Crash Time Plumber

New game alert!

Crash Time Plumber is a conversion of the Gamopat original released at Silly Venture demo party. The Atari game was developed by none other than Sebastien Lucas of Cerebral Vortex, and it will work on any Atari computer with a Blitter Chip: check the Options screen in GEM, but all late models of STfm, Mega ST, Atari STe, and Falcon should be a-ok. Many STfm computers have an empty socket just waiting to be used:

* Many newer STFMs have an empty Blitter Chip socket so head over to the EXXOS webSTore.

At first, I wasn't sure how this was gonna go - we've been burned by so-called 8-bit conversions before. However, it booted up with a neat intro and looks the business! Based on Donkey Kong with a dollop of Popeye, it's set in 1983 as the gaming industry crashed (which I was unaware of as a Spectrum kid!)

Anyhow, an Italian plumber has teamed up with an angry-looking monkey and kidnapped ten gaming heroes: Pac-Man, Pitfall Harry, Q-Bert, Frogger, and others. They are all preparing for a hideous death at the hands of these criminals from the East, so go and rescue them to foil Mario's plan and stop this invasion.

Sounds cool, right? It is, and so is the intro, which begins in Alamogordo (I've been there!)...

The intro is sweet and tells a good story. Also, I've been to Alamogordo, NM. #tidbit

Hang on, this looks familiar?

Taking place on the Donkey Kong construction site, we run along girders collecting love hearts by a damsel in distress. She floats by in her hot air balloon and, when enough are collected, we begin a steroid-jumping rescue to the top of the screen and save a trapped hero. Once free, we can move on to the next level.

This isn't easy because, not only is Mario rolling barrels downhill, but King Kong is hanging about, throwing deadly bananas at us with annoying accuracy! Some levels have weather conditions affecting your movement, and there's even a harsh 120-second time limit. This makes things difficult after a few levels!

The game ends once each and every gaming hero has been rescued. Easier said than done...

Watch out for angry monkeys throwing their killer bananas, or you're DEAD!!

One smooth looker!

The graphics are fantastic, using an 80s retro theme with cute sprites. The Blitter delivers a smooth 50fps display. Heck, the Atari STe even adds enhanced colour fading. Falcon owners get to witness a huge Zeppelin flying by, which I wonder why it's missing on the STe? Ignoring that, this game is ace!!

The audio is superb with lovely sound effects and a simple chiptune suited to the ye olde style. A lot of effort has gone into both the visuals and sounds, and I dare that jingle not to stay in your head all day.

Everything is just dandy and perfect with a retro, comical design...

Beautiful girl blowing kisses? Come back, my love!

The CryptO'pinion?

Don't be fooled by the 8-bit appearance. From the start, you're tricked into thinking this will be easy, but the combination of fantastic controls and tough mechanics will catch you out. I'm sick of being smacked in the face by a killer banana, but I keep on coming back for more of this torment. So addictively playable!!

Crash Time Plumber is extremely hard, but it manages to drag you back for more - kicking & screaming.

Download for FLOPPY / HARD DISK

Crash Time Plumber (longplay recording)

Update: Read the review featurette about this stunning game!!

Crash Time Plumber is an astounding platformer, but I struggled to beat level 6 with my joystick skills. So that meant there was only one thing left to do - cheat! The later levels are killers!! Even with a cheat, all I would do is die-die-die!! Eventually, I did it for my recording. I dare anyone to complete it without extra lives...

This is definitely one of my favourite platformers. It's nothing less than infuriatingly awesome!!

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. I couldn't wait to get my grubby mitts on this after reading the superb review by ST Graveyard on Atari Legend. Sadly, I admit to being disappointed with it. I failed to play more than a handful of frustrating games before rebooting my Atari STe with a massive portion of dismay.

I'll never knock anything powered by Maria Whittaker (yeah!), but this is rock solid and difficult!! Having only one life 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.

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

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

Don't judge a book by its cover

I 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 horde of nasties and even gained extra points thanks to the green particles. 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 think (watch the video).

Nevertheless, the scary boss 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 I was close to tears and ecstatic!! Once the second level begins, you realise there's a familiar and repetitive pattern, so I hammered it home and battled onto the third and fourth levels, with relative ease. The lesson is to stick with it, as it can be conquered!!

