United States Navy SEALs

You'll need big-boy pants!

This is a game with few friends: Navy Seals is deceiving, and my first impression is of an arcade-style platformer. However, this Ocean gem is anything but a typical run-and-gun 'em. It's more ruthless and requires stealth, strategy, and tactics. Extreme perseverance is the order of the day because this game requires a committed player willing to spend many hours mastering the levels. Are you feeling scared?

Then don't bother carrying on reading this. Wimp out, and play something easy.

What? You're still here? Good, continue on as you're obviously a real SEAL...

Taking down scumbag terrorists is all part of the job when you're a member of the US Navy SEALs. The mission requires us to sneak into the lion's den, kill everyone, and plant explosives to destroy their stockpile of missiles. Each map is a layout of platforms within a maze of trigger-happy bad guys.

Use covert tactics - so play slowly and carefully to learn the enemy's location. Many practice games will be required to plan the best route from start to end. This is vital and the only way to successfully complete the mission. This is not easy, so it will not appeal to a casual gamer, who will run away crying!

After wiping away your tears, take a moment to steady yourself. Some games, like The Immortal, are designed to be played through trial and error. Navy Seals is exactly the same. Play a game, progress as far as you can, and make notes. Review those notes and play again. You'll advance further and create new notes. Repeat this process, and you’ll beat this challenging game in no time. Honestly, it is doable ;)

Let's take a look at the first screenshot with gorgeous details against its grungy colour palette...

I love the layout of the first level. This is an absolutely fantastic design!

Aesthetics

Navy Seals is a babe with gorgeous visuals that ooze a style I admire. I love the beautiful character animation as you run, leap, climb, and sneak about. Each level complements the environment and feels like something from a cheesy 80s B-movie! Heck, even the screen showing me dead is great. Yep, I said that.

Sound effects do their job well, and the music is an excellent chiptune to bop along to. Like it a lot!!

Hey, it's time for a screenshot. How about one you will see a lot? Here you go...

Don't expect to beat this game on your first attempt. Or second. Or third...

The CryptO'pinion?

This is such a difficult game, but I found myself enjoying the challenge. Each level requires the player to learn all aspects thoroughly, so don't expect a cakewalk. There are two drawbacks to Navy SEALs: the harsh time limit. And I don't understand why Ocean didn't include a way to unlock each level with passwords?

Navy SEALs won't appeal to the casual gamer, as it requires a lot of playtime and strategic planning to figure out an efficient route through before the dreaded timer expires. Can you do it? I hope so because Navy Seals is a rewarding game, albeit brutal. In fact, brutal might be too namby-pamby a description for this?

Gamers were tougher in the 80s and 90s. Navy SEALs prove that fact.

• Hard drive installable versions are available from both D-Bug and 8bitchip.
• Floppy disk games can be found using Old Games Finder.
• Cheating time:

             > Type in WOZZIE into the high score table to activate the cheat mode.

             > Begin a new game. Press W for weapons or RETURN to advance a level.

• Some tips:

             > Dawdle when learning the maps - slow and steady wins the race.

             > Play draft games and make notes of the most efficient route!!

             > Practice! Practice! Practice! Practice! :-)

WANTED

I'm John Wayne!

Wanted was released by Infogrames in 1988 and is a Gunsmoke rip-off with hints of Commando or Ikari Warriors. Ignoring the start and its dreadful music, we begin as a budding John Wayne wannabe, strolling through the Wild West. The town is inhabited by outlaws, and we have a gun. Heaven.

Set in the lawless heart of the Wild West, Wanted places you in the dusty boots of a lone bounty hunter determined to bring order to a frontier overrun by ruthless outlaws. Armed with little more than quick reflexes and sharp shooting, your mission is to track down dangerous criminals, survive chaotic gunfights, and prove yourself as the fastest draw in the territory. Watch out, this is a harsh world where every saloon door could conceal danger, and every showdown could be your last. Hmm, how very dramatic!

