Blasteroids

Boring old asteroids again?

Blasteroids builds on the classic Asteroids formula. You pilot a lone starfighter, navigating hostile sectors filled with tumbling space rocks and aggressive aliens.  It’s the same old story: the galaxy is overrun with rocks that need smashing to smithereens. These rocks come in all shapes and sizes, and some are downright strange, like popcorn rocks that inflate before freezing. Then there are red rocks that leave behind crystals to conveniently recharge your shield. It's rehashing the old favourite, so are you ready for more rock blasting?

I hope so because this is frantic, and we're not alone as aliens frequently rear their ugly heads! These should be killed quickly to reveal a range of nifty power-ups - such as a double shot or the impressive Ripstar.

Let's pause the pointless chitter-chatter with some screenshots...

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 divided into segments, each further subdivided into smaller sectors. Completing these unlocks a gruesome End Of Level Boss - the monstrous Mukor! Your ship boasts upgradeable weapons, a powerful shield, and the ability to transform. Once all the rocks are pulverised, a transporter whisks you away to the next sector. Don’t be disappointed. How else could they enhance Asteroids without overcomplicating it?

After clearing all sectors, you’ll finally face Mukor, a festering evil entity who launches miniature spaceships from his tentacles. My tip: shoot these first. Then watch him scuttle away like a cowardly, bloated coward. I genuinely enjoyed our battles; they’re fun without being impossibly difficult. It's not often you can say that!

This game is superb and features cool graphics I admire. Wanna see some screenshots...

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

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

Joyslick action?

The controls are excellent and responsive. Rotate the ship with left/right, up to thrust, and keep slamming the fire button to shoot anything rocky. It’s predictable, but gravity and momentum affect performance. 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 transforms your ship into one of three different models: the agile Speeder, the well-armed Fighter or the burly Warrior. Best of all, friends can join in at any time with impressive cooperative two-player support. This is a superb feature you shouldn’t overlook - I can’t stress it enough!

Fantastic stuff, right? Well, it's time to stop reading and see some cool screenshots...

The gravitational effect between sectors is superb...

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

Aesthetics

The graphics are stunning, transforming what was once a visually stark experience into something truly captivating. The beautifully animated rocks rolling through space are a highlight, while the enemy ships are superb. All other sprites are large, detailed, and well-animated. Interestingly, the backgrounds are four-coloured, but this is hardly noticeable due to their clever design and impressive artistic flair, which I admire.

Unfortunately, the audio disappoints with lame bleep-bleep sound effects instead of samples. The ST would have easily handled that for a game like this. The music is also a bit of a letdown as it quickly becomes repetitive. Thankfully, this can be switched off, but it only emphasises the inadequate sound effects.

Looks fantastic, but sounds poor. Can't have it all, eh? Let's view some screenshots...

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

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

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a fantastic conversion, though a few minor niggles detract from its otherwise great rock-smashing experience. Asteroid purists might not appreciate the changes, but keep an open mind; this game is incredibly fun. Ignoring the sound effects, they’ve done their best to elevate the genre without adding unnecessary bloatware. I love this game a bunch, so take the time to play this outstanding BLASTER!!

Download for hard drive

and floppy disk

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

Asteroidia

Breaking rocks

Dave Munsie is a legend within the Atari ST world. It's as simple as that. The guy released several outstanding games: Berzerk, Frantick, and Kid GP. Some of his games were even enhanced for the Atari STe.

Asteroidia, as you've probably guessed by now, is a Munsie-take on the 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 this rock blaster. It's a Munsie game, so that's a given, right?

Forget about a static/no-scrolling screen with vector graphics. Dave is transporting us to a part of space where moving pixels rule, thanks to the Atari STe hardware. Pixels powered by the Blitter chip; scrolling at blistering speeds. Not only that, but you can expect DMA audio. Your monitor won't know what hits it!

To be honest, it's hard to imagine Asteroids looking impressive, but I'll post a screenshot anyhow...

The planet is powered by the Blitter and whizzes by!

Boring old asteroids, right?

As you would expect, the gameplay is predictably asteroids with us controlling a ship chasing lumps of rocks. It's initially quite hard and surely takes some practice 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 is.

Visually, it looks nice, but it's the speed that will impress. Planet Earth swooshes across your monitor and makes you realise how under-utilised the Blitter and Atari STe were by many commercial gaming companies. Mr. Munsie puts them to shame. The audio hasn't been forgotten, and we get DMA support, which plays a short sampled tune. However, it's quite repetitive, so I switched to far better chiptune/sound effects!

