I enjoyed the STAX #90 feature so figured I would do another one! This time we delve into the Serenade archives to see what's lurking on one of their amazing 85 "PD" disks - nothing quite like keeping it legit? Anyhow, menu #78 appeared to stand out from the crowd with lots of cool games crammed onto one disk.
This is a simple menu compared to others from their catalogue but there is stereo music for those lucky enough to own an Atari STe. In fact, it's one of few mods that hasn't aged badly, so a massive thumbs up from this chiptune guy. The scroller is very interesting - apparently, Man Utd did well against their arch-rivals!
Serenade's library can be downloaded from Stonish with credits/etc on Demozoo. Let's begin...
A platoon of little stickmen have crash-landed on the planet Ursula Minor and this place is crawling with Ursulan Soldiers who are eager to kill you without mercy! Also, there are dangerous natural disasters to avoid so it's best we don't hang about and quickly repair our spaceship to escape this hellhole. This means piecing that together (JetPac-style!) before anyone can be safely evacuated. Sounds very easy, right?
Deadland first feels similar to Rebellion or Cannon Fodder: control the direction of your active soldiers using the mouse and a right-click turns them into trigger-happy Rambos. The planet is crawling with enemies and constantly frantic so it's tough battling whilst planning construction work - that might leave some vulnerable? It's easy to lose your bearings and, just when you're getting to grips, your men drown in a mud pool!!
The enemy is relentless so you cannot expect to wander about easily killing anything without taking a more strategic approach. Each member of your team is listed on the right-hand side of the screen for a health condition and other abilities. Don't forget to look after these guys - green is never good outside of the GEM desktop. There is a lot to master here, especially whilst defending against enemies, incoming rockets, mines /etc.
I enjoyed Deadland and the concept is great but this isn't something you can easily pick up and play. It takes time and a map would have been nice as would using the cursor keys to scroll. Yep, I have struggled to get to grips with Deadland but it's an excellent strategy and potentially rewarding. If you're brave enough?
I couldn't get this to work on my Atari STe - blank screen! So I switched to emulation to discover a Tron game. I've never been a fan of this genre but I gotta admit it's good. It features different game styles, screen layouts and even a few power-ups (which I didn't expect). There's not much to look at (shock) and I imagined the sound effects would grate, but they didn't. After all these decades, I actually enjoyed a Tron game!
Minesweeper was another fad that I have always failed to appreciate and Manic Minefield appears faithful to what I remember with gameplay that's about as enjoyable as I expected. Shockingly, after a few games, I enjoyed this crude imitator even though I never won a single game! I often felt robbed of a win because I'm sure the ST cheats!! Then it rubs salt into your wounds using a sound sample to mock your lack of success. Interestingly, the board size, wallpaper, /etc can be altered in the Options screen. Which is kinda cool.
Manic Minefield is okay and I imagine fans will enjoy it? But I doubt it's something I will play again...
Never would I have imagined loving a game's title more than "Hector vs The Mutant Vampire Tomatoes From Hell" yet here is Frank And The Lost Aubergine!! It's a fast-paced platformer developed using the STOS Missing Link extension and has us frantically running around screens crammed with monsters and gems.
Collect every gem to proceed onto the next level but watch out for the baddies. These can be killed by dropping a well-timed bomb directly in their path - difficult but doable. Or you could slam into them albeit at the expense of losing one of your 50 lives. Yep, 50 and you'll need them all because there are lots of monsters!
Movement is very fast - too fast!! It's difficult to position where to stand when you wish to leap off a ledge. In fact, leaping over the wider gaps is close to impossible and takes too many attempts. I love a platformer that tests your patience, skills and dexterity but it simply doesn't work here. A good idea poorly executed.
I love Space Invaders and I'm confident nothing will beat Sinister Developments' fantastic conversion. That is arcade-perfect using authentic effects!! However, this is a conversion of Roklan's 8-Bit Deluxe Invaders by one of the biggest ST legends. I've never played the Roklan game so was hoping for something different.
There are two modes: slow and fast. The slower game looks superb with colourful aliens invading your screen and can be sped up by flicking over to 60Hz - something you should consider. The faster version is better to play but appears boring in comparison, so I went looking for a green cellophane to wrap around my monitor!
Sadly, I didn't feel it with Deluxe Invaders and preferred the original if I'm brutally honest. It's a good game but, there are better "Invader" games for the Atari ST. Sigh, I'm also a bit deflated about that fact.
This is a great snake game I featured this a couple of years ago so I'll copy and paste it:
I really enjoyed this olde game but beware, it's tough. Probably too tough for you!!!
Groan, another Tetris game? Yup, and it's not that good I'm sorry to say so play BLAT or Teserae instead.
That was not an awesome ride through the Atari ST history books I first imagined. In fact, it was a little bit of a letdown, if I'm honest. Not only did I have compatibility problems with a couple of games (Atari STe) but this was a true mixed bag of joy, disappointment and even a few stinkers thrown in for good measure!
It all depends on what you like but, Deadland and Nibe are the best reasons to click download.
This is a simple menu compared to others from their catalogue but there is stereo music for those lucky enough to own an Atari STe. In fact, it's one of few mods that hasn't aged badly, so a massive thumbs up from this chiptune guy. The scroller is very interesting - apparently, Man Utd did well against their arch-rivals!
Serenade's library can be downloaded from Stonish with credits/etc on Demozoo. Let's begin...
