Overscan Invaders

The invaders are back!

Released in 1994 by Janet Dean under the Budgie UK licenceware label, Overscan Invaders is a remarkable clone of Space Invaders with a surprising twist. It runs in overscan and exceeds the 16-colour limit, though ironically not the most striking aspect of its aesthetics - the sound effects truly shine, offering superbly authentic arcade recreations. Listening to my video recordings will undoubtedly evoke fond childhood memories.

While overscan, increased colour palette, and sampled effects are undoubtedly fantastic, what sets this version of Space Invaders apart is its gameplay. It’s spot-on with an authentic feel and joystick control that perfectly complements the aesthetics. A great deal of love and effort went into creating this game.

Overscan Invaders is one of the better clones, and I’m sure Invader fans will enjoy it. I certainly did.

• Atari Legend has a great menu disk download by Tommi of Finland.
• The official floppy disk image can be grabbed at Atarimania.
• A Floppyshop disk can be found over at AtariUpToDate.
• Along with the video above, I have another recording to watch :^)

Team

Jumpers For Goalposts

Team is a soccer game released in 1995 by a dedicated company called Impact Software. Specifically developed by Ralph Lovesy on the Atari STe, it makes full use of the enhanced hardware often ignored by commercial companies: extra colours, 50fps hardware scrolling, Blitter and DMA audio. Wow!! O_o

Disclaimer... If I'm brutally honest, I feel unqualified to review Team as I'm not a soccer fan. However, from what I have played, I was impressed. I'm hardly a convert but I enjoyed running around the pitch and having a good kick about! But not knowing the game's technicalities stopped me from progressing further. Interestingly, there is a friendly mode that displays much of the game's styles and playability, like passing, tactics, and tackles. Hmm, sounds like fun?

Well, it is! Surprisingly, I've enjoyed playing this pointless game of runaround. The tactics and strategy elements are limited, with little beyond picking your team and conditions to endure, like a muddy pitch or windy weather. That's good, right? Who would wanna play any kind of Football Manager? Erm, forget I said that!

As an arcade/sports game, it's impressive. I genuinely enjoyed a few games - the control of each player is responsive with accuracy and precision. That means it's quick to move around the pitch and the ball was easy to control - it went where I wanted! Look, if you're a footy fan, then I'm sure you'll love it. I did.

It's now that I end my chitter-chatter with screenshots. How about a video instead...

I'm not a footy fan, but I recorded a video... Note the overscan!

Graphics!

Check out the two images below that display just what Team has hidden up its sleeve. Yep, overscan is used to drastically increase the playable area. Oddly, the footballer's sprites are small, but their movements are fast, and the screen is fluently moving at a smooth 50fps. But, from what I've seen of most other footy games, this is normal. I suppose it wouldn't work very well if they had giants on the pitch!

The animations are great for the tiny players. The pitch colours are deep and strong, and I liked the subtle use of colourful styles in the menus. But, come on, having the gameplay in overscan is simply amazing. Once again, the underrated Atari STe proves itself. Kudos to the skill and commitment of Ralph Lovesy.

Let's see what I mean. Two images below, the first normal and the second with overscan...

    

The left image is captured at the standard resolution of 320x200, whereas gameplay uses overscan!

Plink Plonk Sounds?

Sound effects are good - when you hear them. Perhaps that's the norm in these types of games, but I found the stadiums eerily lacking in atmosphere and ambience. Okay, there are kicking effects and the odd Ref whistle blow, but it's pretty lame, and a lot more was needed. Like the roar of the crowd being heard frequently. Perhaps I'm wrong, but hearing the fans in the background feels like the weakest part of the entire game.

Thankfully, the music is excellent with cheesy MOD tunes throughout the menus. It's tacky but in stereo with the tracker routines developed by a familiar name from the Atari ST demoscene - GRIFF. How cool is that?!!

