Rogül

Ten Dimensions of Doom

Originally released on the Atari 8-bit by Wojtek Bociański, Rogul arrives on the ST/STe courtesy Retro Blitter Team (yes, those of Cannon Fodder fame), with strikingly atmospheric visuals by Hospes. You already know how much I love roguelikes, so the thought of another sent quivers down my giant sword (ooer!!).

This time, we’re not simply descending into a creepy dungeon; we guide a lone warrior through ten demonic dimensions to eventually challenge Amalotolos. He is the tyrant who has plunged the realms into chaos, spreading hunger, violence, and death through his ruthless rule and ever-present minions.

Of course, the goal for each level is to kill monsters, build XP, and level up to get stronger for the worst monsters that lie ahead. Clear enough of any realm, and a Portal Key will eventually drop, opening the way forward. Amalotolos is waiting in the tenth and final realm. Yes, I'm scared already.

Your survival hinges on exploration, lots of killing, clever use of the turn-based system, and whatever is in your backpack. Along the way, you can gamble at mysterious altars for divine favour (or punishment), and spend hard-earned gold at rare trading machines that appear every few realms. Thankfully, there are many items to aid your journey, ranging from health potions to scrolls for teleportation and much more.

The first level gradually introduces you to the type of challenge that lies ahead. However, it’s not long before you face tougher and more aggressive foes with different skills. So use your melee weapons and hit hard - these range from blades to heavy hitters like war axes and great swords. Range attacks are possible, but only when the monsters drop bows or crossbows. Tactical positioning is key to success, as the immediate terrain modifies the combat stats of both you and your enemies. So look where you're standing!

I must admit that after my first playtests, Rogul is beyond impressive. I tip my hat to Wojtek for creating such an impressive game. He's taken the #roguelike format and ramped it up with some truly exciting ideas that I love. Kudos to the Retro Blitter Team, who proved their incredible talent in converting Rogul to both ST models, using each computer's respective audio strengths. Of course, the STe is better because of its DMA hardware, but you won't believe how much until you have played for yourself (follow my Rogul posts on X).

Just a few more weeks until the bugs are squashed and the final touches are added...

Prepare thyself!!

I'd like to express my gratitude to KtZ and Hospes for sending me an early version. The public release is pencilled in for the end of May, so whilst you wait for that, you can play Rogue (that I improved with DMA-streamed audio - check that out), along with the magnificent Nano Cave that blew my socks off. So, until then, here are some cool screenshots...

A gorgeous loading screen as displayed on the STe using its extended palette.

The screen is littered with enemies, and those (grey) Banshees are scary!

Yes, I'm hiding behind a wall. Too scared to come out!

Remember, not everything goes into your inventory as it's used straight away.

You receive a bonus when levelling up or casting a Wisdom Spell.

Wow, I've finally reached the surreal 10th dimension, and I'm scared stiff!!

I did it. Amalotolos is dead!! 💀 💀 💀 

Nano Cave

Deeper dungeons!

Like a lamer, I enjoy following events like Silly Venture and the latest unleashed incredible art, music, demos, and much more. It's mind-blowing to think these gatherings still happen today, and for a computer older than most friends! Anyhow, it was a #roguelike game by Electric Dreams that caught my eye.

It's called Nano Cave and was programmed in GFA Basic, a product that has helped produce many ST games (Saboteur III, Mystic Realm, PouifOuf). I'm a big fan of the genre, so news of a new "Rogue" was exciting, albeit with a pinch of apprehension about how it might compare to the games already in our library.

Who are Electric Dreams and the guys behind the daunting task of taking on Rogue? They are indie developers with coding by Shaoth, who also programmed 'Space Zot'. Pépé Peekpoke drew the graphics and is a member of one of the best demo groups ever - Hemoroids. That chip music is by DMA-SC, who certainly needs no introduction as all my readers know how much I adore his musical creations. I'm getting those 1980's vibes - this is like a modern "Dream Team"!!

