Happy Easter everyone!!
Okay, I needed an egg-related game for Easter which usually means Dizzy or perhaps even Chuckie Egg 2 (Nah, I'll never play that terrible game again!). So, here is Heartland released in 1996 by Tony Greenwood of Stosser Software and later improved for the Atari STe by TOS-Crew with 50fps STe-scrolling!!
That's right, the original was good but they supersized it for the Atari STe.
Eggcellent!
This is a cracking (sorry) platformer but I admit that I struggled to fully grasp it due to the sheer size of its map. This is a big game and something you either play properly or not at all - unless you enjoy running around just to see the smooth 50fps scrolling whilst listening to the DMA sound burping through the speakers?
This is a great upgrade and I enjoyed the graphics whizzing across my screen like silk that completes the experience. However, I wasn't so sure about the music as I prefer chip.
Okay, let's take a look at the keys:
- Move using the cursor key's: left & right
- space: jump (or use the joystick or JagPad)
- m: map
- r: show processor time left rasters
- s: toggle sample (STE, Falcon), sound chip, effects and no-sound
- Esc: quit the game
- c: to toggle between sizzy and sazzy
- h: toggle 50/60 Hz (ST, STE only), on 8 MHz machines
Play it
Okay, it might be the same game and aesthetics never matter much but, I must admit, they sure are nice to have. TOS-Crew has taken a good game and made it even better with proper scrolling that slides across the monitor like never before. I think this will help you to enjoy Heartland more than ever.
This sure proves the power of the Atari STe which the commercial gaming world chose to ignore. What a wonderful upgrade. I wish there were more Atari STe upgraded games - congrats @TOS-Crew for going that extra mile!! Grab the floppies or a hard disk installable version and I hope you all have a great Easter †