Narco Police

Drugs... Guns... Violence!

I've always had a soft spot for Dinamic. I think it might be because they were one of those companies releasing games during my twilight ZX Spectrum years just before playing their Atari ST games. Along with games like Army Moves, they went on to make some belters, one of which is their 1991 hit shooter Narco Police.

In the future... or rather... back in 2003 most of us were apparently heavily dependent on hardcore drugs and this addiction made the dealers rich and powerful. Actually, I'm now getting a whiff of the recent scamdemic! Anyhow, the various nations of the world all got together to form an elite anti-drug unit: The A-Team. No, I meant NARCO POLICE who have been trained to rid this filth from existence. Yeah!!

Three Narco units are deployed to infiltrate the drug lord's hive located on a remote island, off Columbia. It won't be easy because they have invested in extra security, including marines and combat soldiers. You start with the 'option' of choosing your team's equipment and weaponry. Also, a map of the island allows you to view the landscape and choose the best entrance into its network of underground tunnels. Dare you enter?

Of course, you do so let's take a look at some earlier screenshots...

Don't forget to visit the armoury before heading out into no-mans land!

There's little to plan but at least we get to tunnel in like killer worm cops!

Walk... Shoot... Kill

In the tunnels, we encounter henchmen, security systems, and heavy artillery! As we venture deeper, the enemy will surprise us by jumping out from hidden sidewalls or falling down from the ceiling to ambush. Use the joystick to direct gunfire at their location and reign an onslaught of gun violence! Controls can take a little getting used to with movement feeling inelegant - but you will get used to dodging grenades in no time.

Other defences cannot be destroyed easily and require a tactical approach. (It's now that you realise your team needed the correct equipment). A terminal is available to enter basic control commands, such as 'C' (which stands for 'chopper') to display information about your teams. The 'K' command restores vitality. The 'M1' command is rather entertaining in sticky situations. A command list can be displayed using 'DIR'.

Don't be fooled into thinking this is a simple shooter; hold fire and blindly kill everything? Far from it and you will need to practice to make any kind of progress. After a few games, I found the controls great which helped me make headway deeper into the game. Very rewarding but reading the manual is essential O_o

Is this too demanding for a 16-bit computer to handle? Think again...

Come on, tell me you're not impressed by this floppy disk-based computer from 1985!!!

Aesthetics, long before Doom!

Visually, this is gorgeous with captivating locations with huge enemy sprites using great animation. Our soldier is stunning as we patrol the corridors - even with our suspect limp. It's not all perfect as some soldiers almost look like cardboard cutouts waiting to be shot. Other soldiers roll across your screen in slo-mo!

I've always had a passion for 3D shooters (especially the first-person variety) and, even though this is third-person, it's one I have enjoyed since the 90s. Narco Police actually uses a pseudo-3D engine that pushes our 8MHz CPU by using clipped graphics that increase as you walk, giving the illusion of movement. I remember drooling over my ST's keyboard the first time I got to see this in action!

The audio is fantastic with a stomping theme tune for an 80s retro-styled title screen. All in-game sound effects are made from impressive samples, however, it's odd walking without hearing the sound of my footsteps? Maybe I'm being picky and perhaps our hero is just too stealthy for his own good!!

This game looks and sounds brilliant so, erm, here are a couple more screenshots...

Hands up who would love a job as a Narco Policeman? No, me neither! lol

The perspective used in this game is so impressive but that doesn't stop me from dying!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a Christmas Cracker stuffed full of mayhem to get the blood flowing - all over the walls usually! Who doesn't enjoy killing henchmen and repetitive tunnel exploration? Sadly, Dinamic made yet another ludicrously tough game. Perhaps too tough? Maybe the Spanish are ultra-hardcore gamers but I need a trainer!

Having said that, I'm always drawn back into the tunnels, time & time again because Narco Police is a seriously addictive shooter. Sure, it's always predictable but, in a good way. Even though it's insanely tough, I cannot help but recommend it to those who love guns, loud explosions and plenty of killing.

