SDI: Now The Odds Are Even

The Star Wars program is happening!

Wow, it's incredible how quickly time passes as I've not played this game since I got my first Atari ST. The Sega arcade shooter was converted by Alaric Binnie of Source for Activision and released in 1988. I remember being impressed and unimpressed in equal measure - probably because I liked what I saw but was absolutely terrible at playing it!

As most of us, older gamers might remember, SDI stands for Strategic Defense Initiative and is based on the original Star Wars concept by President Regan devised during the cold war. This technology was supposed to defend Earth (USA!) from the inevitable Soviet attack. Yeah, I know, it never happened... shocker, right?

The game is obviously an action shooter set within the darkness of Earth's space. As it turns out, the defence initiative is actually just a lone satellite armed with a laser gun! Use that to protect mankind from a legion of Soviet nuclear missiles, fighters, and more. Why only one satellite I don't know but, that's the game, so let's crack on...

Soviets are sending everything they have. Well, in stages thankfully.

At first, it was distracting to see the moon moving by. I should have been concentrating!

The fate of mankind...

Our quest begins with the Space Shuttle conveniently dropping us off right before a barrage of Soviet missiles appears. The game is split into two separate modes depending on your performance, offensive and defensive. The first is not unlike other horizontally scrolling shooters attacking everything that swarms onto the screen. The second is like a 3D Missile Command and a final chance to save everyone from the previously missed missiles.

You'll soon discover that SDI isn't a complex game at all. This is a frenzied shooter with us engaged in battling squadrons of enemy artillery. So shoot everything as quickly as you can physically move the mouse. Of course, each stage gets more aggressive, right up until the point my hand-to-eye reactions simply cannot cope anymore (see the video!).

No need to fret, you're not alone as allies will periodically send power-ups. However, during the heat of battle, these look similar to everything else! Especially when you're in a mindset of blasting everything as quickly as possible. So that means they're immediately destroyed - far too soon to collect their cargo that you watch floating away. Sigh...

A damage meter is shown at the bottom of the screen which is an indication of the state of your performance. Survive, and the Space Shuttle reappears to whisk you off to safety where that performance is rated on a scale. Anything less than perfect and you're sent through to a defensive stage to help defend from the attack. However, a perfect score gets you lots of extra points with a blue dancing duck. (I know what you're thinking and I agree - this makes it all worthwhile!!)

The blood-red moon looks awesome. Don't admire, concentrate on the killing!

I let some missiles get through so now I'm defending the base Missile Command style!

Input

Initially, SDI might appear tricky because you have to do two things at once - keep the satellite safe and choose the direction in which it fires. Arcade games can sometimes lose their functionality when converted to a home computer with a one-button joystick. Not so here, all controls are fully configurable using a combination of mouse, joystick and keyboard.

It is possible to use only the mouse, but I wouldn't advise that. I play using the keyboard to direct the satellite and my mouse to aim/shoot. A joystick would also be a good idea but only if it has good suckers to stick onto your desk! O_o

The keyboard/mouse method is kinda like the WASD/mouse combo used in FPS games. You'll love it.

It's not long before things get crazy with lots to shoot at. Trigger-happy heaven!

Ignore the asteroid shower because it's time to shoot more of that Ruskie hardware.

Output

Space is mostly empty so the good thing about a Cold War is having celestial objects as backgrounds rather than boring black. All graphics are by Bryn Redman who treats us to great images of the Earth, its Moon and an asteroid field - I believe later levels feature the Death Star? My gaming skills won't allow me to personally witness that. Hmm...

The darkness of space dictates a more sombre colour palette which suits the Cold War scene but there are some brighter moments to behold. I love the red moon that boldly stands out from everything else, it looks amazing. Sadly, there is some slowdown during later levels that are bombarded by tons of enemies. Meh, I can live with that as it's not too bad.