Unlike Ikari Warriors, the screen will automatically scroll as the action comes thick and fast. Whack on the fire button and shoot your way through Dodge City, but watch for enemies' bullets! These are the slowest bullets on the planet, but are extremely precise - I somehow always managed to walk into them. Arghh!! Thankfully, power-ups are available after shooting barrels, where you'll find weapons, shields, etc.

Wanted is a good vertically scrolling shoot 'em up, and fans of Gunsmoke will love it. Be warned, it's difficult (and there are better games on the Atari ST), but there is something curiously likable about it. I enjoyed it, so download the hard disk version from 8BitChip with floppies available via Atari Legend. 

Fwiw, I've actually been to places like Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge City... Yeehaw!!!!

Cannon Fodder [Atari STe update]

Ugh, another lame Amiga port

Cannon Fodder should have been far better for the Atari ST. Alas, it was a rushed, lame-ass port. However, cry no more tears, for Peter Putnik has upgraded the game to support audio playback of 25KHz digital music - yes, during gameplay. This is making use of the DMA audio hardware lurking inside the Atari STe, and (because it's a coprocessor) there is no CPU usage. Thus, zero impact on the game's performance whatsoever.

Storage requirements are too much for a floppy! So an Ultrasatan or other hard drive device is needed to store the music - this can be anything; instructions are included on how to use and convert something from your library. It's dead easy to do using Audacity. Click on my teaser video above...

What an incredible upgrade! It's something else to experience the game with real music blasting out from your speakers. However, I'm gutted that our lame-ass Cannon Fodder is a pile of rubbish with flick-screen scrolling. Sensible Software should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such a terrible port.

I hope Peter uses this technology again for other Atari ST games. The possibilities are endless!!

U P D A T E

After all these years, we now have a decent version. Yes, with scrolling!!

https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/2026/03/cannon-fodder-wip.html

Tomtar

Tom...what?

Tomtar is a shooter released in 1993 for the Atari STe by UTEN (NewCore, XiA, Toxic Twins & Unit 17). A "tomtar" is a gnome, and they breed like bacteria, so they will eventually take over the world unless something is done! We asked the Grim Reaper for help, but there are too many for him to handle, so we needed divine intervention - in the form of a machine gun!! Yep, we all know where this is going, so let's lock and load to help the mythical Reaper destroy the Tomtars in what I can only describe as the craziest 5 minutes of your life.

In the right corner of the screen is an Orch - kill it to advance to the next level. Use the mouse to shoot, but beware, this isn't going to be easy, because these little critters can walk, run, bounce, and fly across the screen. Controls work well with the mouse, but I would have preferred the right button to perform another function like throwing a grenade; this would have been superb... The gameplay becomes frantic and chaotic the further you progress, but I must admit that it's a shame the spooky backdrop doesn't change.

A stupid game that offers nothing more than a maddening few minutes blasting Tomtars. It's brilliant (esp using real hardware) for a few plays. Grab it from Demozoo (which also has a cut-down FM version).

My high scores are:

78,250 (under emulation)

94,740 (using my Atari STe).

What are yours? Can you beat me?? Didn't think so...

SNDH Players

Chipmusic

I love listening to SNDH chiptunes on my Atari STe, but it recently occurred to me that many didn't understand which player to use. Here are four fantastic Atari ST/e GEM programs to play your toons.

There could be more lurking within the archives, but these are the four I enjoy using for different reasons. The last one I usually use when I'm writing on my Mac! My greetings and all credit to the people who made these superb programs. Okay, all links are included, and I hope you find something here you enjoy...

~~ JAM ~~

Quite possibly the most well-known of all the players and deservedly so because it's brilliant with a modular design to handle a wide variety of file formats. It sounds great but looks rather plain jane. Thankfully, there is also a version which doesn't use GEM and is far prettier. (download)

JAM never ceases to impress with massive versitility and capability.