I couldn't stomach another grassy screenshot, so how about another pic of the box art (rear)...

The front cover was... different... and the back of the box isn't much better ;-)

The CryptO'pinion?

Look, I was never gonna be blown away, but I had lots of fun, which shocked me, seeing as I hate soccer! Whether it's better than Kick Off, Sensible Soccer, or even Speedball, I couldn't say. I will say this, as a hater of a boring sport, Team was seriously entertaining. So take it for a kickabout and try it for yourself?

Hey, if I can enjoy footy, then I reckon anyone can, so let me know what you think in the comments.

Download from 8bitchip, which is adapted for HDD!

Old Games Finder has access to floppy disks.

Ralph Lovesy was interviewed in Maggie #16.

Fullscreen Construction Kit

I've a thing for overscan!

The Atari ST/e might not officially support overscan, but that hasn't stopped many games, demos, and programs from making use of it. There's a lot out there with many already featured here on AtariCrypt, not to mention the ability to activate overscan within GEM. The Atari ST is a versatile machine and often underrated.

Fullscreen Construction Kit is a cool utility program developed by FMC Connexion to display high-resolution pictures using the same overscan technique. It works by piecing together four Degas images, which ultimately join to generate the finished picture. This image can be viewed on your ST using the program provided.

The process is simple but I had difficulties with the palettes because I'm not gifted in pixel art!! Hence the reason Milla is in greyscale and the dog is red, not brown. It's worth noting that I found it easier to create the blocks using my Mac but there are online tools available to split images.

Six test images are on the floppy, plus you can create your own. This set of image blocks [by Killer D] should give you an understanding of what's expected from budding artists. But even those without any skills (me!!) should be fine, so why not give this program a playtest to see what overscan goodies you can create?

This is a belting program to enjoy dabbling! Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

Line of Fire

We're going to war, bring a mouse!

Line of Fire was converted from the arcades in 1990 by Creative Materials for US Gold and is basically a "crosshair" shooter. It begins behind enemy lines as we're trying to escape never-ending hordes of angry bad guys. They're annoyed because we've sneaked in and pinched their brand-new toy - a Rapier Gun. Of course, we have no intentions of returning it, so we must now escape in a blaze of glory. A-Team style!

The gameplay is simple: move the mouse over the enemy soldiers and hit fire to send 'em to hell. Kill anything nasty, including the hardware that they use: a truck, plane, boat, or even their incoming missile attacks. Well, that's about as technical as this shooter gets - lots of frantic killing and explosions. Great stuff!

Oh yeah, so let's start by taking a look at the first screenshot...

The map shows our escape route through the base, jungle, rocky canyon, town, etc.

And bring a friend too!

One or two players are supported for a single or a (much-needed) co-op onslaught of pure adrenaline. Solo is controlled using the mouse, which is precise, but I feel the crosshair should have been bigger because it sometimes got lost among the explosions. Try it - hit the SHIFT key to spark a nuclear explosion (aka grenade), but be thrifty because these are best left for the end-of-level bosses. Trust me, you'll need 'em all.

We begin trapped inside the enemy compound with baddies lining up the corridors, ready to kill us! The display shows our health and the number of grenades - both of which can be topped up by shooting the corresponding supply boxes lying on the ground. There's a boss waiting at the end of every stage, be it two ugly brutes firing missiles, a plane stuffed with a cargo of airmen, or a ghost train and its endless supply of soldiers.

Okay, shall we take a stroll through the many levels of this crazy game? Yes, a good idea...

- Eight Stages To Freedom -

Level 1 - The Enemy Camp

This is where we broke into the enemy camp, kicked in their sandcastle and made the bad guys cry. However, tons of smurf-looking soldiers were alerted (very odd), and they're mean and sneaky - some even hide inside the floor panels and ceiling vents. Once you reach the end, it's time to battle two enormous bad guys who are just asking to eat those grenades.

Overall, I really enjoyed this opening stage, albeit very short. Should have been much longer!