Paul Summers is responsible for the audio and he did a stellar job (see what I did there?). The title screen features a grungy sample but nothing compares to the glorious in-game chiptunes. These are subtle and suit the ambience whilst also complementing the zappy sound effects. To say I adore the (in-game) tunes would be an understatement!

Come on, the defensive stages really are Missile Command. Rip-off but brilliantly done!!

Do well and make the hi-score table. Hang on, this feels like a game in itself? ;-)

The CryptO'pinion?

SDI could so easily have been a bust due to the control system (not to mention the massive graphical requirements). Alaric Binnie has done a fantastic job, not only aesthetically speaking but also migrating the arcade's control system over to the ST by using its keyboard/joystick and mouse. This combination works a treat, a commendable effort.

However, I usually find something to moan about and SDI is no exception. I failed to see the logic in having a dark blue cursor that can be problematic against the backdrops. Also, the power-ups are so difficult to catch. No, impossible (for me) to catch!! Finally, why aren't we treated to a nuclear explosion at Game Over. Oh, how I wanted to see that...

This is a simple shooter at heart with little depth. Some might say it's an alternative Missile Command and I get that, the similarities are there. SDI is an exciting shooter and one that is utterly addictive albeit I'm shockingly bad at it. Make sure you choose the control method that suits you to prevent Western civilisation from catastrophic demise!

Let me know in the comments what you think about SDI (download for hard drive or floppy disk)

Sophélie

Bums and Boobs!

Sophelie was once a goddess of heaven but has since been vanquished and left to roam the lands searching for her body. Why do I hear you cry? Well, some kind soul has turned her into an albatross so she now spends her time flying through worlds looking to find her original appearance. As storylines go, this is silly, to say the least!

This is a horizontally-scrolling shooter not too dissimilar to Menace. However, this time we're not killing monsters or aliens but instead some of the weirdest things that you might never have expected; planets, snowmen, wolf heads, giant eyeballs and even trees. The landscapes are lush with colourful and angels will appear to help at regular intervals.

Sounds great, right? Well, let's take a look at some screenshots from the first level...

Yep, giant eyeballs are coming for you and are actually tough to kill too!

Now, this is getting silly! What have the trees ever done to you?

Let's kill the planet? No literally by shooting down the rotating planet Earth!!

Spit, don't shoot!

We begin with the (ugly?) hand of God safely delivering us to each world ready for battle. These worlds are split into several segments with each having its own brand of baddies all too eager to see you dead. Each will swarm onto the screen using its own style of attack pattern and might even shoot at you - the Earth enemies fire mini-planets!

Some of the nasties are far too easy to kill whereas others are quite impossible thanks to the rate at which we can shoot - it's too low. So this makes killing certain enemies quite impossible because they move too quickly in comparison to our fire rate. Dying can be a bit troublesome especially when you materialise too close to an enemy and therefore instantly die once again. A simple invulnerability effect could easily have been utilised for a second or two. Quite unfair!

Angels visit after each of the segments to offer a power-up and these are pretty much essential from the start. Miss them, and the following swarm of enemies is quite impossible to defeat. Also, dying baddies might sometimes throw out an extra power-up, but these fall off the screen before you've had a chance to even think about collecting them. Finally, there is a time limit ticking down to kill each wave of baddies. Which is very peculiar, to say the least.

Let's now take a peep at some screenshots from the second world...

Some of the sprites are freaky... freaky-cool!

I can't make out whether these are balloons or floating severed heads!

Damn snowmen, they all deserve to die!! O_o

Aesthetics?

Visually, this isn't too bad with colourful palettes, funky sprites racing across the screen and smooth parallax scrolling running at a brisk pace. In fact, I love the level of detail that's gone into the sprite's artwork the most: Sophelie's animation is superb and never have I played a game with such a large whacky variety of different enemies.

Sadly, the audio is disappointing with a fuzzy theme tune and near-silent gameplay. Well, apart from the death kill sound effect and a strange background whistle. Overall, it's shocking because the YM is far more capable.

