Showing posts with label Driving - Arcade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Driving - Arcade. Show all posts

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Buggy Boy




Silly & Screwy Racing

After the joy of Arkanoid 2, we continue our trip through Atari's Super Pack with Beyond the Ice Palace and Black Lamp. However, both are already featured on AtariCrypt [click the links] so let's move onwards for a favourite of mine, Buggy Boy. What a wonderful arcade conversion and those with a keen memory will remember that I've already covered it?

Well, yes and no... Yes, it's featured but no, it was just a silly post showing Buggy Boy running at dizzy speeds on my 16Mhz Mega STe!! Still, it's worth viewing... Honest! The speed of this computer is exciting stuff :D

Buggy Boy is an arcade classic. Simple as that. It's fun yet doesn't take itself seriously whatsoever. So you can forget the crucial stuff like road surfaces, tyres, suspension, handling, pitstops, or even the paint job. Nope, just choose which of the five tracks you fancy and then jump into your buggy and race through checkpoints - all against the clock.

But let's not forget the belting cartoon-like visuals for a chance to view a couple of screenshots...



Who doesn't love two-wheel stunts? If Michael Knight can do it, so can I.



Abandoned logs help our cute buggy to leap high into the air!



Fun, Fun, Fun!!

Remember what I said, forget realism. Everything you experience will be completely unrealistic thanks to roads cluttered with obstacles and whacky physics. The first track is an offroad loop whereas the others are segmented by checkpoints as you progress. This racer was always meant to be fun so provides silly leaps and two-wheel driving, Knight Rider style!

Points can be earned by collecting flags in the order shown at the top of your screen. Once completed, they begin to flash - so now is a good idea to collect more before that stops. Also, slalom-style gates are scattered throughout for tons of points and some even offer time bonuses. Heck, you might even see a soccer ball... Go on, kick it... (and again, again!!)

Football, in a driving game? Yep, check out the screenshots that follow...



Hit that soccer ball like Pele and see what happens to eagle-eyed drivers.



Why not climb those sloping walls to avoid obstacles like annoying rocks.



Forget sim, this is pure arcade joy!

Some tracks have banked curves like a Scalextric track! Thankfully, these can be used like you're racing at Bristol Motor Speedway. It's superb and an unexpected surprise, that certainly adds to the overall excitement. However, not all is good, look out for rocks, bushes, or barriers that slow you down or take you for a tumble. Driving head-on into a wall will cause you to explode and water has never been good for any vehicle. Each bad event forces the loss of precious time!

The joystick controls are brilliant albeit limited by the hardware itself. Of course, an analog wheel was always going to be missed, but the weirdest aspect is pushing upwards to accelerate rather than using the button. That's because tapping this switches between your two gears... Low & High. It's odd but you'll get used to it after a race or two.

Arcade fun on your Atari ST? Whatever next? I'll tell you, some more screenshots...



There was plenty of room but I still chose to leap over that rock. Why not!



Watch out, tunnel ahead! Enter without hitting slap-bang in the wall if you can?



Aesthetics

Graphically, Buggy Boy hasn't aged badly whatsoever and definitely brought back all my old arcade memories. The sprites are nice, their colours are gorgeously vivid, and the overall appearance is cartoon-like. Okay, the framerate isn't exactly Vroom but it looks cute and performs smooth enough not to hurt my eyes, ala Cisco Heat and OutRun!!

The audio is darn cool and captures the arcade experience with its beautiful chiptunes - all produced by the talented Jason C. Brooke. Sound effects are superb - so zesty and memorable - with jazzy jingles and funny "boings" as we leap.

So, it looks and sounds great? Do you know what that means? Yep, some more screenshots to gawk at...



Bumping into some obstacles slows you down...



...whereas others cause the buggy to realistically tumble. Ahem.



The CryptO'pinion?

It's difficult to find something negative to say about this racer. But, if I were to be picky, then the framerate could be a tad smoother and I miss the extra audio touches like skids or driving through tunnels. But I really am being picky!!

Overall, this is an outstanding conversion of the arcade original. It looks, sounds, and plays absolutely great plus the ability to instantly select your preferred course is a huge bonus. It's authentic and brilliantly entertaining, so it will always keep on dragging you back for more. Buggy Boy is an Atari ST gem and I love it. So will you. Trust me, play it now.

The floppies can be sourced using Old Games Finder but, if you have the necessary hardware, I would advice you to download the cool hack by D-Bug. This not only comes with a fantastic intro but also supports faster Atari computers, like my own Mega STe. Absolutely superb!!!

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Pole Position





The arcade is within your Atari STe

Pole Position is a classic arcade racer from a time when the computing world was youthful and fresh. I played it on the Atari 2600 at a friend's house but the ZX Spectrum version I mostly played. The Atari ST has a raft of great driving games but sadly, never received an official port of this old favourite. Well, until now.

Official might be the wrong term to use but don't get your knickers in a twist. A brand new version has been developed by Jonathan Thomas who reverse-engineered it from the arcade machine itself. He has also implemented many cool features and uses real-time sprite scaling, DMA sounds, and more.

The requirements are 1MB RAM, a joystick, and an appreciation of what is nothing less than a brilliant racer. It's quite surreal to have such an iconic arcade racer on the ST. Upon first booting up I got a giddy feeling at having a phantom arcade machine in the house. Hey, no need to have any 10-pence coins!

I should break for the first screenshot and I love it for obvious reasons...



I'm feeling like a kid in a Blackpool arcade, spending all my pocket money!!




Yes, put your money away!