Level one kicks in with an assault of Smurf soldiers!

Level 2 - Destroy The Enemy Jungle Base

Those smurfs failed to stop us, and we made it outside to jump into our jeep and head for the jungle. Lots of enemies are lurking in these muddy waters, along with choppers and planes dropping bombs of mass destruction! The action feels unbalanced for solo gamers, but the helicopter boss is pretty cool and a good fight without being too complicated.

This stage proves the developers used ST Basic (and had no beta testers!). Let's take a look...

Be quick and get blasting everything you see on the screen. Gun love time!

Level 3 - Exit By Speed Boat

Pretty much more of the same as the previous level - but this time we're riding through the soggier parts of the massive jungle. Watch out for the soldiers hiding on the river banks, and you might even see the odd Rambo impersonator. The two bosses are back, but this time they've brought some help for what is quite a fatiguing battle.

This level is more of the same, which isn't great unless you have a faster computer.

The two guys have brought in some help. It's very tough, so expect to lose lives.

Level 4 - Fighting In The Canyon

Like the jungle, this time the graphics have changed to an odd-looking rocky canyon. Hmm, those walls don't look right, especially when you see soldiers hovering in mid-air! Anyhow, this level is another which is stuffed full of gun love, and there's even an aeroplane boss that launches rockets at your face.

It's probably better than the jungle stages, but just as crazy, with too many enemies eating away at your credits.

Enemies everywhere! Shoot - quicker - shoot some more. No, be quicker!

Level 5 - Do Or Die Battle In The Desert

Landscape graphics are gone, and the display is reduced to objects and sprites. It's now that I noticed the odd blue background - it really stands out because there's nothing else. Looks very strange. However, the benefit of this sudden change is a decent framerate, which means it plays better than all the other levels. The boss stage is a train, which is something solo players should fear!

Overall, a great level, and I wish the others were as fast and responsive as this one. I enjoyed it :o

It looks... odd... but fear not, there's a bunch of fun to be had here!

Level 6 - Foes Await In The City's Ruins

Finally, we've made it into a rough shantytown for a terrifying urban siege. Terrifying because that horrendous framerate has returned with a vengeance - I think this stage is the most sluggish of all? To be honest, it's a bit boring and also far too tough in solo. Where's the boss stage?

Overall, it's okay, but also a bit... meh because of the dreadful framerate.

The idea behind this stage is actually very good, but poorly implemented.

Level 7 - Evade the Enemy's Aircraft

We're on the runway and zoom off into the skies for aeronautical hell. However, this stage is tacky with a lame submarine boss, which is rubbish. Overall, this feels like a stocking filler and is the worst level so far.

Wow, I said that after playing the previous stage? Dang!

I've really had enough...

Level 8 - Fly To Your Base By Helicopter

Glad I didn't throw in the towel because Howling Mad Murdock would have loved this stage! The enemy chucks everything at you for one final attempt to get their fancy gun back! Don't get defeated because the end is very near. Sadly, I did, because it's insanely difficult! Which means I failed to save the Western World from the dreaded Terrorists.

Ah well, at least I tried...

That blue background might look daft, but imagine it black...

Graphics and Sounds

Visually, Line of Fire is an oxymoron as it impresses and shocks in equal measure. Overscan is utilised with top and bottom borders removed to provide tons more pixels. I loved the comically bold palette, the sprites are huge, and those explosions are ginormous! Sadly, the sprites look like I've drawn them, and the framerate is shocking. It's possibly the worst performance I've seen from an Atari ST, which is a sad thing to type.

To me, this comes across as a lazy Amiga port, showing no real optimisation whatsoever for the Atari ST or STe hardware. While it is admittedly commendable that overscan was implemented, that choice likely robbed the game of even more precious speed. Perhaps dropping the overscan would have been the wiser option if proper optimisation for our machine wasn’t going to be done. As it stands, a half-hearted port combined with overscan effectively killed any real potential the game might have had. Bit of a shame really...