Nano Cave has something I never expected to see - graphical skins to change the entire game's appearance so it looks like it's running on other computers - C64, ZX81, Amstrad, etc. This is a fascinating concept and a great addition, albeit cosmetic. Regardless, I loved experimenting with the different skins!

Older gamers are drooling over the prospect of this, so let's see a couple of funky screenshots...

The first dungeon defaults to the ASCII skin for an authentic touch (that the kids will hate).

Check out the super-cool Atari 2600 skin. A 5200 skin would be cool ;)

Gimme the blurb

Brace yourself for brutal originality; the story goes like this: a magical item called the Amulet of Zendor has been lost. Hang on, surely I mistyped there and meant Amulet of Yendor, right? Erm, no. Anyhow, why this keeps getting lost, I don't know. But I know this much: it's been lost inside a treacherous cave with a promise of mystery and danger. Who finds these caves? Who can resist that challenge? Meh, not me!

Upon booting, a fantastic intro plays with superb chip music. Well, it is an Atari ST game. Okay, don't sit there too long enjoying that - hit the spacebar for the main menu. Here you can choose from many different options and also play around with the various graphical skins. There are many to choose from - or you could leave the game to automatically cycle through them one by one? It's up to you.

Note - this game is still a work in progress. There are anomalies and missing graphics, plus I also had more than my fair share of crashes in emulation. I had far better success on my real Atari STe by comparison. There is a shock, right? Come on, real hardware is always beST. :^)

Let's stop the chitter-chatter as we need to enter the dungeon! Oh yeah, let's see more pixels...

The main menu - as you can see, I've changed the skin. Which computer did I choose?

In this game, my ST thinks it's a ZX81, and the dungeon is scary in black & white.

Gameplay

Nano Cave is very similar to the original Rogue in the sense that we're plundering a dungeon looking for an amulet. The dungeon is a labyrinth crammed with nasties and lots of traps. It's not all bad, thanks to randomly discarded items we might find, everything from armour and weapons to potions and spells.

Ignoring the first level, the dungeon is randomly generated in terms of the layout and its 26 creatures lurking in the darkness. The game is viewed from an overhead perspective with locations gradually revealed - so items and monsters are only seen when close. Inside the dungeons are emus, kestrels, ice monsters, bats, etc. Later levels have zombies, aqators, crabs and some I've yet to discover: dragons, medusas, and Quaggas.

Controlling our cute protagonist is a cinch using the cursor keys for a 4-way direction. Battling creatures and picking up items is simply a case of 'bumping' into them (exactly like you did in Rogue). As you get close(ish) to an enemy, a pop-up appears detailing their stats. That might help you to decide whether to fight or flee. I say fight - so just keep on bumping your foes until they are no more (I sound like a cruel poet lol!).

A "HUD" displays our statistics and scrolls from top to bottom based on our position (pressing "H" hides it). From left to right, it shows the following: our current level, hit points, strength, armour, gold, XP, and hunger. These are self-explanatory, but note that HP improves as you explore, as there is no rest key. Food is a remedy for hunger/fatigue. Any pickups can help with strength/armour, and XP increases after a kill. Multiple ranks are awarded, but only when you've earned enough XP, which results in extra HP for a tougher fight.

A rudimentary inventory can be accessed by pressing any key, but, oddly, I always press "I". This menu operates intelligently using the same cursor keys: Up/Down to select, Right to choose, and Left to cancel. This is superb, but the Inventory is lite on functions and features. For example, there is no way to compare stats for weapons or clothing with what you currently wield. Just don't be silly and replace your sword with a dagger...

Hacking your way through the dungeon is great and a simple affair without depth. It's a roguelike, so the gameplay is based on tactical exploration. Heading further into the dungeon, the levels are more complex with extra traps, and monsters are much stronger. Nano Cave is tough; the best I've done was reaching level 10 (on the previous levels, I landed lucky with the right pickups - before being slain by a crab!).