Well, that was a mixed bag alright so let's take a peep at the third world...

These are insanely difficult to kill, if not impossible without losing all your lives!

He's big. He's bad. He's about to be brown bread!!

Hey, a power-up appears from a dying beast yet you have no chance of collecting it!

The CryptO'pinion?

On a basic level, this isn't a terrible shoot 'em up. The levels are colourful, the baddies look great zipping across the screen and the action is constant. Also, I like how angels regularly appear with a gift to improve your chances of winning. However, this is also one of the most boring games I've ever booted up. The graphics might change but the gameplay is bland and very repetitive so becomes tiresome. And then there's the audio... Or lack of... Ugh, terrible!

It's an understatement to say that there are better Atari ST shooters. Sophélie looks nice, sounds awful and doesn't bring anything new to the table but there are boobies so perhaps it's worth playing? Nah, I'll leave it thanks.

If you're curious then grab the floppy disk via Stonish or Old Games Finder. Enjoy...

Oh no, another grisly death beautifully laid out. Interesting artwork!

Recovery

The Atari ST cannot scroll

Don't be too eager to assume that's right!! This is Recovery, a shooter by New Deal Productions, not something I heard of until recently. It 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.

Recovery is much in the vein of something like Menace or R-Type but runs at a far slicker pace with many of the patient's body parts whizzing around the screen. It's like Anarchy and just as tough - almost nigh on impossible when trying to dodge everything. But our ship is spritely and we're armed with a laser so shoot first and never ask dumb questions.

I love finding something 'new' to play and this is an exciting game so let's see a screenshot...

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

It's a shooter so, shoot!

Each body part is a separate stage, and incredibly long, almost to the point where you think it will never end! However, they all feel much the same with a vast array of "aliens" to avoid or kill. These use a variety of attack patterns but touching any reduces energy levels, so bad pilots ultimately end up losing yet another life. Strangely, there is no end-of-level boss. A beastly tumour would have been nice to destroy - now there's a sentence I thought I would never say!

The joystick controls are excellent - very swift and responsive without any sluggishness. Our main weapon is a laser beam and quite effective too - pressing and holding fire shoots this laser and kills anything in front of you. 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 appears to have 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 hit every key but nothing, nada, zip. Does anyone know?

Okay, let's take a break from the boring reading and view another lovely screenshot...

A menacing screenshot with the colour. It's fast, so shoot and move quick!

Aesthetics?

Visually, this is a mixed-body bag that isn't quite 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 a bare-bones. Although, there are tons of funky sprites zooming around the screen at impressively speedy rates!

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

Sonically, this is going to appeal to lovers of chip music. To be blunt, it's simply fantastic and foot-tappingly awesome - makes you realise just how cool your 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? I know, 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?

The CryptO'pinion?

Recovery is technically impressive and a damn good shoot 'em up. It slaps the faces of those lazy programmers who said the ST cannot scroll. However, the gameplay could be better, each stage feels overly long with zillions of frantic 'aliens' constantly buzzing about. This static style doesn't progress so it gets samey after a while. Also, our weapons cannot be upgraded which is a massive disappointment but not as much as having no bosses to fight.

I'm sure you can tell that this isn't the greatest shoot 'em up but it's far from the worst. 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!! Good luck with that because you will deffinetly need it.

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

Zynaps

This game was FREE with my first Atari ST

Zynaps is a Nemesis-Esque shoot 'em up that spookily reminds me of another Hewson title, Slayer. We pilot the Scorpion Mk1 Fighter through the heavens in search of a secret alien base. Along the way, are hoards of alien scumbag - some in ships, or a variety of ground-based defences, and even motherships. I know what you're thinking - it's original, right?

Update: you know, to this day I have never played Slayer. How odd is that!