A fistful of fun and I love it. This is an excellent shooter!!

Narco Police floppies & hard drive.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Ghouls? Ghosts? I'm outta here....!!!

Today I thought that I would entertain myself with a few games of Ghouls 'n Ghosts, a classic platformer and a fantastic Atari ST conversion by Software Creations for US Gold. However, I only ended up laughing out loud whilst I suffered numerous deaths in utter frustration! For those that have been living on another planet, this is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins, another game which I'm not particularly great at. Sigh... when will I ever learn?

This is a beautifully crafted conversion faithful to the original with rock-solid gameplay that will take many moons to master. The visuals are lovely with nice scrolling and superb sprites - who doesn't love it when Arthur bumps into a baddie and somehow loses his clothes? It sure doesn't make any sense but it has our 7-year-old laughing her cotton socks off which is a win in my book. In fact, all sprites are beautifully drawn with gorgeous details - just look at the buzzards as a wonderful example. Musically, Ghouls 'N Ghosts features captivating tunes and some of the most memorable I've ever heard. Just listen to the first level's music. Wow, it doesn't get better than this!!

Ghouls N Ghosts is such a tough game and also an arcade classic. The Atari ST received a fantastic conversion which looks great, sounds incredible and offers you the chance to enjoy the most frustrating action. Dare you accept this challenge? Of course, you do and those brave players can grab either the floppies or a hard disk version.

Check out these screenshots while you decide how brave you really are... Good luck!!

Clod Hopper

Big feet, big... shoes!

Clod Hopper was released through the Budgie UK label back in 1992 by scener Goth, aka Gary Wheaton. It's a platformer that features a fella called Bill who's in search of his girlfriend. She foolishly wandered off into the nearby plutonium mines which are inhabited by crazy creatures, numerous whacky puzzles, and dangerous hazards. Women, uh? Luckily, she left a convenient trail of footprints that we can use to track down our beloved. And save the day, of course!

Bounty Bob fans will love this game: each screen contains platforms that need walking over before we can exit and progress deeper into the mine. This isn't as easy as it sounds thanks to tricky level designs and cunning puzzle elements - these often need completing in a particular order. Watch out for those slippery slides, dangerous falls, and the nasty inhabitants who love getting underfoot. Thankfully, there are magical items we can collect that will render these creatures defenceless, if only for a short period of time (so think tactical before picking them up)

The third level features working machinery, necessary to operate to help you finish. It's a fascinating concept that works well but I doubt I'll ever see the fourth... Sadly, as with many older games, there is a time limit so don't dawdle for too long as Bill has about five minutes of air supply. I must admit, I hate them but this time limit is decent.

I would have loved to have shown you many more screenshots but Clod Hopper is a tough cookie alright. I managed to get onto the third level - which is a killer. I know how to complete it but there are many slides and ... just ... one ... wrong ... move!! ARGHHHHH this platformer is incredibly tough. But I'm blaming my wonky joystick! Ahem.

On that note, let's see some screenshots of this Bounty Bob platformer...

Level one breaks you in gently to paint those platforms with your feet...

The second level is far trickier and needs to be completed in the correct order.

The devilish third level. I know how to complete it but my skills deny me the pleasure!

Looks and Sounds?

Graphically, I admire Clod Hopper. The look and design are reminiscent of those early 8-bit days and this style works very well. Plus everything moves as smooth as silk with a console-like feel with awesome animations. The level designs took me right back to when I was a kid and without looking like a cheap or tacky ripoff. A superb 8-bit vibe throughout.

Along with the 8-bit feel and smooth performance, Gary uses overscan for the score/timer display!!

As for the audio, the music is absolutely beautiful using an Atari-Console quality that I loved. The effects are great, from the raspy level intro to all the other in-game sounds. A lot of effort went into how this game sounds!

