Blasteroids

Boring old asteroids again?

Yep, once again, the galaxy is overrun with rocks that need smashing to smithereens. Asteroids, and other rocks, come in all shapes and sizes so along with the standard variety there are also others: Popcorn rocks which bloat before eventually freezing. Red rocks that leave behind crystals to conveniently recharge your shield.

However, we're not alone! Beware of aliens who frequently rear their ugly heads and should be killed quickly to reveal a range of nifty power-ups - such as a double shot or the impressive Ripstar. Hmm, this is sounding pretty cool.

A part of me is thinking "Ugh, asteroids again". But I'll keep an open mind. Let the fun begin...

Who ya gonna be? Quite the selection for different gamers.

But how tough are ya? Come on, be brave and don't wimp out on me now!!

It's all rocks and aliens!

Blasteroids is split into segments and each is split into smaller sectors which must be completed before reaching a gruesome End Of Level Boss - the monstrous Mukor!! Your ship is equipped with upgradeable weapons, a powerful shield, and the ability to transform itself. Once all the rocks are pounded into dust, a transporter appears to whisk you off to the next sector - to do it all over again. Come on, don't be disappointed - it is Asteroids after all and what else are you doing?

Once all sectors are cleared you will finally get to lock horns with Mukor, a festering evil entity who fires miniature spaceships using his tentacles - so shoot each of those suckers first. That's my big tip and then you can watch him scarper like the fatty bloated coward he is. I actually enjoyed our battles which are fun without being impossibly tough!

This game is great fun and features cool graphics with a style I really liked. Wanna see some more...

Attacks from all angles and tremendous BAM BAM BAM fun!!

Asteroids, with flashy backgrounds and colourful pixels? You cynic!!

Joyslick action?

Controls are excellent and responsive: rotate the ship using left or right, push up to thrust, and keep slamming on that fire button to shoot anything rocky. Predictable stuff but gravity and momentum play their parts to affect performance which is funky. Don't worry, your shield will help to compensate for any poor piloting skills!! Not that I have any...ahem...

Pulling back on the joystick will transform your ship between three different models: the Speeder is agile, Fighter has the best weaponry, and Warrior is a burly beast. Friends can jump in on the action - at any time - with impressive cooperative two-player support. Just like in the arcades - what a superb feature you should not overlook.

Well, it's time to stop reading and view some rather cool screenshots...

The gravitational effect between sectors is superb...

...and then it's more rock-blasting again!

Aesthetics

Graphics are gorgeous - for what used to be a visually stark experience - I love the nicely animated rocks rolling through space. The enemy ships are superb and all other sprites are large, detailed and smooth. Oddly, the backgrounds are 4-colours but you would never notice due to their design and artistic flair, which I really admire.

Sadly, the audio disappoints with lame bleep-bleep sound effects instead of samples, which would have been ideal and easily handled for a game like this. Music is also a touchy subject and soon becomes extremely repetitive. Thankfully, it can be switched off but that only highlights those inadequate sound effects... catch-22... and I'm disappointed.

Okay, let's see some final screenshots before you scarper to download this excellent game...

Shoot!! Kill!! Destroy everything!! <insert evil laugh>

BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! So-much-fun!!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a really good conversion albeit with a few niggles that spoil an otherwise great rock-smashing experience. Asteroid purists probably won't like it with all the extra changes and improvements but, keep an open mind, because this game is tons of fun. I think they've improved the genre best they could without adding bloatware to ruin it.

Okay, if someone put a gun to my head and made me choose between this and Stardust, I fear the latter would win. However, that win wouldn't be by much, because Blasteroids is excellent and utterly addictive. Genuinely love it!

Download for hard drive or floppy disk

Oh yeah, baby!!! I own this beauty :-)

Asteroidia

Let's break up some rocks

Dave Munsie is literally a legend within the Atari ST world. It's as simple as that really. Anyhow, he has released several outstanding games and a couple of those were even enhanced for the much-loved Atari STe. Here we have Asteroidia which, as you've probably guessed by now, is a Munsie-take on the old Asteroids arcade genre.

This means it's hardly going to win an award for originality, but don't be put off because I've a sneaky suspicion this might be worth your time downloading and playing this rock blaster. Well, it's a Munsie game so that's a given, right!! Okay, forget about shooting down vector images because we have been transported to a part of space where pixels roam. Not only that, but this is Blitter-space which scrolls at blistering speeds across your screen in all directions.

Asteroids is never gonna look cool but I'll post a screenshot anyhow...

The planet is powered by the Blitter and whizzes by!

Boring old asteroids, right?

The gameplay is, as you would expect, predicably asteroids with us controlling a ship to try and chase down those lumps of rocks. It's initially quite hard and sure takes some getting used to because everything moves so fast. Thankfully, the controls are a cinch to master so it won't be long before you realise how fantastic this alternative conversion actually is.

Visually, this is a nice looker but it's the speed of everything that will impress the most. To see planet Earth swooshing across your monitor certainly makes you realise just how under-utilised the Blitter and Atari STe was by commercial gaming companies. Once again, Mr Munsie puts them to shame. Audio hasn't been forgotten and we get DMA support which plays a sampled tune. However, it's quite repetitive so I switched to chiptune/sound effects!

Here is the options screen with options to use the Blitter and flip between PAL/NTSC...