Hewson released Zynaps in 1988 and it was developed by Howard Ball of Microwish Software who was responsible for Ikari Warriors, Victory Road, Slayer and 5th Gear. I've always felt this was a game coded by someone that knew the Atari ST hardware very well but Howard only ever made this shooter and nothing more. At least it's quality!

Hey, why aren't you watching the video above? Ah well, perhaps just a couple of screenshots instead then...

The first level is cool but it's not long before a guardian appears!

That thing bounces around the screen like an old-school demo!

Shoot! Kill! Shoot some more!!

Our Scorpion spaceship is pretty snazzy and comes with different levels of propulsion along with various weapon upgrades. However, we do start off quite limited with sluggish movements and firing - so shoot that first wave of bad guys to collect their loot for speed-up. Then look to improve lasers or even bombs and missiles. It's simple - pimp your ship!

Activating these power-ups is a little strange. When a group of baddies snuffs it, they leave behind a pod. Collecting that changes the power-up being displayed in the status bar. So when something appears that you like the look of - hold down the fire button during the next pick-up to be granted permission to use it. To be fair, this is a bit weird and rather naff - especially during the heat of battle. Surely this could have been designed much better?

The enemies attack in predictable formations, which kinda reminded me of Wizball oddly enough. At first, firing accuracy is difficult so hitting the bad guys feels a lot harder than it should be. This learning curve I found to be massive - it took a great number of attempts before I started to destroy an entire wave and then begin collecting the pods!

Sigh, that's annoying, isn't it? Well, let's cheer ourselves up and see some more screenshots...

Woo! What's happened to the landscape backgrounds on the next level?

Getting past those asteroids is tough but now it's a boss fight and he's a bit weird...

Practice makes perfect!

Most levels take you through beautiful environments whereas others might take you into an asteroid field. No matter where you are, watch out because the slightest collision loses a life which is easily done too. This is made worse by ultra-cramped areas thanks to the bulk of that scenery (and the status bar). Fly like Buck Rogers... or die.

Eventually, you will reach an end-of-level boss and most are really tough so it's doubtful you will see many victories on your first go! The first boss hops around the screen like a sprite from an old skool-styled demo. Rarely did I see the end of the second level (without using a trainer) but, YMMV. Just don't give up, you wimp and keep playing!!

Wimps only ever see the first level so practice and you might see more! Screenshot time...

Things get freaking on level 3 but it's a good kind of freaky :-)

Well, except for the boss(es). Very lame!

Graphics

Zynaps is a gorgeous shoot 'em up, it really is. Sure, I know games like Xenon 2, Magic Boy, Gods, Deathbringer, and others blow it out of the water but, this old shooter (from 1988) holds its own thanks to the efforts of Pete Lyon!! The title screen is wonderful - pure art - and many of the levels feature a Menacing array of beautiful environments.

But that's not all, the sprites move fast and very smoothly following those incredibly difficult flight patterns. But what about the scrolling? Programmers without talent tell us the ST cannot scroll. Well, don't worry because it's nigh-on perfect and very smooth so feels just dandy during gameplay. Yep, this is another quality Hewson product.

For me, Hewson where a company that was always consistent without resorted to lame ports...

Things get a little Menacing for the fourth level.

It looks stunning - if deadly. I never beat it...

Sounds

Zynaps theme tune is outstanding thanks to the talent of one of my favourite musicians, Dave Rogers: a man responsible for many of my ZX Spectrum memories, not to mention ST beauties like Ranarama and Cybernoid.

Okay, the sound effects might pale in comparison to the music but they're still excellent and offer an arcade-like style which I really admire. I love that sharp "zing-zing" when you shoot, the crunchy death effect, and how you are mocked when it's game over. Like the visuals, I think that a lot of love went into the audio which is brilliant.

Yep, the audio proves what the Atari ST can sound like. Wanna hear it...

