Recovery

The Atari ST cannot scroll

Recovery is a shooter by New Deal Productions that takes us on a *Fantastic Voyage* through the lower parts of some poor soul in need of medical assistance. I presume we're trying to help him recover from something nasty as we begin at the bottom, working our way up through the liver (I think), and then onto the heart before finally smashing through the old grey matter. Yeah, we get to rock through the human body!

This game is very similar to Menace or R-Type, but at a faster pace. The whizzing body parts make dodging almost impossible. Our ship is agile and armed with a laser, so don't think - shoot first and never ask dumb questions. I love finding something 'new' to play, and this is an exciting shooter.

Let's take a break and see some screenshots...

I got AGT vibes from this screenshot, which pleased and depressed me equally.

It's a shooter, so shoot!

Each body part represents a distinct stage and is incredibly long, almost making you think it will never end. Trust me, these levels are lonnnnnng. Despite this, they all feel similar, presenting a vast array of "aliens" to avoid or eliminate. These employ various attack patterns, but touching them depletes energy levels. Consequently, poorly skilled pilots ultimately lose yet another life. Interestingly, there’s no end-of-level boss. A monstrous tumour would have been a fitting final boss - now that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say!

The joystick controls are excellent - swift and responsive without any lag. Our main weapon is an effective laser beam - pressing and holding fire shoots this laser and kills anything in front of you. It's wicked!! Sadly, there are no other types of upgrades or special weapons, so all we have is one laser and nothing more.

Thankfully, our sleeping patient has popped many pills, which you'll see floating through his body just waiting to be collected. These can boost your weapon's rate of fire, energy and shields, which are all displayed in the status bar. I never figured out what "LIGH" is for - I tried hitting every key, but nothing, nada, zip.

Let's take a break from the boring reading and view another lovely screenshot...

A menacing screenshot with the colour scheme. This game is fast, so shoot and move quick!

Aesthetics?

Visually, this is a mixed-body bag that isn't as healthy as you would hope. Don't get me wrong, a scrolling shooter needs to scroll. And this game scrolls smoothly with parallax layers. Sadly, the backgrounds are sometimes bare-bones. Although there are tons of sprites zooming around at impressive rates!

Hitting F4 flips between 50/60Hz to speed things up even more - if you can handle it?

Sonically, this is outstanding and foot-tappingly awesome - it makes you realise just how cool your Atari ST is. However, any insane people might wish to turn it off for the sound effects. No problem, just hit F2/F3, but why would you ever wanna do that? Wait, I think that I know the answer, it's because you're stupid.

Okay, you've guessed it - stop reading and enjoy another gorgeous screenshot...

Come on, you cannot deny the style of this game? It looks the business with a style I love.

The CryptO'pinion?

Recovery is technically impressive and a damn good shooter. It slaps the faces of those lazy programmers who said the ST cannot scroll. Sadly, the gameplay could be better: each stage feels excessively long, and the static style lacks progression and grows monotonous after a while. Furthermore, the inability to upgrade our weapons is a significant disappointment, but not as much as the absence of bosses to fight.

I've enjoyed blasting through some fella's intimate body parts all in the name of science fiction. Recovery is definitely worth booting up for a quick game or two - especially to see who can survive the longest!!

Check out my screenshots before deciding whether to download for hard disk or floppy...

Return To Genesis

Dream Team?

Firebird released Return To Genesis the same year I got my Atari ST, and it was developed by the "ST Dream Team": Steve Bak, Pete Lyons, and David Whittaker. Three masters in their fields, who aimed for quality and always pushed our computer without ever resorting to excuses or using a lame Amiga port.

RTG is a spin on Defender, where Mechanauts have forced scientists into slavery. We've gotta rescue each of these guys, which means jumping into a spaceship to skim the surface of 50 psychedelic worlds.

Wanna see the first bunch of screenshots? Then wait no longer because here they are...

Weeeee..... swooooosh..... ZOOOOM......... dead!

Can you see the Mechanauts? Not easy, is it?

I'm getting too old and slow

If you've ever played Defender, then you should be right at home with RTG. Fire and kill everything, right? Well, umm, it's worth slowing down to pick up the scientists rather than killing them: once on board, press the HELP key to see which power-ups they might provide. These guys are useful and could improve weaponry, shields, invisibility, etc. However, Festus might be less than fun as the master of self-destruction?