~~ SND Player ~~

It might look ugly in the 4-colour medium resolution but I like this program and it sounds just dandy. I found this to be a reliable player and it looks best in Low/High resolutions. (download)

I love using SND_Play and it's such a sexy looker in ST High. 

~~ GEMPlay ~~

is a "Lite" version of YesCREW's Falcon player. Some features are removed because the ST/e has no DSP Processor but it plays SNDH tunes perfectly fine. It's another program that proves how ugly ST Medium is so I recommend Low/High resolution! (download)

Once again, another beauty that plays your tunes perfectly. 

~~ KrapSNDH ~~

Such simplicity. Set it up as an Application for the .snd file format within GEM. Now double-click any sound file for instant play. No fancy interface but it's fast and a great player! (download)

Ignore the look. This is simple and works like a dream. So fast, I use it all the time.

Flip-O-Demo

Flip Flop Demo

I'm starting my weekend with the exquisite Flip-O-Demo by Oxygene/Diamond Design because it's been updated to support hard drive installation. Originally, it was released in 1993 and contains some of the best artwork and visual fx you could imagine - all whilst playing lovely audio by one of my favourite musicians.

Flip-O-Demo is certainly one of the best examples of Atari ST creativity. Grab it from Demozoo.

Credits
Jess - Music
Leonard - Code
MoN - Graphics
Niko - Graphics
Oxbab - Code
Scavenger - Music
Spiral - Graphics
Wilfried - Graphics

Goldrunner

Fuzzy speech, be gone!

I love Gold Runner; it's a technical masterpiece by legend, Steve Bak. He proved that when in the hands of a talented programmer, the Atari ST is more than capable of producing wondrous results. Other (lame) people would whine and complain, but Mr. Bak got the job done. Perfectly every time, I might add.

Honest time, I'm terrible at this ultra-fast-paced shoot 'em up (shock!!). Plus, I was never fond of that dreaded fuzzy speech. It was fine back in the day and is humorously entertaining, but it soon wears thin and distracts during gameplay. Perhaps I'm old and grumpy, but I've never really liked it. Sorry!

Good news: Peter Putnik has updated Goldrunner for hard drive installation and an option to disable the speech!! All you gotta do is press the F3 key, so clickety-click and download this update to the ST classic.

PacMania

Popping pills & chasing ghosts!

Pac-Mania was released in 1989 by Grandslam, a faithful conversion of the arcade classic. It was generally well-received and offered a fresh take on Pac-Man. Instead of the familiar overhead 2D perspective, players experienced the game from a spanky isometric viewpoint, reminiscent of games like Knight Lore. Furthermore, the expansive play area featured scrolling, propelling Pac-Man into the modern era.

Pac-Man must battle his way through several strange worlds, such as Block Town and Sandbox Land, gobbling pills while evading an ever-growing cast of colourful ghosts. Unlike his original arcade outing, Pac-Man can now jump, giving him a chance to leap clean over enemies and adding a whole new dimension to his familiar quest. Beneath its stunning, cartoon-like appearance lies a frantic race for survival, as Pac-Man once again fights to clear each maze and outwit the relentless chasing ghosts hot on his heels.

Sadly, the Atari ST version of the original arcade game has a smaller screen due to the absence of Blitter/hardware scrolling. Consequently, it featured a status panel that we didn't really need. However, don’t let that fool you; the game still boasted smooth scrolling and was definitely not a lame port.

Here is a screenshot of the original ST game (I've left in the top/bottom borders for a reason)...

It looks great, albeit with that overly large status panel taking up lots of space.

What if there was an STe version?

I’m glad you asked. Samuel (also known as Zamuel_A) has created an upgrade specifically designed to maximise the Atari STe’s enhanced hardware. The gameplay now takes place in overscan, dramatically expanding the playable area. This silky-smooth 50fps scrolling, thanks to hardware scrolling in all four directions (a much-underused feature), truly transforms the experience. A jaw-dropping moment!

