BeGEMeD

Dear puzzle fans, brace yourself...

Forget playing Candy Crush on your phone because something better is out on the Atari STe. It's called BeGEMeD and is a twist on the Bejewelled theme by Alexander de Vries It's a new game for the Atari STe with 16 beautiful colours and DMA sound effects. Those familiar with the genre will love this version because it plays brilliantly and is challenging - without irritation or frustrating mechanics. You'll be playing for hours!

The graphics were designed by Carnivac and it's difficult to believe that he only used 16 colours. The quality is superb so it appears there are far more on-screen. This talented use of colour is impressive. Accompanying the lush visuals is music by Dma-Sc, one of my favourite musicians and is mesmerisingly awesome. We also have familiar sound effects as we play. This includes samples letting us know how awesome we are.

Hey, let’s check out the readme…

Nice of you to visit this text, it will give you all the basic information you need to know to get started. Don’t worry it's easy so you will get the hang of it very soon!!

We are visiting Jack Bright, the castle lord of a medieval castle. He has already lived there for a lot of years and the castle needs some work. But his cash flow is a little bit on the downside so to earn some cash he has to swap gems for it.

He has lots of them hidden in his castle but it is a real mess. They are just piled on top of each other in no order at all. To swap them for cash he has to sort them out! But he can only do so if he has 3 or more of the same collection.

How does he do that? Well simple, just align 3 or more gems horizontal or vertical. For every successful swap, he earns those coins. Click the gem you van to swap with one of its neighbours and then choose the one you want to swap. Or even better just drag it over the other one by holding the mouse button, it both works...

As the coin meter reaches the top you have earned enough cash to go to the next level. The aim of the game is to reach the biggest high score of course.

The CryptO'pinion?

I contacted Alexander to thank him for developing a great game and... we got chatting... it was only a short time before I was beta-testing a new version - I'm thrilled to report numerous bug fixes and extra features.

This has been a blast because Alexander is a cool chap and I'm honoured to have played a (tiny) part in producing a fantastic and addictive puzzler. I'm confident with the following statement: BeGEMeD is one of the best Bejeweled games there is. A fantastic puzzler that looks and sounds as good as it plays.

AtariMania has the latest download

The first screenshot... what a nice display with lovely colour and design!

The second screenshot... Well, it kinda looks the same as the first doesn't it. lol

Saboteur III - The Egyptian Mission

Durell on the Atari ST?

Saboteur 3 was released in 2012 by Shadow Team for the Atari STe and Falcon (also STfm, if you have a Blitter and TOS 1.04). It was developed by George Lefèvre [Shadow 272] with graphics by Mister DID and music by Mathieu Stempell [DMA-SC]. Okay, I'll start by saying I'm a huge fan of Saboteur 2: Avenging Angel on the ZX Spectrum. It's a game I played to death and mapped - so I'm excited to see this release. Although I'm anxious and wondering how it will compare.

It's obviously an unofficial fan game based on the original games by legends Durell Software. Incredibly, it was programmed using GFA Basic. I know nothing of programming, but it seems the perfect tool for developers - to this day!

Saboteur III The Egyptian Mission takes us into an ancient world looking for fragments of a key to unlock a treasure-filled sarcophagus. However, (this might not be much of a shock), but somebody has rigged most rooms with traps! Beware of killer spikes and scary creatures like mummies, bats, and scorpions. So don't expect this quest to be easy!!

Let's pause the reading for a screenshot...

Ok, let's begin the mission... Yeah, that means killing Mummies!

Authentic or worse?

Each room is a pleasure for this oldskool gamer - it's like looking at a surreal retake of the original. I like the design layout employed by most rooms, and there's always something that needs to be kicked to death using my ninja skill set. Looking at the map, Saboteur 3 is smaller than the previous games on the ZX Spectrum, but who cares about that.

Movements are more or less what you expect, with a few changes - down/fire makes our ninja hit under the belt without using the kicking mechanic. A slight change, yet not damageable to the playability. In fact, the joystick controls are responsive, and I'm impressed with the fluency of our actions, helping make it feel authentically pleasing.

I expected differences, but some changes to the gameplay mechanics irk me - like falling off a ledge. That is instant death, rather than simply draining you of (replenish-able) strength. Yes, I miss that bar and wonder why it was dropped. Also, I fail to see the point of those large spikes that pop up to impale you each and every time. And even during mid-jump!! However, the most annoying oddity is the ladders because too many go nowhere and that's just absurd.

Quite harsh there, eh? Better calm down a bit and view another screenshot...

As you progress, things get odd and very difficult! Perhaps too difficult?

Aesthetics

Visually, it's superb, albeit overly colourful with too much yellow? Or is that how Egypt looks! However, I'm glad they didn't try replicating the original look and style (can you imagine the horror of mostly monochrome graphics?). The characters and their animations are great, which makes kicking the baddies to death - an absolute joy!

The in-game music is by Dma-Sc and thus a beautiful example of his extraordinary chiptune talent. I still would have liked an option for (DMA) sound effects to play alongside the music. But I'm now being rather picky, I guess?

I think we've got time for one more screenshot? How about one of me, dead...

Sooner or later, I usually end all my games looking this good! ;o)

The CryptO'pinion?

Saboteur 3 is a good platformer beat 'em up but, far from perfect. Sadly, I fear hardcore fans will enjoy picking at it, as many official Saboteur characteristics are altered or missing. However, this is still a great game in its own right, and I think that even Clive Townsend would enjoy playing this alternative take on his classic Saboteur. I sure did!!

A highly challenging platformer; admiringly recommended for both Saboteur fans and new Ninja wannabees.

Grab the download if you think you're tough enough!

I've recorded a cool gameplay video!