Gotta tip my hat to Mr Munsie... Blitter, 50Hz, Atari STe / Falcon support. Incredible!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Yes, this is Asteroids but the twist is how it's presented with impressive Blitted graphics zooming about. The controls are superb so the gameplay is rock-smashingly addictive and one of the most entertaining versions of this olde classic. Look, fancy Blitted graphics or not, this is bucketloads of fun and a superb Asteroids conversion. Highly recommended!!

Download Asteroidia from AtariMania
Hey, can you beat my hi-score?

Stardust

Meh, another Asteroids?

Stardust was released late in the ST's life by Bloodhouse in 1994 and it's not only one of the last commercial games ever released but is actually an STe-only product. Developed by several famous names from our great demoscene (and thank you Aggression) these guys managed to deliver a wicked twist on the original Asteroids genre.

The game not only plays similarly to that old arcade favourite but also features modern content for extra zest. Such as ludicrously awesome aesthetics which are quite stunning complementing the fantastic gameplay action.

Wanna see the war plan? It translates to "kill everything and don't die!". Check this out...

Bam! Bam! Bam! Blast the rocks!

There are a total of five levels with each containing six missions. All are host to a variety of rocks along with the expected dangerous baddies. After each level is completed, you must travel through a wormhole-like tunnel onto the next part of the galaxy like something from Buck Rogers or Starwars!! These tunnels are filled to the brim with oncoming rocks for you to dodge or destroy - which is definitely no easy task. But it's a thrilling moment I never expected to enjoy!

Bonus levels pop up regularly and feel similar to a particular Thrust clone... Now, these are optional but you will be daft to ignore the fun. So don't be daft!! Of course, it wouldn't be right without End-Of-Level Bosses and each mission has them. Beware, these guys are tough! Much perseverance will be required during these enjoyable romps.

Okay, it's time to see some more pixels so let's take a peep at another screenshot...

Enhanced gaming!!

Stardust is something else. It's on another level with gritty, fast-paced gameplay. However, the basic mechanics are pretty much what you would expect so it also feels more-or-less as you would expect. This is actually very awesome because you can jump straight in and begin playing without much of a learning curve. Heck, it's all about dodging and shooting.

The controls are also familiar: left and right will manoeuvre your spacecraft around. Pushing upwards will thrust you forward into hell. Don't worry, we have a shield that can aid you during those sticky moments. Finally, our ship's main weapon is more than capable - perfect for gratifying rock-blasting!! Nothing wrong here, folks. This is all super-spacey-gun-fun!

This next screenshot does itself no justice. Seriously cool stage with mind-blowing fx...

Enhanced Aesthetics

Graphically, Stardust is utterly glorious. Everything is bold and colourful with stunningly smooth animations. The rocks are also something else with jaw-dropping 3D renditions that look beautiful. I've not finished yet - everything is running in overscan!! Yep, not only does it look HOT but it's in overscan which means lots of extra pixels to blast.

Equally impressive is the audio with beautiful examples of thumping stereo tunes, accompanied by BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! DMA sound effects. This is one game that's gonna blow your socks off. If I can offer one piece of advice: crank up the volume!! I guarantee you will love everything Stardust delivers so turn it up high. No, even higher! :-)

Oh yeah, this is one of the best-looking/sounding Atari STe games ever released...

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a spectacular showcase of what the Atari STe is capable of when in the hands of people with talent and commitment. These guys didn't simply rehash an old idea or produce a weak Amiga port. No, they unleashed a product that feels fresh and exciting. The effort that went into the gameplay, visuals and audio is commendable.

Stardust is a joyride of rock-blasting thrills and a perfect shoot 'em-up. One of the best games I have played.

Download for floppy or your hard drive.

Megaroids

Get ready for one of the oldest ST games...

Asteroids is a true arcade classic and one that has been converted to just about every home computer ever made. Not to be left out, Megamax released Megaroids for the Atari ST in 1985 which was developed using their own C programming tool. If I'm honest, initially I expected a crude take with poor graphics and pathetic gameplay. Come on, it was made in 1985 the same year Atari gave birth to the ST. Well, how wrong I was...

There's little to tell here. It's asteroids and plays brilliantly. Shoot the rocks for points but don't forget to blast the alien ships when you see them - lots more points! Controls are dead easy with Z and X rotating your craft and SHIFT to fire. Thrust uses the ? key and SpaceBar activates a hyperspace when you're in trouble.

The visuals are different. Gone are the vectors in favour of nicely drawn bitmaps that sweep across the screen like butter falling from a hot knife. It's nothing like I imagined this drastic change from the lines would be. Spoilt perhaps? No way, it's just as good. In fact, Megaroids is so smooth and looks wonderful in high resolution (640x400).

Don't worry, colour systems have not been forgotten but we're not limited to the (albeit colourful) LOW resolution. Medium is used which is an obscure and quirky mode at best but this time it's interlaced. That means the vertical resolution has doubled so it's running at 640x400 with 4 colours. Stop. Don't ask - it's not flickery and will not hurt your eyes. Everything looks better and I wish more game developers would have used interlace!

Sounds are nothing more than you would expect for asteroids. They're nice and work very well. Especially when you remember this is a 1985 game for a 1985 computer. I'm really impressed all things considered.

Megaroids not only looks gorgeous (for Asteroids!) but has an authenticity which I really liked. It feels like the real deal and plays extremely well to offer a bucket load of retro action. In fact, a part of me still doesn't grasp how good this is for a 1985 release. Overall, a superb clone that offers tons of fun blasting chunks of rock to smithereens.

AtariMania and Old Games Finder has floppy disks.