If you ever find the Amulet of Zendor, you should retrace your path back through the dungeon. You're obviously a dungeon-crawling rockstar! However, I doubt I'll experience that, as level 10 was cruel enough. This game isn't easy, which is good. Oh, and Permadeath is used, so be careful. Hey, what did you expect?

Nano Cave offers the genre a new, modern twist, and I love it. Let's see some more screenshots...

In true permadeath, I died and restarted using the stunning Atari ST skin.

The inventory screen is rather limited but functional to a point.

Magic & stuff

After the initial level, items are randomly placed - food, gold, weaponry, clothing, or something special like a scroll or potion. Sadly, not everything appears to have a function; many weapons didn't change my stats, and the same goes for armour. Food compensates for the fatigue warning that pops up regularly (a possible red herring?). Gold is purely cosmetic and something those Leprechaun fellas love to pinch!

The most interesting pickups are potions & scrolls that provide a wealth of positive and negative effects. Sadly, some are yet to be implemented, so they will do nothing more than tease with a dialogue box - it hints at waiting for the next release. Argh, I hope that is soon. Real soon!!

Let's take a quick look at these two types of items:

Potions - come in a variety of coloured bottles (white, blue, green, pink, burgundy, clear, red, brown, plaid, yellow, grey, beige, and black). It's best to identify these, or risk a cruel gamble. Some might increase health or strength, whilst others can show the locations of monsters/treasure/magic. However, those gamblers with little good fortune could find themselves paralysed or teleported into a dangerous place. Worst of all is blindness - this is a killer, and I got it a lot!!

Scrolls - once again, these will need identifying as their description is a bunch of jumbled lettering. I thought that might have been an alphabet puzzle to solve, but no code-breaking worked. So, identify first, otherwise you might hear the distant cry - which means that a new monster materialises nearby!! Interestingly, level one always has a scroll to reveal where the monsters are hiding. That is far too powerful to use on any opening level(s), so definitely worth keeping until later.

As is always the case, it's a gamble. Do you wait for an identification scroll, or take the risk and go for it? Personally, I think Nano Cave needs more identification scrolls to balance this out. It's way off at the moment with too few scrolls. However, this does help to create massive stress and anticipation!

I'm so looking forward to future releases, so let's view a couple more screenshots while we wait...

Some potions/spells are helpful. Like this - it shows where all the monsters are located.

A scroll to identify any item is well-advised. Otherwise, it's quite the gamble!

Achievements

That's right, every game you play is a chance to complete some type of achievement. Everything you can imagine is featured and archived in an alphabetical list. This includes all encounters you've successfully overcome, like beating a Kestrel (yikes!). Plus silly ones like filling up your inventory, starving yourself, and a chest grabber (lol - I kid you not). Whatever, this is a superb addition!

Again, it's WIP, and some of the artwork is absent. I hope this is finished for the next release. It's a great feature of the game, and the artwork is glorious, using a dark, gothic effect. Jaw-dropping pixel art.

It's time to pause the boring reading for funky screenshots of my achievements...

I always felt mean killing kestrels! But here, it's a winged bloke, so I don't mind so much!

Why are emus in a dungeon? That's weird, but let's kill as many as we can!

Aesthetics

As you can tell from my enthusiasm, I love the graphics. The sheer variety of the skins is amazing - a lot of love went into this. It's funny, but when I first began playing Nano Cave, I was weirdly impressed with its authentic ASCII display. I hardly use that now because I can select older computers like the Apple II, PC CGA, Amstrad CPC, and Sinclair ZX81. These are gorgeous and drastically change the game's appearance.

The Atari ST skin is best - because it is. You should still experiment with the others. I like them all, but the C64 graphics are my second fave - please don't shoot me. Pépé has blown me away with these skins, and the variety is great. This idea is far beyond what I imagined; a monumental feature I never expected!!

As for the audio, there are no effects - not that I expected any. Instead, we have music composed by one of my favourite musicians, Mathieu Stempell. Sometimes a game's music doesn't suit it, sometimes it gets disabled, and sometimes it's rubbish. Not here. It's fantastic and perfect for a rogue's adventure.