The audio failed to impress. It begins with a nice title screen chiptune with a humorous intro, but it's all downhill afterwards. The sound effects are your gun and grenades. So it's your gunfire that you're constantly hearing, which sounds like a room full of dancers shuffling their feet. Ugh, turn down the volume.

A mixed bag of goodies, alright, but the Blitter would have helped a lot... sigh...

Gotta take my hat off to the developers for using overscan, albeit at the expense of framerate? :/

CryptO'pinion

I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of crosshair shooters, but Line Of Fire shocked me. There's no 2D landscape with pop-up cardboard soldiers; instead, we have a first-person perspective similar to something like Narco Police, but in overscan. Which is kinda cool for a machine with only 512k RAM.

However, this conversion is screwy and appears to do everything to make the Atari ST perform like a Vic-20 (cough, cough, lame Amiga port). I don't understand what Creative Materials was thinking. Then again, aren't these the guys that gave us Street Fighter 2 and Days of Thunder?

I enjoyed Line of Fire because it's different from what I usually play. It's best with a friend as it's not balanced for solo play, but at least it provides a few continues to keep you interested. I'm glad I didn't buy this terrible game, but I still enjoyed rampaging through the levels. Worth playing, but only in coop with someone.

- DOWNLOADS -

Floppy - Bad Brew Crew #33 (Stonish)

Hard Disk - 8BitChip (w/ extra credits)

ATORIC

Tangerine Dream

It's often a pointless venture, without any real-world use, but I still enjoy emulating other computers on my Atari ST. Yes, I'm a geek! If you're as weird as I am, check out our Emulation section here on AtariCrypt and watch as I painstakingly try to suss out how to emulate computers like the PC, ZX Spectrum, C64, Tandy, and ZX81 (plus other silly stuff).

I love finding programs like these, and today, I shall turn my Atari ST into an Oric Atmos. The "Oric computer" is actually two machines - the older Oric 1 looks futuristic, but (from what I've read) had many bugs. The Oric Atmos followed a year later and was basically the same computer with many of the bugs ironed out (more information online if interested).

I recall seeing the Atmos in Rumbelows (remember them!?), which they featured on a pedestal in the middle of the shop. Perhaps they had high hopes? Anyway, I still remember how cool this computer looked with a great design and a proper keyboard. I wanted one, but all my friends had ZX Spectrums, and that was that. What a fool I was. Unless a time machine is invented - very soon - I might always regret not choosing computers like this and the 8-bit Ataris.

Anyhow, I might not need that as there may be light at the end of the tunnel thanks to a program called Atoric...

The later release of Atoric boots to a Microdisk default with many different options.

ATORIC

So, here we are in 2024, emulating the Oric using my Atari ST thanks to this program developed by Christian Peppermueller. I managed to find a few different versions online, but for most of this article, I was using v0.3 until (ahem) I remembered that I had already downloaded v0.9 ages ago. But somehow forgotten about it... Doh!

Actually, all versions work much the same with surprisingly accurate emulation, albeit very slowwwwwww. Yes, the stock 8MHz Atari ST oddly struggles compared to the other emulators I've used. I would estimate its performance is about a tenth of the speed of the original Oric, which is shocking compared to the speed of the Spectrum emulator. Even the Falcon/TT don't perform well, so I can only imagine (and hope) that the modded Atari computers do better.

Anyhow, enough whining! Atoric is an excellent piece of software and very easy to use. Depending on which version you try, it's easy to load games. Later versions can simply use the command CLOAD"", which uses the ST's file selector. Although you can also enter the command in full: CLOAD"MANIC" (for example, to load Manic Miner - which I renamed).