Here is the options screen where you can activate the Blitter, flip to PAL/NTSC, and more...

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

The CryptO'pinion?

This might be Asteroids, but the twist is how it performs with impressive Blitted graphics zooming about the screen. Not only that, it's like watching a demo that proves how much untapped potential the Atari STe has. That enormously changes and enhances the gameplay mechanics. Factor in the excellent joystick controls, and you know why this is rock-smashingly addictive. One of the most entertaining games I've played.

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 high-score below? 

Stardust

Meh, another Asteroids?

Stardust was released late in the ST's life by Bloodhouse in 1994. It's not only one of the last commercial games, but it's a STe-only product. Developed by famous names from our demoscene (thank you, Aggression), these guys burnt the midnight oil to deliver a wicked twist on the Asteroids arcade genre.

It not only plays similarly to the old favourite but features modern aesthetics for extra zest. Such as ludicrously awesome colours and sampled sounds; all are quite stunning and complement the frantic action.

Wanna see the war plan? It's technical but translates to "kill everything and don't die!"...

A clear and accurate war plan, I'm sure you'll agree? lol

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 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!! These tunnels are filled to the brim with oncoming rocks for you to dodge or destroy - no easy task, but it's a thrilling moment that I never expected to play!

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

It's time to stop reading and enjoy the pixels! Let's take a peep at a screenshot...

Check out these outstanding and colourful visuals!! Amazing stuff.

Enhanced gaming!!

Stardust is on another level with gritty, fast-paced gameplay. The basic mechanics are what you’d expect: asteroids, and it feels more or less the same. This is great as you can jump straight in and begin playing without that learning curve. Heck, it's all about dodging and shooting. Are you tough enough?

The controls are also familiar: left and right will manoeuvre your spacecraft. Pushing upwards will thrust forwards into hell, and we have a shield that aids during those sticky moments. Finally, our ship's main weapon is more than capable of gratifying rock-blasting!! Nothing wrong here - all this is super-spacey-gun-fun!

This next screenshot does itself no justice. Seriously mind-blowing effects...

Buck Rogers' side event is absolutely exceptional. Impossible not to be impressed.

Enhanced Aesthetics

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. Not only that, but the display is running in overscan!! Yep, it looks so HOT in overscan, which means lots of extra pixels to blast.

Equally impressive is the audio with thumping stereo tunes, accompanied by BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! DMA sound effects. This is one shooter that's gonna blow your socks off. If I can offer one piece of advice: crank up the volume!! Yes, I guarantee you will love everything Stardust delivers, so turn it up high.

This is one of the best-looking/sounding Atari STe games released. Let's have another screenshot...

Look out! Move quick and keep on firing - are your reactions good enough?

The CryptO'pinion?

A spectacular showcase of what the Atari STe is capable of when in the hands of talented people. These guys didn't rehash an old idea or produce a weak Amiga port. No, they unleashed a product that feels fresh and exciting. The effort put into the gameplay, visuals, and audio is far beyond praiseworthy.

Stardust is a joyride of rock-blasting thrills and a perfect shooter. One of the best games I've played.

Download for floppy or hard drive.

Megaroids

The oldest ST game?

Asteroids is a true arcade classic that has been converted for every home computer. Not to be left out, Megamax released Megaroids in 1985 for the Atari ST. That's right, 1985 when the ST was a baby. Interestingly, they developed it using their own (brand new) C programming tool. Now that's fearless for the time!

The gameplay is, obviously, Asteroids and faithful to the original. Shoot the rocks for points but don't forget to blast the alien ships - for lots more points! Joystick controls are dead easy with Z and X rotates your craft and SHIFT to fire. Thrust uses ? key and SpaceBar activates a hyperspace when you're in trouble.

Graphically, it's different from the original; gone are the vectors in favour of bitmaps. The ST's high resolution looks stunning, and Megaroids' framerate is superb. The rocks sweep across the screen like butter off a hot knife. Thankfully, colour systems aren't forgotten, as it's compatible with medium resolution. But this is interlaced to produce 640x400 but with colour. That's right, essentially 640x400 in colour on your TV!!

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 has an authenticity I admire. The gameplay feels perfect, and I'm shocked that something this good was released the same year as the ST. I'm impressed by the silky-smooth framerate and flicker-free interlace support for colour systems. This is a wonderful conversion with bucket loads of rock blasting!!

AtariMania and Atari Legend have

the floppy disks to download.