The Crypto'pinion

Zynaps is one of those games which has it all but, many give up after a few goes because of its learning curve. The action is relentless so you're always on the edge of your seat wondering what's coming next. The method of using power-ups might be flawed but these are essential to enhance the Scorpion with better firepower and manoeuvrability.

Hewson rarely disappoints and Zynaps is yet another corker from their incredible library. Sure, I've moaned about a few things but nothing is perfect. I forgive it because of its "Can-I-have-one-more-go". Very addictive!! What an extraordinary shoot 'em up and it's a great feeling to end my Super Pack series on a high. You need to play this game.

Grab the floppies if you have the skills

I recommend these excellent HD versions by Klaz and PP.

Return To Genesis

Dream Team?

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

RTG is basically a funky take 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. At great speed!!

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? Wait, now I see a scientist waiting to be picked up!

I'm getting too old and slow

If you've ever played Defender then you should be right at home with RTG. It only has a tiny learning curve - fire and kill everything. But let's play properly? It's worth slowing down to pick up the scientists rather than killing them: once onboard, hit the HELP key to see what cool 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 sadly 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 yoyo. Yes, this is one incredibly FAST shoot 'em up that has you on the edge of your seat. 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). Don't get me wrong, RTG looks lovely but it's also pretty gorky and I sometimes found it difficult to distinguish the aliens against those funky backgrounds. The scrolling is smooth to prove, 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 - his work proves "chip" will last forever. Okay, it sounds <cough> familiar but it suits the gameplay perfectly. Heck, our ST talks to us which is a zillion times better than Gold Runner. Dave certainly gets the YM processor rocking like this!

It looks, moves, and sounds superb! This is definitely a dream team production so let's see a couple of screenshots...

Oh, look, 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?

RTG is one of those games that appears to have it all. Sure, it looks, scrolls and sounds brilliant yet I'm left feeling unsure. Is it me? Is it the game itself? Well, I'm not sure but I do know that I love a good Defender-inspired shooter.

However, this game is way too difficult thanks to its blistering speeds! After a few pointless games, it's not long until I get tired of hitting lots of objects and suffering humiliating deaths. However, the scientists have great power-ups available. These are a wonderful idea that somewhat compensate for this maddening gameplay.

Return To Genesis is an iconic shoot 'em up for Atari ST gamers! It truly is and represents what the ST is capable of. Sadly, it's way too furious for me and thus another Anarchy. Sorry, but give me Xenon or Menace any day of the week. I wanted so much to love this game but I couldn't. It's brilliant but sadly, not for me. I guess this gamer is too old and slow?

Download for floppy or hard drive.

Time Soldier

Let's kill people!

The conversion of Time Soldiers was released in 1989 by Electrocoin and is based on the vertically shoot 'em up not too dissimilar to something like Ikari Warriors. The story goes that Gylend has captured a few of our friends who are held captive in different time-periods. So it's up to us to rescue them - gotta say I like the idea of the time zones.

I've not played the arcade game, but I see there is a slight name change - that means we're running solo. This would be understandable but we are given only one life which should make the quest rather difficult - unless the game is rewarding during play. Before beginning, we're given the name and location of our captured warrior - but the teleporter can send us somewhere different. Which is odd and means you gotta plough through to the correct portal.

So initial impressions are a little worrying? Let's take a peep at some screenshots...

I love the colour schemes throughout which nicely represent the original game.



Lots of action and even more death and destruction. I love it!

Shoot. Kill. Kill even more!

Each of the time periods has a change of graphics but basically follows the same format as you might expect. These areas are stuffed full of enemies that need killing, which is most satisfying. Those slain in battle leave goodies that should be collected for a power boost. Health can also be replenished that is needed because every contact drains you dry.

A boss is featured at the end of level and most are rather easy to kill. However, my power-ups sometimes ran out during the lead-up to this fight, which then makes it nigh on impossible to win!