The latest version (that I found) of Atoric is v0.9, and it comes with Microdisk/Sedoric disk operating tool that features many functions. Use it to boot up in Atmos mode and "begin playing". Interestingly, there is a tool to amend the Atoric configuration file. This can alter how Atoric performs and more: default path locations can be chosen along with ST/Falcon displays (colour and high-resolution). It can use overscan, which makes up for the Oric's resolution.

It's worth reading the documentation before attempting any changes...

The configuration tool is enhanced somewhat in the later releases and is very easy to use.

Let's get straight to the games!

In terms of the emulation, fantastic is the word because almost everything worked well. Sadly, in terms of speed (when running on my STe), I can only say that poor is a better description. My old 8MHz computer doesn't have the grunt, and the emulation speed is shocking. Which I find odd, especially compared to the Speccy emulator. After all, the Oric is similar, with a slower processor, so I'm quite bemused by the sluggish performance. But, what do I know...

Okay, I booted up about 40/50 random games - I've never used an Oric, so I didn't know anything about its library. However, the Oric has Manic Miner, so that was obviously the first game I tried. The quality of the emulation is superb, and everything looks great. However, it's running at less than 1fps, which means it's totally unplayable.

Booting into Hatari and configuring as a 32MHz ST improved things - but only slightly. The Falcon/TT configs didn't improve matters. Not that much - so I can only wonder what type of Atari computer would!

Okay, let's see some more games. Almost everything works perfectly, if you ignore the speed! There were one or two issues with a few other games where the overscan failed, so I couldn't see the bottom of the screen. Also, a couple of games appeared to work, except the keyboard stopped accepting input. Very handy. Not!

It's now that we declare defeat and admit that the Atari ST will never run an Oric game properly (I really need a Medusa). So, with that in mind, I plodded on and "playtested" a few games with the first being Manic Miner (emulated in both colour & mono). As a Willy fan, it's surreal to see the Oric version running on my ST!! What a shame it plays like a slideshow!

(low-res) Manic Miner on the Oric on my Atari ST. Fantastic stuff!! #geek

(hi-res) I thought the performance might be better without the stress of colours. It wasn't lol.

And it's now that I must plug the incredible Atari ST version of Manic Miner developed by Fede Pede in 2018. It's 95% complete and downloadable so give it a whirl. It's a cracking repoduction of the 8-bit original!!

Donkey Kong

This was actually called Honey Kong - to avoid the usual Nintendo troubles - and is a fun conversion. Visually, a bit bland, so I thought the performance might be better. It wasn't. Although not as slow as Manic Miner, it was still unplayable. Additionally, the display is quite fluffy with a few glitches - so make sure you enable the overscan option for better results.

Forget this one, dear ST people. Has anyone got an Atari TT they wants to donate? Hmm

Credit: V. Nicolas for Sprites.

https://www.oric.org/software/honey_kong-1200.html

I later enabled overscan, and everything worked dandy. Except way too slowly!

Football Manager

Yes, Kevin Toms' famous face has even managed its way onto an Oric cassette. I'm not a footie fan but - stop the press - this was actually playable!! Well, with the acceptable performance expectation. So, with that in mind, it is playable. Yes, I use all of these terms lightly, but always positively. Forget the official ST game and play this one instead! ;-)

Credit: Addictive Games

https://www.oric.org/software/football_manager-43.html

I reckon Football Manager came out on every computer?

Zaxxon

This isn't a game I had high hopes for, but I tried it anyway. I was shocked when I first booted it up, as I thought the graphics had been screwed up because it looked nothing like the US Gold release. But this game was programmed in BASIC, so I guess the look and performance are as expected. Great results considering it's BASIC, but it's best we move on...

Credit: Richard Juhel

https://www.oric.org/software/zaxxon-1777.html

I wasn't impressed, but then I learnt it was programmed in BASIC!

Driver

This is a weird one that reminded me of a mix of Motor Massacre & Bugziacs. We drive around a maze looking for flags whilst avoiding enemy cars. The graphics are screwy (especially without overscan), and the scrolling is probably the reason for the poor performance. You know the story, it's one of those games that makes me wish I had an upgraded ST.