- DEADLAND -
A platoon of little stickmen have crash-landed on the planet Ursula Minor and this place is crawling with Ursulan Soldiers who are eager to kill you without mercy! Also, there are dangerous natural disasters to avoid so it's best we don't hang about and quickly repair our spaceship to escape this hellhole. This means piecing that together (JetPac-style!) before anyone can be safely evacuated. Sounds very easy, right?
Deadland first feels similar to Rebellion or Cannon Fodder: control the direction of your active soldiers using the mouse and a right-click turns them into trigger-happy Rambos. The planet is crawling with enemies and constantly frantic so it's tough battling whilst planning construction work - that might leave some vulnerable? It's easy to lose your bearings and, just when you're getting to grips, your men drown in a mud pool!!
The enemy is relentless so you cannot expect to wander about easily killing anything without taking a more strategic approach. Each member of your team is listed on the right-hand side of the screen for a health condition and other abilities. Don't forget to look after these guys - green is never good outside of the GEM desktop. There is a lot to master here, especially whilst defending against enemies, incoming rockets, mines /etc.
I enjoyed Deadland and the concept is great but this isn't something you can easily pick up and play. It takes time and a map would have been nice as would using the cursor keys to scroll. Yep, I have struggled to get to grips with Deadland but it's an excellent strategy and potentially rewarding. If you're brave enough?
- TRAPPED II -
I couldn't get this to work on my Atari STe - blank screen! So I switched to emulation to discover a Tron game. I've never been a fan of this genre but I gotta admit it's good. It features different game styles, screen layouts and even a few power-ups (which I didn't expect). There's not much to look at (shock) and I imagined the sound effects would grate, but they didn't. After all these decades, I actually enjoyed a Tron game!
- MANIC MINEFIELD -
Minesweeper was another fad that I have always failed to appreciate and Manic Minefield appears faithful to what I remember with gameplay that's about as enjoyable as I expected. Shockingly, after a few games, I enjoyed this crude imitator even though I never won a single game! I often felt robbed of a win because I'm sure the ST cheats!! Then it rubs salt into your wounds using a sound sample to mock your lack of success. Interestingly, the board size, wallpaper, /etc can be altered in the Options screen. Which is kinda cool.
Manic Minefield is okay and I imagine fans will enjoy it? But I doubt it's something I will play again...
- FRANK & THE LOST AUBERGINE -
Never would I have imagined loving a game's title more than "Hector vs The Mutant Vampire Tomatoes From Hell" yet here is Frank And The Lost Aubergine!! It's a fast-paced platformer developed using the STOS Missing Link extension and has us frantically running around screens crammed with monsters and gems.
Collect every gem to proceed onto the next level but watch out for the baddies. These can be killed by dropping a well-timed bomb directly in their path - difficult but doable. Or you could slam into them albeit at the expense of losing one of your 50 lives. Yep, 50 and you'll need them all because there are lots of monsters!
Movement is very fast - too fast!! It's difficult to position where to stand when you wish to leap off a ledge. In fact, leaping over the wider gaps is close to impossible and takes too many attempts. I love a platformer that tests your patience, skills and dexterity but it simply doesn't work here. A good idea poorly executed.
- DELUXE INVADERS -
I love Space Invaders and I'm confident nothing will beat Sinister Developments' fantastic conversion. That is arcade-perfect using authentic effects!! However, this is a conversion of Roklan's 8-Bit Deluxe Invaders by one of the biggest ST legends. I've never played the Roklan game so was hoping for something different.
There are two modes: slow and fast. The slower game looks superb with colourful aliens invading your screen and can be sped up by flicking over to 60Hz - something you should consider. The faster version is better to play but appears boring in comparison, so I went looking for a green cellophane to wrap around my monitor!
Sadly, I didn't feel it with Deluxe Invaders and preferred the original if I'm brutally honest. It's a good game but, there are better "Invader" games for the Atari ST. Sigh, I'm also a bit deflated about that fact.
- NIBE -
This is a great snake game I featured this a couple of years ago so I'll copy and paste it:
NIBE is a Nibbler/Snake game by Marc Bourlon that features an ever-greedy snake who wants to chomp his way through lots of apples. However, this gluttony makes him grow longer with each bite so it becomes harder protecting him from bumping into walls or even his own tail. It's our job to help him eat his way through lots of screens - and many are pretty cruel in their design. You can even change the game's speed (if you dare!!)
Graphics are humble and suit the retro theme plus I love its title screen - which is actually a good intro. Sadly, there are no sound effects so Mad Max music plays throughout - never a bad thing!! Overall, Nibe is pretty straightforward and also extremely challenging thanks to a sinister design. Stick with it because the basic mechanics are spot-on and Nibe will certainly test your reactions, patience and concentration so prepare thyself to be tormented!!
I really enjoyed this olde game but beware, it's tough. Probably too tough for you!!!
- MULTRIX -
Groan, another Tetris game? Yup, and it's not that good I'm sorry to say so play BLAT or Teserae instead.
- The CryptO'pinion -
That was not an awesome ride through the Atari ST history books I first imagined. In fact, it was a little bit of a letdown, if I'm honest. Not only did I have compatibility problems with a couple of games (Atari STe) but this was a true mixed bag of joy, disappointment and even a few stinkers thrown in for good measure!
It all depends on what you like but, Deadland and Nibe are the best reasons to click download.
