Going back to 1993

Christmas 1993

I thought it would be nice to wish you all a very Merry Christmas - 1993 style. To celebrate, I’ve chosen a brilliant disk from a group I adore: Adrenalin. I've chosen their 10th PD disk, filled with loads of crackers (pun intended), including: Super Dark Pearl, Operation Garfield, Nirvana, Pac-Man On E's, and Teserae.

Booting up the disk presents a lovely menu by (I think) Mac Error. The wintry pixel art is by Teknik, festive sounds are by Chrombacher, and the nonsense in the scroller is by Divine. Don't boot this up without reading the scroller - it will transport you back to 1993 (yup, half the reason for enjoying any menu disk).

Many of the games are already on the Crypt, but let's take a look at this jolly menu disk...

• The first is Dark Pearl by the American legend, Dave Munsie. A name that is synonymous with our shareware gaming scene. Is there a bigger name? I've been a fan of Dave since playing his take on Invaders on a magazine cover disk. And he's released some corkers throughout the 90s. However, and I'm gutted to write this, I'm not a fan of this game. If I'm honest, I've played a few others like this, but I've never enjoyed the concept. Yikes, sorry Mr Munsie!! I'd better load up Berzerk for a marathon gaming session to compensate for this blasphemous attitude of mine!
• Operation Garfield is a crosshair shooter that I remember featuring a few years ago. It's using some of the STe's enhanced hardware, but not so you'd know because the frame rate is kinda sucky. However, it's a freebie game and, with that in mind, it's quite good fun to play. The sound effects will grate after a while, but if you enjoy shooters like this, then give it a whirl.
• Nirvana is a platformer with a difference. Sure, there are the familiar elements of the genre, but it somehow feels "different" and fresh. We're still collecting items within a (sigh) time limit, but the gameplay and controls are superb, like the visuals. This is a belting platformer, and one I'll return to again. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Gotta properly review this someday...
• We all enjoy a game of pill popping now and then, and I love this spin on it! Pacman on E's is a lively and refreshing take on the Pac-Man theme, with zany visuals and stunning audio. The action is fast & furious, with cool extras to improve an already incredibly jazzy game. It's amazing!!
• Teserae is a game that transports me back to the Crypt's earlier days. I'm not a big fan of Tetris, and probably only ever played it when trying to stay awake on a night shift!! But when I first saw this game, I was blown away as they'd taken the concept of this mind-numbing game to new levels with aesthetics that will blast the eyeballs out of your head. This game is something else.

While some of these games aren't to my personal interest, there are no bad choices here. All are great games in their own right and highly recommended by the Crypt Keeper. Nirvana is the game I'll be returning to over the Christmas holidays. It's very old school, and you all know how much I love platformers! :-)

You can find this menu disk over at Atari Legend (I love their archive!)

Merry Christmas, everyone. All the beST for 2026!!

It's not often I say this, but I didn't care much for this Munsie game. I know, sorry!

So you like Operation Wolf and Garfield? Then this shooter is for you!

Nirvana is so tough, but this is also one brilliantly designed platformer.

An absolutely stonking version of Pac-Man for the Atari STe!!

I remember featuring the fantastic Teserae back in 2015 when the Crypt was a baby.

I love that laugh at the end... Merry Christmas, everyone!! †