A scanner shows the location of each scientist, but this falls short of detailing the level layout. I don't know why, but this doesn't work well for me. Sigh, how many more times must I be rebounded back and forth like a yo-yo? Yes, you're on the edge of your seat for this incredibly FAST shooter. Blink, and you're dead!!

Screenshot time, and here are twelve scary-looking people from the future...

This is an incredible idea that uses who you rescue in a positive way for the next level. It's superb!

Aesthetics

Pete Lyon designed everything you see, but I'd be lying if I said this was his best work (I personally think Zynaps won that accolade). It's pretty gorky, so I often found it difficult to distinguish the aliens against those funky backgrounds. The scrolling is smooth, proving once again that the Atari ST needed no custom chips when in the hands of talented people who care about the product they're working on.

Audio is such a treat. Dave Whittaker sure knew how to get the best heard from our computer - proving that "chipmusic" will last forever. Yes, it sounds <cough> familiar, but it suits the gameplay. Heck, our ST talks to us, which is a zillion times better than Gold Runner. Dave certainly gets the YM processor rocking.

It looks, moves, and sounds superb! Definitely a dream-team production! More screenshots...

A weapons upgrade. I knew it was better to rescue these guys rather than blasting 'em!

Shall we rescue him or not? Erm, I shall.... try....!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Return to Genesis is one of those games that seems to have it all - brilliant visuals, smooth scrolling, immersive sound effects, and classic chip tunes. However, I’m left feeling unsure if it’s the game itself or just me. I love a good Defender-inspired shooter, but this one’s way too fast. After a few pointless games, I’m exhausted from hitting objects and dying repeatedly. Thankfully, the scientists have some great power-ups. This is a wonderful idea that somewhat alleviates the frustrating aspects of the gameplay, albeit just a tiny bit.

This is surely an iconic shoot 'em up for Atari ST gamers, truly showcasing the ST’s capabilities. Unfortunately, it’s far too fast for me, and I’d much rather play Zynaps or Menace. I wanted to love this game, but it just wasn’t for me. It’s brilliant, but sadly, not for this gamer. I guess I’m just too old and slow?

Grab it for floppy or hard drive.

Menace [upgraded]

When something isn't quite right...

Menace is one of the few Psygnosis games that I respect. It's a good shooter. Okay, it should have been better with a little effort, but that's an Amiga company for you. Anyhow, it's still a decent game, and I enjoy it. But what's with the YELLOW ship compared to that other version? For years, I've hated its bland colour and wondered what they were thinking. And if it was possible to change it for something better?

So I contacted Atari ST wizard Peter Putnik about my dilemma. He's always up for a challenge and open to ideas. It wasn't long until he came back with a solution that worked well. As you can see in both the video and screenshots, our spaceship now has a new paint job!! The caveat is a change to the (badly placed) status pane due to the 16-colour palette. Of course, the game remains the same, but we now pilot a white ship!

You know, folks, this is what makes the Atari ST scene a marvellous place. Think about it, I wasn't happy with a commercial game from 30+ years ago. I asked a guy living in another country for his thoughts. What does he do? He fixes it without hesitation. Incredible. What an amazing community we have.

My sincere thanks to Peter for being gracious with my request. This version of Menace is the only one I will play on the Atari ST. Here's the download to the newly designed AtariCrypt White Star (geddit?).

Please watch the video trailer above and gander at these lovely screenshots...

I made this silly image. Can you tell? lol

Here it is, our brand new white ship!

Just look at it. Much better now, albeit at the expense of the status bar.

Skimming along through space in my spanky new ship!!

It might not be the best shooter, but the graphics are cool.

It has its haters, but this is better than most of the drivel Psygnosis produced for us.

P-47

Skim the landscape & shoot everything

P-47 was released in 1988 by Firebird and is based on the Jaleco arcade game. There are several levels through a variety of landscapes, so put on your Biggles outfit because you're about to reach for the skies.

Any shoot 'em up needs decent scrolling, quick controls, and lots of enemies to kill. P-47 has all this by the bucketload. It's immediately obvious that the teamwork that went into development has certainly paid off. Choose either a 50/60Hz display with smooth parallax scrolling, great graphics, and fast sprites that honour the original. Funky music plays alongside the pizazz sound effects, both of which are great.