Do you want more screenshots? How about a video recording and screenshots? Here ya' go then...

Check out this intro!

Can you make the hi-score table? Not on your first go, you won't lol

Would you believe it? Gary only lives up the road from me...

The CryptO'pinion?

Wow, have I enjoyed playing this olde platformer!! Of course, it will appeal to fans of Bounty Bob and indeed any console owner from the early/mid-80s because this quality platformer is reminiscent of the era for gameplay, sounds, and visuals. The effort and dedication that's gone into this shine through, to think it wasn't commercial. Outstanding!

However, there's always something to moan about, and my only gripe is the measly three lives - which aren't enough for such a challenging game. A game this tough needed many more because it's so damn difficult. I managed to reach level three but those slides are insanely tricky - one wrong move and there's no way back up again.

Having said that, this is a brilliant platformer and a freakishly outstanding old-school romp. Oh yeah, I loved it!!

- DOWNLOAD -

Army Moves

Reliving Christmas 1987

The last time I played Army Moves was probably on my Spectrum +3 before moving onto the Atari ST. I remember this coming as part of Ocean's Live Ammo and what a great compilation that was. However, it was extremely sluggish and very hard plus I was rubbish at it too. Yep, so I never managed to beat the first level (stop laughing).

Army Moves was developed by Dinamic, the same guys who brought us After The War, and this is a scrolling shooter with many ingredients 'borrowed' from a variety of great(er) games. It begins with us happily trundling over a damaged bridge in a surprisingly well-armed jeep. Firing the infinite supply of rockets at the constant flow of enemies whilst hopping over potholes in the hope of safely reaching the other side ...cough...Moon Patrol.. cough...cough!

I think we need a screenshot of this opening level so here it is...

The jeep is brilliant with realistic handling and fantastic leaping abilities! Yeah!! ;)

When variety isn't the spice of life!

The following level has us flying a helicopter over enemy territory that is protected by planes - who blindly shoot whether you're in their sights or not. The controls are agonisingly lethargic and it makes avoiding the enemy rather difficult. Oh, and don't forget to manually land on the helipad at the end - otherwise, you suffer a suckers death!

The next part is more of the same theme, ie nothing-you-haven't-seen-before. The final levels take us through the jungle avoiding grenades and silly buzzards before it flips into something resembling Joe Blade. Oh all the levels, I oddly enjoyed the first the most whereas others are far too tough with too many enemies.

Wanna see another screenshot? How about one that feels wrong as it scrolls in the wrong direction...

Reversed scrolling is pretty weird and doesn't feel right so makes stage two quite frustrating!!

Speccy aesthetics?

Visually, I quite liked Army Moves but that's probably because I'm fondly reminded of my colour-clash days on the old 128K Speccy? The graphics are barebones for the Atari ST but, I must admit, everything scrolls along nicely and I do like the detail in the sprites. The helicopter levels feature parallax scrolling, which is a neat touch I appreciated.

David Whittaker's music plays throughout and isn't his best work but is still good. Nuff said.

Honestly, I swear that jeep doesn't fly all the time!

The CryptO'pinion?

I like some of Dinamic's ideas here but it tries too much so doesn't seem to be great at anything. Plus they spoiled it with ludicrously-long levels which is made worse by being sent back to the start after losing a life!! Ignoring the nearly-fun Jeep stage, I find it difficult to recommend this game - just play Moon Patrol, Silkworm or Joe Blade instead.

Army Moves could very easily have been great but feels like a rushed 8-bit conversion offering little fun and a massive fist full of frustration. Unlike the Spectrum game, our conversion feels like a glammed-up quick port and one that lost much playability thanks to faster mechanics; scrolling, enemies, etc. I don't get it, what was Dinamic thinking?

Overall, the first level is the best but the rest of the game is far too difficult to be entertaining.

Wear camo and grab the floppies or hard disk version!

Jinks

This looks sucky!