Not only do we have a new #roguelike, but it has funky sounds & pixels!! Screenshot time...

The C64 graphics are superb, using a clear design and stark colours!

Sadly, I had lots of quirks using an emulator. Ran a zillion times better on my real ST.

CryptO'pinion

Rogue is one of my favourite Atari ST games, and I've spent hours plundering its levels - I've accepted that I'll never come close to recovering the Amulet of Yendor, but I have my fun. So, hearing about Nano Cave was a mixture of shock, worry, and considerable joy! I'm always eager to discover new ST games, but I was apprehensive about how it would compare to the classic we already have.

Nano Cave might be a work in progress, with a few niggles, but it doesn't disappoint. It's straightforward, with a short learning curve and no pesky complications, so it's easy to play. From the start, you are exploring, using items, and killing dungeon beasts. It's more of a #roguelite, and I appreciate that.

Once again, the power & versatility of GFA Basic is proven by Shaoth & Co., who should be proud of Nano Cave. I've truly enjoyed romping through the dungeon and hope to beat level 10 one day. So, wait no more and download this wonderful game. My rating is 89%, and I eagerly await the next update.

Let me know what you think of Nano Cave in the comments below. Happy dungeon crawling!!

Each level has an information panel about your current game progress.

This green PC skin is quite peculiar, but it grew on me over time!

The Apple II skin is probably the weakest of the lot, thanks to its wacky colours.

Monster Detection has been used with the PC's CGA skin. Ugh, PCs!!

This is the NES skin. At first, I thought it was plain, but I genuinely love it.

Ironic, I own a Mac and hardly ever select this skin.

Ice Monsters often don't care much about you, along with the bats. An easy kill!

Sigh, I finally got to battle a Quagga...

Legends.

Dungeon Adventure

Ransacking another dungeon

I have a peculiar knack for finding obscure games unknown to most. Some of which I have featured here, like Dungeon, Minefield, Mole Mayhem, and Blob Race. It's this silliness that I love about the Atari ST because, no matter how much time passes, the ST amazes me. Which is why I'm typing my drivel nobody reads.

So, here we have an RPG crawler called Dungeon Adventure. Such an original title, I'm sure you'll agree. It was released in 1988 by John Kinkead of Aces High Software, but I couldn't find much information online. So, let's assume we're a plucky adventurer who loves exploring dark places for treasure? Works for me.

Let's check out a couple of random screenshots and remember, this is not a commercial game...

Oh no, a goblin! There is only one option - let's kill him!!

The lights are beginning to dim, and I then accidentally triggered a teleporter.

First things first

Create a character using the automated stats roll and name him/her wisely. There are six races - Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Hobbit, or 'other' and each needs to be assigned a class - fighter, mage, ranger, thief, cleric, and healer. Now clothe, arm, and stock your pockets with food and torches before heading out to one of the five dungeons. All are tricky but can reward careful explorers with treasure, magic, food, and more!

Want a few pointers? One, roll well. Two, don't waste cash on items that you think are the best (weapons or armour). Three, you easily get hungry. Four, it's dark down there, and torches burn out quickly.

Once inside the dungeon, you shall discover that it's filled with traps and scary monsters at each turn. Use the cursor keys to control our plucky adventurer, and whenever he encounters a beast, the computer takes over with a new set of options - [A]attack, [C]cast a spell, [R]run away or attempt to [T]talk. Once the battle is over, assuming you're still alive, then you can carry on exploring in fear of what might happen next.