The action is hectic as the planes whizz into view and tanks blast artillery - they're just asking for a MOAB!! Other levels have us flying through sunset clouds, pyramids, and over the seas (I love the missiles that emerge from underwater). Oddly, the bosses are easy to defeat by positioning yourself in a safe place and dropping bombs. Each level follows the same concept: fly, avoid, panic, and kill everything.

Where P-47 fails is its frustrating difficulty - the screen will always be cluttered with many baddies, and a collision is inevitable. Stick with it; collect the power-ups, learn the enemy's attack pattern, and keep on firing. Sure, this is imperfect, but it's also one I really enjoy and a darn-challenging shoot-'em-up.

• Atari Legend has the floppies, and I recommend New Order #20 Menu CD.
• Hard drive installable versions are available by both 8BitChip and D-Bug.
• Enter "ZEBEDEE" into the high score:
• Press F1 for a level skip
• press F2 for infinite lives. Have fun!!

Moon Patrol

Luna road-tripping

The moon is under attack from a legion of aliens, and it's our job to stop them! We've managed to find a cute Space 1999 buggy that appears to drive itself most of the time. It even follows handy checkpoints so you don't get lost. So dust off your spacesuit in anticipation of the Atari ST version of this arcade classic.

With your foot always on the gas, you can control the level of acceleration as you travel, trying to avoid potholes and any obstacles. Moving the joystick left/right changes the acceleration, and pushing up lets you leap over potholes. However, that requires precise timing because the wheels aren't great at handling potholes. So the slightest missed jump makes the buggy violently explode like something out of a cartoon!!

It sounds silly, and it is, but isn't that what makes older games intriguing? Let's crack on...

Don't let the graphics put you off from playing what is nothing less than a beast!!

Simple mechanics yet still tough!

There are two difficulty modes: beginners and champions. If you're new to Moon Patrol and wanna break yourself in gently, then choose beginners. This gradually introduces the game's twisted mechanics and alien monsters. Use this mode to learn joystick controls and the feel of the game. It's cool.

The harder difficulty is better and offers a far more interesting game with many extra features, obstacles, and enemies. Here, the landscape is terribly hostile, made worse by even more invading aliens who frequently appear from every corner of your screen. It's manic, but don't run away, there are weapons!!

Banging on that fire button will simultaneously shoot two weapons: one at the top (firing upwards) and a front-mounted rocket launcher for the approaching enemies. So keep one eye on the road ahead and another on those pesky aliens. It's a lot harder than you might think, so keep on firing and hope for the best!

It's screenshot time, but why not use a different monitor? Check this out...

Hang on, there are mountains in the background with snow. Hmm, very odd... ;-)

Aesthetics

Look, if all you care about are spanky sexy graphics, then walk away. Moon Patrol looks dated, and that's exactly what you would expect from an 80s game. The game's style and decor are authentic, with silky-smooth scrolling supporting a three-layer parallax effect, and the buggy's animation is superb as it rumbles over the bumpy terrain. Don't forget, Moon Patrol also works in ST High (640x400) and looks gorgeous.

A funky chiptune bops away in the background, which is, oddly, very much excellent. I was expecting something so old it would grate and something I'd switch off, but it's foot-tappingly excellent. In fact, I love it. This is accompanied by vintage bleeps for the sound effects that perfectly suit this classic game.

I love it when a game transports me back in time rather than trying to improve upon it (ie, ruin it)...

The checkpoint idea is great for a number of reasons, plus it's fun to break a record.

The CryptO'pinion?

Moon Patrol is an excellent conversion and a groovy step back in time to 1982. It's instantaneous fun, and I love how its troublesome landscape combines pothole-hopping whilst frantically trying to shoot down the aliens. It's tough but addictive, so keep your eyes on the road otherwise - KABOOM! Instant moon junk!!

A faithful conversion of a classic with rock-solid playability. Trust me, this is #retrogaming gold!!

Atari Legend has access to all the floppy disks

8BitChip has a version for hard drive installation!

Strategy Wiki lists the many versions of Moon Patrol

Here is their walkthrough, which I thought was pretty funny.