Credit: Francois Lionet (whaaaaat?)

https://www.oric.org/software/driver-37.html

The sprites look odd unless that's normal? As ever, far too slow to play...

Galaxians

This shooter is by one of my favourite 8-bit companies, Softek. It's another game that is fully playable and emulated extremely well with decent graphics and sounds - albeit only for the original Oric computer. Okay, I'll now stop mentioning the lack of speed when using an Atari ST because I'm sick of repeating myself. If only my ST ran at 128MHz lol.

Credit: Gordon Russell

https://www.oric.org/software/galaxians-45.html

I had a few issues with this game, but it eventually worked with overscan enabled.

Ghost Gobbler

Hey, it may have a bizarre name, but it's still Pac-Man and a great version too! However, I'm not sure what Ian was on when he developed this game. After all, those lavish colours will drive anyone insane after a few games. Perhaps that was his plan? Who knows!! Anyhow, I do know that this is a great version of the classic arcade game.

Credit: Ian Hothersall

https://www.oric.org/software/ghost_gobbler-47.html

Who doesn't love Pac-Man? This is a great version for those with the hardware to run it!

Krillys

The file I found gave the impression this was a Defender clone, but it's nothing like Jeff Minter's wondrous release. In fact, it's more of a Scramble, which is excellent news to this fan! It appears to be very good, but the graphics are a little messed up. It plays well, and I can imagine a faster Atari computer would be fine booting this up for a quick blast.

Credit: John Cumming, Gary Munroe, Ian Marshall

https://www.oric.org/software/krillys-63.html

Something wonky has happened to the graphics, but it plays well enough.

Road Frog

I wasn't expecting this to beat the ST's 2016 release of Frogger, but I was expecting to play ... something. Sadly, this is one of the few games that crashes! Right after the loading screen, it pops up with this: "Syntax Error 500". Ah well!

Credit: Philip Hulme

https://www.oric.org/software/road_frog-87.html

This looked great, but it's one of the few games that produced an error message.

Velnor's Lair

An adventure game released by another of my favourite 8-bit companies, Quicksilva. Originally a Speccy game, from what the link tells me, although I have never previously heard of it. Now, don't expect graphics as this game is purely text and, as a result, is fully playable on the bog standard 8MHz Atari ST. Yippee, I am one happy bunny!

Credit: Derek Brewster and John Airey

https://www.oric.org/software/velnor_s_lair-574.html

There are no flashy graphics, and it's still slow lol. Thankfully, it's not that (hmm) bad!

The Warlock's Mountain

Believe it or not, this game was originally a Your Computer type-in from 1984 (remember that magazine?). Of course, being programmed in BASIC means it worked well in the emulator and was playable, to a degree. Well, I'm being generous, but you get like that after so much constant disappointment. Of course, play it on a supped-up ST for best results.

Credit: A.J. Edgington

https://www.oric.org/software/warlock_s_mountain__the-590.html

This is a game I'm keeping to play using the Mac emulator. It's different and I love that.

Hunchback

Yet another game by the mighty Ocean, and it's a cracker too. I loved playing the Speccy game, and the ST has some odd remakes. Sadly, like their Road Frog, this game had troubles. It froze right at the start of a new game. Bugger!

Credit: Philip Hulme

https://www.oric.org/software/hunchback-57.html

I was looking forward to this one as the Speccy game is a favourite of mine. Sadly, it froze!

Xenon 1

Don't even think about it!! This shooter is nothing like the Bitmap Bros' ST game. No, it's more of a Phoenix clone from what little I managed to see. Yeah, it really needs a beefy computer to run properly - and is better when overscan is enabled.

Credit: John Sinclair

https://www.oric.org/software/xenon_1-105.html

It's slow and impossible to play, but I imagine it's great on a real Oric.