There's nothing mind-blowing about Time Soldier; the gameplay is a cross between something like Wanted or Commando. I wasn't sure about the scrolling which often left me vulnerable to any baddies off-screen. I was never going to like the one-life aspect too so I'm beginning to pick flaws and I wonder who beta-tested this arcade conversion?

A good game that needed a little extra thought but that won't stop me from pushing some more screenshots...

Even Rambo wouldn't be able to survive this onslaught!



Those higher up have an advantage. But I'm still going to kill them.

Aesthetics

I like the graphics in Time Soldier; from start to end, it's colourful and detailed. The backgrounds are great but we also have some of the silliest sprites. Not so much their appearance but how they attack in waves which means the screen is often cluttered with bullets and explosions- which I loved! It's maddening and frantic and chaotic. Loved it.

Heck, the game is even making use of overscan without any negative impact on the scrolling. Which always remains smooth so I am very impressed with the technical efforts that went into making this action shooter.

The music is well-balanced against the sound effects and suits the gameplay well. Zero complaints.

Hey, one final run of screenshots...

The purple works a treat providing another environment that is unique and fun.



This looks scary and tough. Well, more tough than scary but hey, what more can be said about it?

The CryptO'pinion?

This game was fun to play! However, I had mixed feelings: I wasn't too keen on the scrolling method which can sometimes fail to keep up with the player. Also, having one life is very restricting and forces you down the road of a trainer. Don't get me wrong, it's quite an authentic conversion in many respects but this insane design makes it very difficult.

Having said that, Time Soldier is actually an entertaining shooter in its own right. The levels are always interesting and brimming with lots of meaningless gameplay. This is pure gun love and will provide a few hours of fantastic action. For all its flaws, I enjoyed this peculiar conversion a bunch. Just be prepared to play with a trainer for extra lives!

Time Cops can download for floppy or hard disk.

StarRay

The Atari ST cannot scroll

Logotron's StarRay is a Defender wannabe developed by a trio of incredible talent. It's something I boot up whenever I'm bored and need to kill a few mins after a dreadful day at work! Of course, this was programmed by none other than Steve Bak. A legend who always knew how to get the best from the Atari ST without ever resorting to lame excuses.

Aesthetically speaking, it's fantastic and compliments the gameplay perfectly. Pete Lyon designed what you see and it's glorious. From the moment you see the futuristic Monument Valley, you're in love with his pixels. David Whittaker created all of the jaw-dropping funk (anyone with extra Ram has sampled music on the title screen - but I prefer chip tunes).

StarRay is a blummin' awesome shooter and tons of fun. It boosts the original Defender format with its own brand of great gameplay style - plus beautiful sounds and multilayer parallax visuals. This is how all retro gaming should be! The perfect shooter if you are bored and fancy some frantic mayhem in your life - grab it now and play StarRay!

Take to the skies then download either the floppy disk or use your hard drive.

Anarchy

Too quick for this old man!

Running this humble website means that I get to play tons of Atari ST games - it's hard work but somebody's gotta do it!!! (don't hate me lol). Quite often, I will revisit games that I remember being good at in the hope it will make for a good review. Today, I thought it would be a good idea to play the amazing Anarchy by Psygnosis [Wayne Smithson/WJS].

Anarchy is basically a shameless Defender clone albeit with tremendously fast visuals, great audio and exciting arcade gameplay. It's fun and challenging running at a jaw-dropping 50/60fps (to think WJS didn't use the Blitter!!). Yeah, I remember this being a wonderful example of what the ST was capable of when in the hands of a developer who cares.

However, as I've gotten older, I've started to realise that there are some games that I shouldn't boot up anymore. Games that push my reactions too far and Anarchy has proven to be my new personal gaming nightmare!! Yep, I was all over the place wondering just what was going on as I died over and over again. In the end, it was fun but disastrous!

A furious shooter that looks, sounds, and plays brilliantly. It's my reactions that need improving to appreciate it!