It's not an overstatement to say this is an authentic conversion as it even features the same (ripped) visuals and sonix I fondly remember. Now, if you're looking at the screenshots and wondering why the gaming display is narrow, then blame Namco because it's all down to the arcade's vertical monitor. The Atari STe was meant for a different display and doesn't have the same spec. So it merely attempts to replicate the slim ratio.

Playing is tough and initially, I was all over the road!! Slipping and sliding into other cars and skidding off into roadside objects. In fact, it felt like I was purposely trying to hit everything - and doing a great job of it!! Ideally, I need a wheel but stick with it and put aside half an hour to master the controls. The corners are a killer!

I don't think we need a boring screenshot? So how about an animation instead? Here ya go...



The actual framerate is twice as good as you can see here in my capture.




The gory details

The latest release candidate has major improvements and delivers near arcade-busting gameplay:
1) 60fps framerate to bring the speed and difficulty correctly in line with the feel of the arcade machine.
2) You can thank the Blitter Chip for whizzing the graphics so fast & furiously. If only more used this chip!
3) Sprite scaling utilisied for ultra-smooth results. Check out that road zooming up close, so impressive.
4) Even good 'ol Mount Fuji is displayed in all its glory! Well, why not, eh?
5) The sky gradient is back along with numerous glitches fixed and it looks very nice using a good flow pattern.
6) Sound effects are taken from the arcade game using the DMA coprocessor. Doesn't get any better than that - gorgeous!
7) Code compiled with GCC 7.1 for a significant performance increase. Sounds good to me but what would I know about programming!
8) Many new optimisations, mainly around text rendering for authenticity.



If only those tyres would look like they're rotating (come on, Jon) :-)




The CryptO'pinion?

It's impressive to think that here we are today in 2017 with a version of Pole Position that's been reverse-engineered from the arcade machine. Everything looks, sounds, and feels like we remember with only a couple of missing features: the animated tyres are nothing more than a bit of a colour wobble (needs fixing)

Pole Position is very addictive, a cracking arcade port making use of the Atari STe hardware: I love its framerate, audio, and authenticity. Possibly one of the toughest racers but it certainly keeps dragging you back for more - kicking and screaming!! Pole Position is nothing less than a spectacular arcade racer.

What are you waiting for? Come on and play this outstanding game!! (Download from AtariMania).








Friday, April 15, 2016

Buggy Boy



A 16-MHz Buggy!

Buggy Boy is great and the ST received a fantastic conversion with gorgeous aesthetics that suit its style perfectly. This is a no-frills arcade racer that doesn't take itself seriously - it's simple, extremely addictive and I love it. However, there are a zillion videos scattered throughout YouTube land so I thought I'd make something a little different... My video emulates the game running on my 16Mhz Mega STe which is ludicrously fast and rather insane.

I don't know why I made this video but I hope you enjoy what is nothing but a silly recording!! :o)

Sunday, February 28, 2016

RoadBlasters



Wanna race? Bring a gun!

Road Blasters - an arcade conversion by US Gold that attempts to recreate the speed and thrills of the original. Imagine a Bullrun Rally event through 50 overcrowded highways where you must win each in order to progress on to the next. Yep, nothing new but I'm sure you already know that this is still going to be tons of fun, right?

What makes this game different from many other racers is a combination of driving and shooting. This means your gleaming red sports car has a mounted machine gun. The easiest targets are the yellow cars which are a quick kill, but the motorbikes are a pest because of their tiny size. Occasionally, several jeeps will swarm around you like something from a Mad Max movie for a hair-raising moment - so react quickly and viciously. Take no prisoners, kill everyone. Oh, yeah!!

Right, it's time to break up the reading with a screenshot. And I want one with a green blob...


Bubble City sounds like a cool place - I must drive there!


Carmageddon!

Watch out for other various hazards like oil spills, roadside turrets, bullet-proof purple cars and those darn proximity mines. Fortunately, you do seem to have friends, a futuristic aircraft frequently flies by with power-ups: speed boost, extra weapons, shields, etc... However, it takes lots of practice to precisely collect these goodies!

At your disposal is a limitless supply of replacement cars but they are all fuel-greedy, so if you run dry then it's game over. Luckily, fuel pods are available which can be collected by simply driving through them for an instant top-up. Your car is also equipped with a reserve fuel tank which should only be relied upon as a last resort, but the good news is that it's replenished at the end of each race. Well, depending on your performance of course. So keep practising!

Oh, it's sounding very exciting, isn't it? Well, I think it's still time for another screenshot...



Fast cars and guns. What more could you ever desire?


Input & Output!

The controls are sharp with responsive steering that retains an arcade experience - as much as is possible with a joystick. No complaints here, because I found the car handled excellently and instantaneously took to it.

Visually, this is an older generation of racer on the Atari ST, more like a Crazy Cars 2 than the third or even a Lotus 2. I never expected arcade-quality visuals but it retains a good feeling of the original whilst not being the best you'll get from an Atari ST. It's colourful but also a bit bland in decor and with stodgy sprites. But I like it, sorry, not sorry!

The sound effects are pretty good and better than Lotus Turbo and I really enjoyed the music. Nuff said.



Now is the time to drive like Knight Ride to collect those goodies from above!


The CryptO'pinion?

I've loved this old arcade speedster, it might not be perfect but at least it's nothing like that dreadful Outrun. And we're armed so that's basically one hell of an added bonus and is probably the best of that ilk on the Atari ST. Having spent several nights playing this, it's certainly got that "just one more go" factor. A much-underrated game that deserves more attention because it's fast, thrilling and the car has a gun. What more could you want? So much fun and I love it.


There is a fantastic hdd version to download or
the floppies if you desire that authenticity!

More random ATARI ST articles from the archives

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