Wizard's Lair

Like our Atari ST, the Oric is getting new games released and, by sheer chance, I stumbled upon a #roguelike by Rax & Iss. This game is incredible, but arghhh, I couldn't get the controls to work. I don't know why, because it appears to be running fine. Anyhow, I had to see more, so I booted up an Oric emulator for my Mac to take this screenshot.

(credit to Defence Force for the find: https://forum.defence-force.org)

I dare anyone not to be impressed with this Rogue game. It's a belter!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Oric computers are great and better than I expected. I mostly used the Atmos model as it's the same spec as the original computer, but with many bugs ironed out. In many respects, the Oric is much like a ZX Spectrum, but better. I wouldn't say it's as good as the C64 or Atari 8-bits, but it's close. What a massive shame it flopped (outside of France).

Atoric is a wonderful piece of software, and I've enjoyed tinkering with it. It's obvious that Christian put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into its production. The end result is impressive and complete - so it emulates the Oric remarkably accurately. He also included a configuration tool providing access to different features and basic defaults for hardware, paths, etc. The overscan ability is brilliant and eliminates the flickering due to the different resolutions.

Sadly, it's the speed that will disappoint. Oric games might be emulated accurately, but are unplayable on an ST. In fact, the Falcon/TT machines I set up in Hatari faired only slightly better. If I'm honest, I don't understand why that is, as the Oric runs at 1MHz, slower than the other computers we can emulate. Yet, the results are terrible by comparison.

However, that's not the point of playing with old software like this. A program like Atoric proves how vibrant and energetic the Atari ST scene was back in the '80s/'90s. Plus, I've had a blast wading through the Oric's gaming library. Okay, I played very few games, but it was an adventure. And one I've thoroughly enjoyed. Yes, I am insane. I know I am!!

Atoric is a magnificent program that I've thoroughly enjoyed. I only wish I had a faster Atari ST :/

I expect somebody out there wants to try Atoric for themselves? I genuinelly hope so!! I have bundled together everything that I've been using which you can download off my Dropbox.

Additionally, if you're after a bundle of Oric games, then grab 'em from Emu-Land.

If you're mad like me and enjoy using emulators on the Atari ST, let me know how you got on using the comments below. My options were limited by my humble 8MHz Atari STe and also Hatari. I would love to hear from you guys with better Atari computers regarding the performance.

Tecnoball

It's Brick Buster time!

TecnoballZ was published in 1991 by TLK Game and is a Breakout conversion developed by Pierre Denis. Oddly, I had never heard of this game until a good friend happened to mention it a few weeks ago (thanks, Paul). Sadly, I have no idea whether it was ever officially released over here in the UK. Does anyone know?

Okay, we all love a quick blast of Breakout/Arkanoid now and then; olde classics have stood the test of time for a reason. I would say Arkanoid is the most well-known, unless you're an ST guy, then it's perhaps Bolo. I'm always open to an alternative, especially when it's an Atari ST game I have never played before!!

Let's take a look at a screenshot with its strange colours and (ahem) something else...

Here, I held onto the ball whilst blasting the bricks with a weird laser weapon. Sweet!!

It's 1976 all over again?

The first thing that struck me was the overscan for a larger display. The brick-busting gameplay remains much the same. Each screen has a different collection of blocks that must be cleared using your bat and ball, and with each hit, points are earned with a chance of spawning cash, power-ups and sometimes enemies.

The mouse controls are great, precise and accurate as you would hope. However, it isn't long until you realise the physics is 'different' as the ball often doesn't react as expected. Manipulating strikes using the different parts of the bat doesn't work and might even force the ball to bounce in a different direction! That means it's tough finishing a level when only a few blocks remain! (There's a power-up in the shop to help with this)

Yep, a shop pops up after each level to offer goodies like extra lives, a bigger bat, weaponry, etc. It's possible to install extra bats on the remaining three sides of your screen! I like surprises like this, plus that silly idea reminded me of the chaos I suffered in Wacko Software's Video Games I. Innovation like this keeps the player interested, which is how I managed to clear several levels and defeat a couple of bosses!