... So, what is your "Anarchy" ??

Supa Zazai Da!

Super... what?

Supa Zazai Da is another Gamopat conversion by Templeton, the same genius who graced us with the stupendous Crash Time Plumber. So I couldn't wait to get my grubby mitts on his latest work after reading the superb review by ST Graveyard on Atari Legend. Sadly, I admit to being more than a little disappointed with it. I initially failed to play more than a handful of - frustrating - games before rebooting my Atari STe with a massive portion of disappointment.

Now, I'll never knock anything powered by Maria Whittaker (yeah!) but this is rock solid and felt too difficult!! And having only one life certainly didn't help, especially when the enemy could fill the entire screen with bullets! Yep, this is a wolf in sheep's clothing and seemed like a bad joke. Dang, I was incredibly bad at it and genuinely gutted too.

I know, I know, those first impressions of a weak gamer. Sigh, but, I think you better read on...

Trust me, this game will destroy you and all any expectations for success!

Don't judge a book by its cover

I later returned and anxiously grabbed my creaky old joystick, determined, but expecting the battle of my life. After many embarrassing failures, I eventually beat the first hoard of cute nasties and somehow even gained extra points thanks to the green particles. But, how I managed to dodge the enemy's bullets, well, it felt like a personal achievement!! The clue is how you navigate through the cloud of bullets, it's easier than you might think (watch the video).

Nevertheless, the scary boss instantly gave me a good drubbing and I was again greeted with the Game Over screen. I defeated him on my next nerve-racking attempt so was close to tears with ecstatic joy!! Once the second level begins you realise there's a familiar and repetitive pattern so I hammered it home and battled my way onto the third and fourth levels, with relative ease. The lesson is to stick with it as it can be conquered and enjoyed!!

Talk about a massive learning curve. Or at least for me? Wow, this game is so rewarding...

However, nobody said those bosses would be easy. Especially when they can fire so much!!

Pixels and Sonics

The visuals scroll along at an ultra-smooth 50fps but it's the outrageously cute sprites, from a wide variety of games, which everyone will adore. Your computer will require a Blitter coprocessor, which is not a problem for the Atari STe and Falcon, but the original ST models might be outta luck (unless you have a later revision or a Mega ST).

Musically, Supa Zazai is fantastic but also very different depending on your hardware: an unnerving chip rattles ST players, whereas the STe gets exhilarating streamed audio (both different and brilliant). As instructed, pump up the volume!

It looks and sounds fantastic is what I'm trying to say about this Blitter-boosted game...

50fps action through and just look at that huge sprite. Impressive, to say the least!!

The CryptO'pinion?

What a journey!! Nothing like I imagined yet, it lived up to all my expectations. Arcade fans are going to drool over their keyboards when playing this - it's fast, fun, thrilling and addictive. Quite simply, Supa Zazai Da is an exhilarating shooter with gorgeous aesthetics and I hope Templeton has many more Atari STe games in the pipeline, I really do.

It's zany, it's crazy, it's insane and I love everything about Supa Zazai Da. An amazing shooter. Please, play this!!

Download Supa Zazai Da! via AtariMania.

Menace [upgraded]

When something isn't quite right...

Menace is one of the few Psygnosis games that I actually enjoy. I think it's a good shooter. Okay, it should have been much better with a little effort but, that's an Amiga company for you. Anyhow, it's still a decent shooter and I enjoy it a lot. But what's with the YELLOW ship compared to the other version? For years, I've hated that bland colour and wondered what they were thinking and if it was possible to change it to something better? Couldn't be difficult, right?

So I contacted Atari ST wizard Peter Putnik about it and he came back with a solution that works 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 enjoy 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 so, I asked a guy who I've never met in another country for his thoughts. What does he do? He fixes it without hesitation for me. 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 now play on the Atari ST. Here's the download to the newly designed AtariCrypt White Star release of Menace (geddit?).

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