That’s not all, though. The Blitter helps with the sprites, and the DMA hardware plays sampled sound effects while our beloved YM2149 produces wonderful chiptunes – much better than stodgy Tracker MODs. Technically, this is truly impressive, and I’m sure Samuel has utilised every computer component.

Wanna see how it looks compared to the original? Of course, so scroll down a little further...

This is how the game appears on the Atari STe using overscan and all the other goodies!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is what happens when a talented chap takes a great game and reconstructs it in remarkable ways. The results are astounding, and I doubt any software house outside Thalion would have been capable of getting such results. This is one of those sad moments when I ponder Atari not releasing the STe in 1985.

The original PacMania is a great game and a decent conversion. However, Samuel’s upgrade has completely transformed the original. It’s a modernised version of our yellow friend for the 21st-century retro gamer, and it’s impossible not to be impressed by Samuel’s dedication and hard work. It's quite mind-blowing.

This is a captivating revamp of the classic favourite and far more enjoyable than ever. Superb STuff!!

Downloads are available at Atarimania!

YMT Play

Let's bleep and bloop the night away!

What better way to end a great Christmas than listening to cool chiptunes using YMT Play by Peter Jørgensen (aka Bionic Nerd). This program features YM music data streaming, like the typical ST-sound playback, using a sound range from 50Hz to 300Hz and with very little CPU usage. The quality is outstanding, and I'm sure you will find its potential interesting and an exciting concept. Go and download YMT from Demozoo.

What is YMT?

"YMT files are like the YM/AY files. Music files where you sampled data from the sound chip register (YM2149/AY8910) in a certain interval, instead of having a dedicate player.

To my knowledge, there has only been YM/AY player that could play tune/score files, that was sampled at 50HZ, but the YMT player can play files up to 300hz (there are some 50hz+ tunes/scores include in the examples)

The advantaged of AY/YM/YMT format, is that to replay these tunes/scores cost very little CPU power. So, if you need a lot power for a eg. a 3D demo, then it could be a wise choice to use it, because it leaves most of the CPU power for 3D calculations and the graphic etc.

The disadvantaged is that it uses a lot of memory, and it is nearly impossible to make a routine that can capture and use the SID sound and Samples etc. It is also why those files need to be hand made, that is the reason why YMT-Player only support pure YM2149 sound."

Annihilator

Homebrew games suck, right?

I was always fascinated by what assortments of goodies I could find within the ST's public domain. I scoured the various PD Libraries trying to find either the next big thing or something obscure that would take me by surprise. Who remembers Goodmans, FaST Club, Democlub, LAPD, and many other libraries?

Amazing times, and the Atari ST is blessed with a gigantic and assorted Shareware/PD library. That includes a fantastic gaming section, and here is one such example: Annihilator by Robert HC Leong. This is a classy shoot 'em up, released in 1991 through the esteemed Budgie UK label (a company I genuinely miss).

The gameplay feels instantly familiar, with lots of baddies swarming about. They're called Insectoids, not Galaxians, no matter what you think! The controls are responsive: moving left/right dodges their attacks, whilst hitting fire will shoot the cannon. Killing aliens is never boring, but remember to look out for power-ups that replenish your ship's shield and increase firepower. There are even end-of-level bosses!

Robert coded in a level skip cheat...

It's easy to activate: just pause the game using the spacebar.

Now hold shift and press keys F1-F10 for the required level.

Annihilator is a tremendous blast back to the early 80s. In fact, it's almost as good as I would expect from a commercial company, with exciting gameplay, smooth-as-silk visuals, and fluent controls. Budgie UK has tons of great games, and this is one of the best in their library. Definitely worthy of a Crash Smash rating!!

Waste no more time and get Robert's game download from the GamerBlitz website.