There are a few keys used, similar to Apshai. The save game option is of high importance, which I discovered the hard way (as usual), but there are other keys used to heal, cast spells, eat food and more:

• Stats - The 'Y' key displays your man's attributes along with the number of potions, spells, etc.
• Light - It gets dark in the dungeon quickly, so tap the 'U' key to use a torch.
• Items - When you stumble upon something, the 'G' key gets it and adds it to your inventory.
• Stairs - I've only found stairs when I've completed a level. Just hit 'K' to climb!
• Food - When you get hungry, just press 'E' to eat from your stock of goodies.
• Drink - Like with food, pressing the 'D' key drinks those cool potions you've found.
• Scrolls - Press 'R' to read any scrolls, if applicable.
• Magic - Spell casters can hit 'C' to cast their spells.
• Health - Struggling with an injury, then his 'H' to heal, if applicable.
• Saving - Highly recommended to use this feature! The 'S' key saves, and 'L' key loads.
• Others - F1 restarts / F2 returns to the main menu / F3 will exit to the desktop.

I'm making this sound more complex than it is, so let's break things up with a couple of screenshots...

Sometimes it's best to run away from a fight. If you can, that is, as it's not always possible.

This room is so unfair because traps are everywhere - like these falling rocks!

Oi, come back!

Ignore the visuals because it's never boring exploring a dungeon, and this one is particularly easy to get into. Of course, it soon delivers more than enough challenges to test our nerves. Each dungeon is different, but has enough familiarity with what to expect. It's not long until one of two things happens...

Battles - a confrontation happens often with enemies appearing from out of the darkness without any warning. That's right, you won't see anything approaching from the corner of a room - they simply appear (which is disappointing compared to Rogue). This puts you into battle mode that follows a series of turns, and your performance depends on strength, along with other attributes like your agility, dexterity, and weaponry.

Traps - triggering a hidden trap is a characteristic of Dungeon Adventure that you will need to endure. Sadly, there is no ability to search for what might possibly be lurking nearby, so traps are found only by foolishly walking into them. This system feels unmerited, like you're exploring blindly just waiting for a hit to your HP (and pride!)

Any explorer continues the fight and carries on regardless. Determined players will source items to help, be it spells, potions, and more. Treasure chests are always worth opening and are often located in secret areas that can only be found by uncovering hidden passages. It always pays to investigate everywhere.

However, the dungeon is a dangerous place, which means you need a load of torches and picnic food. Torches do not last very long, so you may wish to stockpile them. Nutrition and health are replenished with the foods you eat. Health comes from spellcasting or using the healing function, if applicable to that character.

This is a bigger game than you might assume. I first imagined a clone of Rogue, but it plays well and feels designed more for action, whilst just happening to look roguelike. Yep, everything feels centred around the battles. Hey, if you think that you can create a better game, then there is an editor to try.

I'm genuinely having a blast playing something new (new to me). Guess what? It is screenshot time...

Hang on, that door appears to lead to a dead end!! Or is there a secret passageway?

Four options are available during any skirmish, but I doubt talking will help here.

Aesthetics

Compared to similar games, this is lame with 8-bit visuals that embarrass the Atari ST. Its design feels cramped with a small gameplay window, leaving much of the screen unused. Well, don't be fooled, because those areas are used for statistical information and notifications - triggered traps, poison arrows, falling rocks, etc.

The sprites are usually the best part of rogue games, but Dungeon Adventure is lacking somewhat. In fact, many enemies are crude without any detail and look as if I've drawn them! However, I'll contradict myself because it oddly works well, and I have no idea why. My favourite creature is the troll; I love that drawing!

The audio begins well - thanks to a title screen chiptune, but there is little else. The sound effects are basically a tapping sound during a battle with a "Burr-Burr" when you are victorious. Oh, there's another chiptune when the Grim Reaper shows up! Hey, games like this don't need booming sfx, so I'll stop moaning.

Do you fancy a couple of screenshots before the gripping conclusion? I hope so...

Hitting the 'Y' key reveals your character's statistics. Along with keys, scrolls, etc.

Why waste time in combat when you can cast a spell? Repel Monster killed this sucka!

The CryptO'pinion?

This isn't a big game, but it feels like a much larger adventure. This is basically because you cannot walk for more than a dozen steps without something popping up for a fight. Or maybe you've fallen into a hidden trap, as there is no way to search. Also, our adventurer has a ravenous appetite, so is constantly scoffing. Additionally, he easily burns through his supply of torches, which never last long.