Loads of balls! And green is a bit better in the next screenshot...

Check out my power-up pads on all 4-sides of the play area. It's mental!

Over-what?

Graphically, I like Tecnoball as it's futuristic in style and different from the original our Dads used to play ;-) Overscan has been used to great effect and provides a better experience, more arcade-like because of the extra screen space. The use of colour is good, and everything feels smooth, but I thought the blocks themselves lacked a bit of pizzazz. Sometimes I did wonder what they were thinking with the choice of colours.

Hey, I've not mentioned the guy in the status panel who freaks me out. Darn, I just did...

The effects are great with samples for the 'dinks', but there is no in-game chip music, so it's almost as quiet as the original. Even worse, there's no theme tune for the title screen, which I found very disappointing.

Let's see another screenshot, and this is something you wouldn't expect to see...

This is the first boss screen, and oddly, it features no blocks!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a fun take on the original, but the physics are peculiar, which acts as a "bug". At one stage, the ball hits an enemy (at the top of the screen), which then ricochets it sideways. The call began bouncing from left-to-right, in a perfectly straight line. Weirdly, that continued for about 30 seconds!! Luckily, it hit a wandering enemy that changed its trajectory, so I could carry on playing. Not very good, I'm sure you'll agree?

Having said that, this is still a great game and I enjoyed ploughing through the levels. The addition of a shop works well to provide a variety of extra features that help improve the game massively. Give it a try and see how it compares to your favourite version of Breakout. Let me know in the comments below.

• Download the Cobra #27 menu disc from Atari Legend.

Gotta love the artwork, and even this Game Over screen is in overscan.

PHF Rally 2 - Zero Bitplane

Sommarhack Awaits!

Say hello to a game without any pixels. What, a blank screen? No, everything is created with palette swaps, which is something I admit to not fully understanding. But the result is something quite unexpected and, if I'm honest, very cool. The screen is made using colourful blocks representing a winding road through forests, deserts, snow, night, etc. This style and transition remind me of Enduro on the Atari 2600.

PHF Rally II is obviously the (2024) sequel, and coded by Grazey (aka Phil Graham) of Psycho Hacking Force. This is a racer similar in concept to Spy Hunter, as we drive a "never-ending" road to Sommarhack in our Toyota Celica (I swapped that for my Ford Focus!!). Anyhow, the objective is to last as long as you can without crashing into the roadside. It's dead simple, but a ton of fun - and one I was actually quite good at (for once). The controls are easy; simply use the cursor keys to move left/right, and avoid crashing!

Running at 50fps, this is one slick racer zooming down your screen. It's fast-paced and probably too fast if it wasn't for the use of overscan. This means you can see a lot more of the road ahead, which compensates for the terrifying speeds! The result is perfectly balanced, making it both enjoyable and challenging.

You can play this on either computer, but (I thought) it looks best on the STe thanks to the superior palette. The use of overscan alongside this insane idea of zero bitplanes is what makes the ST scene so exciting and innovative, especially with the stunning chip music by gwEm (aka Gareth Morris).

PHF Rally II is superb and rated an engine-breaking 85%. Try to beat my high score if you can!

• Grab the download either from Demozoo or Atarimania.
• You should take a look at Psycho Hacking Force on Demozoo, an incredible archive!
• If you fancy playing the first Rally game, then click right here.
• If you have an Atari STe, then check out our list of other enhanced games.

Level one takes us through lush blocky woodland.

Oh no, winter appears from nowhere!

But we travel so far that we eventually reach the desert!

Who turned out the lights? Oh, is it nighttime already?

This is as far as I got, a rocky canyon (not far from Sommarhack?)

Can you beat me?