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 at an ultra-smooth 50fps. It's the outrageously cute sprites, from a wide variety of games, that 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 are outta luck (unless you have a later revision or a Mega ST).

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

It looks and sounds fantastic, is what I'm saying 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!! It's nothing like I initially imagined, yet it lived up to my expectations at the same time, which is weird. Arcade fans are going to drool over their keyboards because this shooter is fast, fun, thrilling, and addictive. Quite simply, Supa Zazai Da is an exhilarating game with gorgeous aesthetics.

I hope Templeton has many more Atari STe games in the pipeline, I really do.

Download Supa Zazai Da! via AtariMania.

The best of Dave Munsie VOLUME 1 :)

A lucky find!

I'm always on the scrounge for Atari ST goodies, especially floppies - who knows what gold is still out there waiting to be rediscovered? I see many tempting auctions of Atari ST disks, but most are silly prices! Or the disks have degraded due to poor storage - I went through a box recently, and only two floppies worked!

Today, I took delivery of a slim envelope containing 7 disks by PD Library, Goodmans. I loved that company and remember buying tons from them over the years. However, there was a disk in their collection that I had previously never heard of - "Dave Munsie Game Collection Volume 1". Thankfully, it still worked 100%, so I quickly made an image, because I noticed a carbon copy didn't appear to exist online.

On it are a staggering nine excellent Munsie games: Bugs, Kid GP, Evader, Kaboom!, Frogger!, ST Invaders, Dark Pearl, Kid Kong, and Bobble. That's some hefty gameplay just waiting for you to boot up.

Let's check 'em out...

• Bugs - Think Centipede/Millipede, and you get the idea for this cracker!
• Kid GP - Rainbow Islands meets Bubble Bobble for kiddies. Well, I know I loved it :)
• Evader - this is kinda like a weird mash of Galaxians, Phoenix, and Space Invaders. Great fun.
• Kaboom! - I remember playing this on a mate's 2600 as a kid. Infuriatingly frantic action!
• Frogger! - It's good, but possibly the weakest of the bunch, especially compared to Black's version.
• Invaders - Once again, Dave messes with the original to produce something new and exciting.
• Dark Pearl - I'm not really a fan of this type of game, but this is well-programmed!
• Kid Kong - Another game I'm not too keen on, but it's fun - for the Kong fans!
• Bobble - It's Tetris, kinda interesting for those who enjoy that. I guess?

This long-lost floppy disk is now safely stored within the archives of Atarimania, so grab yourself a copy. It's impressive how many games are on it, plus they're all by Mr. Munsie (sounds creepy, doesn't it). He certainly knew his stuff, and this disk proves just how much fun he must have had making games.

There are more Munsie games for the ST, with several already on AtariCrypt - Asteroidia, Frantick, and Berzerk. Before rushing off to download this disk, here are photos and screenshots to gawk over...

This is the disk! The photo makes the disk look nicer than it is - thanks to Instagram for that lol.

Did the world ever get to see Volume II?

I wasn't too impressed with this Centipede clone at first, but it's excellent!

Plain, blocky, but with tons of colour and cute sprites. It's still a ripoff, but a great one at that!

Framerate could be better, but this is a superb shoot 'em up of mixed genres.

Oh yeah!! This takes me back to playing the old Atari 2600 game. Simple yet fantastic fun!

2016 saw the definitive Frogger, but this older version from 1993 is a great release!

Another game of Dave's that I wasn't umm totally sure about, but is yet another exciting blaster!

Ugh, it's not you, it's me (that line, eh). You guys might like it, but it's not a game I personally enjoy.

Donkey Kong fans are gonna love this one, but is it better than Crash Time Plumber? :o

One for fans of the Tetris genre. Not for me, I'm sorry to say!

Ironman Challenge II

Mike's torment!

Glutton for Punishment Mike, of The New Retro Show, has released the second part of our Ironman Challenge. As you may remember, I gave him a list of Atari ST games which I thought would help push him over the edge. Well, he's still with us, so let's see what torture he endured for the final part of this challenge (above).

This new video features Fire And Brimstone, Crash Time Plumber, and R0x. If you missed the first video from this Ironman Challenge, then clickety-click to watch that video of Mike's torment! Get the popcorn - enjoy :)