So, Dungeon Adventure feels unbalanced with some peculiar mechanics. However, we must remember that it isn't commercial and is quite a decent game in its own right. Each dungeon is varied, with an abundance of predictable hazards waiting for you. And I loved that aspect a bunch and thoroughly enjoyed.

I love finding something new (to me), and whilst Dungeon Adventure is far from perfect, it's certainly enjoyable. Gameplay is tough, but successfully beating the odds and making it to the next level is most rewarding. Casual gamers should be warned, this is likely only for dedicated and experienced fans of the genre.

Bearing in mind that this is something of a doomed #roguelike wannabe, I'm scoring it a plucky 64%.

Fearless adventurers should download this from Atarimania. Here are some more screenshots...

Blood Seekers sound cool, but they are actually dead easy to kill!

I guess the whole point of the game is to find the gem & exit? Well, I did that... WooHoo!!

My name is Steve, and I'm an... 'other'. Today's stupid world will view that as perfectly normal lol.

The editor is superb. Either create your own or edit the current levels.

This is the game-over screen, and something we dread seeing. And it's blummin' ugly!

Rogue

The ultima gauntlet?

I've always had a spark of curiosity for Rogue, but also wondered why I should bother with a "roguelike" when I could crawl within the realms of Dungeon Master. Of course, I'm being silly as players crawled long before, spending their lunch breaks in a text-based dungeon looking for the Amulet of Yendor! Epyx released our sexy conversion back in 1986, and it's essentially the same adventure through the Dungeons of Doom, but with fantastic graphics to replace the original text (no complaints from me! lol).

The dungeons may look primitive, but they suit the atmosphere, and I love it!! For me, it's the monsters that look the best, as these are superbly drawn - I love the Ice Monster the most. And the Zombie looks like he's about to get down and boogie. Pressing the Enter key will zoom out to display the entire map - viewed full screen. This is probably favourable to the purist who uses a more traditional, old-school view of the dungeon. Monsters are then represented by letters, ie: B for Bat, R for Rattlesnake, Z for Zombie, etc...

Which visual display style is best for you? Let's take a look at both in these screenshots...

Carefully explore all unique locations and zoom out to see the map...

This is great and allows you to see the entire map.

Let the adventure begin!

From the start, we're introduced to the adventure schematics that allow us to explore in relative safety with only minor baddies to contend with. This is a good learning curve because a novice adventurer (ie, me) appreciates it. That said, take a look at my screenshot from a recent game. Wow, quite an incredible gang of nasties, I'm sure you'll agree? But this is also a testament to the game's ability to generate interesting scenarios at random with each attempt. So, Rogue will always feel different each time you decide to boot it up.

Directional control of our little explorer is done using the ST's keypad, which can be used in combo with the mouse. I prefer to use the keyboard for everything. There are other useful functions, such as ALT/click to identify objects/creatures. Pressing F1 duplicates your last action with other shortcuts like 0 to rest and '.' to search (repeated searches give the best results). Try it keyboard only, and I'm sure you'll agree.

Rogue is an ARPG meant to be enjoyed from start to death/victory. Once you've been beaten, you are buried, and this is permanent. You can save your progress, but you can only come back to continue once (since that file is deleted). Hence, permadeath - it may sound unfair, but it works well to suit the original.

Hey, do you fancy a couple more Rogue screenshots? What? Really? I knew you did...

There's so much to this old dungeon crawler.

Looks like I'm carrying a lot. Fancy a chomp on my food?

Beware, you're not alone!

The enemies are a wild bunch; from traditional beasts like Snakes, Zombies and Bats to fantasy spooks like Ice Monsters, Hobgoblins and even Emus. Yes, there are emus down there! It's worth noting that not every character is immediately aggressive, so it's advisable to try to tiptoe around a Leprechaun, a Nymph or a Centaur. I only wish Trolls and Wraiths had that relaxed temperament, as they are mean!

