to. Yet, none of this is mentioned on the game's box to promote it. Why would a company do that? I bet sales would have doubled if a typical STe owner thought their hardware was being used.

Before I begin, let's do a copy/paste from the Power Drift feature, because the same applies here, "...don’t take this for a review - it’s more of an excuse to add another game to my STe Enhanced section. Yes, AtariCrypt actually has a section dedicated to enhanced games! Bet you didn’t even know that, did you? Well, take a look to the right of any page and you shall see a link to this list (WIP - loads more to come)."

I’ve run Cisco Heat on real hardware (STf & STe). It's the same on both, but the STe sounds great and delivers a better framerate, especially noticeable when dodging cars, and everything feels smoother by comparison. Don’t get me wrong - this is still a conversion that’s far too impractical for a 16-bit machine. There are too many cars, obstacles, and hideously hilly roads that help to work against the already struggling framerate.

It’s surprising to learn that the Atari STe code was quietly added by Douglas Little. Makes you wonder if ICE Software wanted to avoid embarrassing the almighty Amiga! Overall, the Atari STe fares better than a Blitterless ST. Dammit, I actually enjoyed playing Cisco Heat on the STe – something I never thought I’d say!

Ratings are as follows: for the ST, I’d say 60% – it’s playable, but your eyes feel like they’ll pop out thanks to the choppy framerate. On the STe, I’m giving it a law-breaking 75% because I could actually enjoy it for more than a few minutes. And my eyes stayed in my skull, and I even “mastered” those horrendous corners.

Far too ambitious for a 16-bit, but give it a try and let me know what you think...

• Atari Legend has the floppies https://www.atarilegend.com/games/cisco-heat
• D-BUG has a cool version http://d-bug.mooo.com/dbugmenu/dbug018_21stC.msa
• PP supports faster computers https://atari.8bitchip.info/SCRSH/ciscoh.html
• DML listed on Demozoo https://demozoo.org/sceners/33816/
• If you’re too lazy to glance right for more enhanced games, just hit this link https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/enhanced-games.html

Drop the number of cars (ie stupid drivers getting in the way) and we have a good racer!

I love the hills of San Francisco, but sometimes, they're a bit too mad...

Oh no, a dreaded corner is approaching. I hope you've practised O_o

Finally, I'm starting to get to grips with these corners!!

Another corner successfully taken...

Unlike her in the blue car, I'm rocking it!!

Sadly, I'm getting too big for my boots. Or wheels. Either way, I'm eating humble pie.

After a zillion collisions, I'm nearly done. They Think It's All Over...

It Is Now!! Three weird, jiggling cops show up for a boring Game Over!