Fight using swords, axes and more, but there are also magical scrolls and potions which perform a variety of uses like illuminating the dungeons, increasing health, weapon strength, and much more. However, not all are good, so you may wish to empower yourself to identify any obscure items you may be carrying. After all, you might mistakenly conjure a demon or leave yourself blind in the darkness.

Like the dungeon, both enemies and objects are randomly generated, so you never get to perform the same battle twice or know the location of items. This is one of the many things that make Rogue special.

Let's put the reading on pause whilst you gander at a couple more screenshots...

Some kind soul has left food, and it's not rotten.

Oh no, a Centaur appears, and he's not happy!

Tricks and traps

Rogue has many hidden traps. So if something doesn't feel right, remember to search, and you might just uncover a hidden passage. Watch out for teleporters that will zap you to another part of the map or maybe even drop you down a level. Gas sends you to sleep, and bear traps are dangerous and require a few turns to escape their clutch. Avoid the temptation of a Nymph who might sneak something from your inventory -  and I laughed when battling a Leprechaun, as he actually managed to rob me of my gold. O_o

Rogue has aspects, which are traditional yet amusing, like being caught by cursed clothing, which is impossible to remove without using the right spell to counteract it. I travelled through five levels before I was able to remove a nasty piece of cursed chainmail. Cursed clothing, who'd have thunk it?

Remember to look after yourself and watch those stats. Food is sparse down in the dungeons, so collect everything and only stop for a bite when it's absolutely needed. The action lurks around every corner, but a careful adventurer will find tactical exploration enjoyable and rewarding. Think before you act.

Can you tell that I'm enjoying Rogue? This game is hot stuff, and it's now screenshot time...

Carefully, I sneak by the old bat (insert mother-in-law joke)

Beware of leprechauns on level 7... $$$

Aesthetics?

Nobody loads up Rogue to be blown away by dazzling visuals, but this is actually better than I imagined. I love how the dungeons look; bright, colourful and quite bare. It looks the business, and feels like a graphical upgrade on the original, but without ruining it. As I said earlier, the best parts are the sprites, and those little iddy-biddy monsters lurking in the dungeon are fantastic. They are updated yet faithful to the theme.

The Sound effects are authentic to the original, ie there aren't any! Well, little beyond the default clicks & dings we're all used to as ST owners, which is perfectly fine and natural to what Rogue is all about. However, I'd have liked an option to disable clicks without resorting to something like XControl.

I had an idea for my video recording (at the top of this page). I wanted to replace the silence with something eerie using the Atari STe ACCessory: STe Background Audio Player. This plays samples using the DMA coprocessor and works tremendously well without any slowdown.

I wonder if this method could be used in other games? Good idea or not?

Let me know what you guys think in the comments.

We're almost at the end of this gripping review, so here are the last screenshots...

Use this view for a bigger image of your dungeon and keep track of the inventory.

The fun didn't last long ... I only reached level 7. Yikes!

The CryptO'pinion?

As I write, I've reached level 14, which is an outstanding feat for me! However, Rogue has cranked up the difficulty a lot since level 9, and I'm struggling. I'm low on supplies and suffered heavily when fighting a Wraith and a Troll. I need to rest and hope nothing creeps up while I'm vulnerable. Hang on, I've just found a healing potion and a spell to confuse the monsters. There is so much to this fascinating game!!

Rogue is easy to get into and extremely rewarding. I feel that I'm still learning the ropes of this immense dungeon crawler and have only scratched the surface. It thrills and excites, and I am loving every minute of my tremendous adventure. This is quite possibly one of the best Atari ST games I've played.

That's right, this is an adventurer's masterpiece. Absolutely wonderful and highly recommended!!

Brave adventurers use their hard drives.

Oldskoolers use Automation #79 floppy disk.

I've made a disk!

Check out ROGUECRYPT :D

Are you struggling with Rogue??

Then view my level maps, which will help!!