Jinks appears as a horizontally scrolling 'Breakout' but is technically one of the worst Atari ST games. A shameful port by Rainbow Arts with incredibly jerky scrolling that is enough to make your eyes bleed after only a few minutes of horrendous gameplay. Honestly, it's that bad and I pity whoever spent their cash on this!

Thankfully, Peter Putnik has begun work on an Atari STe version that makes use of the enhanced hardware for far better results, which you can see in the video above. However, as with Son Shu Shi and After The War, all current copies of Jinks contain bad data so Peter is looking for somebody to supply an image of the original floppy disk. Then he is able to repair this piece of hiSTory for the enhanced STe version. Can you help?

• This work-in-progress is available on floppy and hard drive (Atari STe / TT / Falcon)
• If you want to torture your eyeballs then the original game can be found via Old Games Finder.
• Trusteft has a humorous recording of the original jerky game...

Collaboration Two

Oh no, not another disk?

Following on from last year's success, Collaboration #2 has just been released. The STatariART gang have been very busy and created even more funky pixel art - by many different people who kindly submitted their Degas dabbles. Heck, you will even see a few images from yours truly - brace yourself for the horror!! Don't get your hopes up :o)

A lot of hard work went into this production and it's always fantastic to see so many people coming together like this. People, like us, aren't often associated with the "scene" so let's hope we see many more disks. Any ideas? Contributions? Get in touch. Until then, Clickety-Click and download Collaboration #2 via Demozoo. Enjoy it.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments below...

- SAMPLE IMAGES -

r0x

Asteroids?

Set within deep space, you are Commander Perez who humorously finds himself alone in uncharted space during a meteor storm. R0x was designed and released in 2009 by NoExtra / RGCD and is an Atari STe game that requires quick reactions to pilot your spacecraft through a continuously hectic (and colourful) asteroid field.

Before you load it up - make sure you read the storyline within the 'Readme' file included in the download. What a brilliant read and it had me laughing at loud. It's truely superb!!

Hang on, this isn't Asteroids!

Okay, this isn't the arcade shooter that I first imagined. Instead, it's an avoid 'em that requires skill and careful timing to skim past hundreds of rocks that are about to zoom down your screen. It may sound simple but the rocks are flying furiously at great speeds and range from iddy-biddy stones to huge planet killers. There is a distance counter in the top/right of the screen and this indicates how long you need to survive before the level ends.

The longer you last, the faster the rocks move - many zooming diagonally - and all intent on squashing you into pieces. Your ship is equipped with a limited number of smart bombs to zap the local area when things get too hair-raising. This also offers a brief moment to rest from the rocky onslaught but it's not long before they're back!

This is different. I like different!

A range of bonuses are available for daring pilots to collect - bonus letters that spell out "EXTRA" for another life but watch out for the fakes, especially the blue one which inverts your controls! You shall also see Treasure Rocks, these look different to the rest and offer up points should you bump into them. There are even teeny cosmonauts floating helplessly in space just itching to be rescued - which is a lot harder than you will ever imagine!

Skilled pilots can scrape their ship alongside any rock for a massive hike in bonus points but the risk of being obliterated makes this a dangerous job. Interestingly, co-op is supported for those lucky enough to have friends or, like me, a gullible 7-year opponent who is eager to be my next victim!! This game mode also involves dodging more of those space rocks but with the added incentive to rescue 20 astronauts for the win.

For such a humble game the graphics are fantastic with beautiful colours and smooth movements by C-Rem, Heavy Stylus, and Templeton. Audio is the bee's knees with utterly fantastic chiptunes to drool over by Crazy_Q, TomChi, and DMA-SC. I will fight anybody that dares to disagree with me!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Shoot 'em up fans might initially be disappointed that R0X isn't ... well ... a shoot 'em up! Sure, it's a straightforward game at heart that is easy to pick up and play but very tough to master. Each level becomes progressively very challenging and I guarantee it's nowhere near as easy as you first imagined. The addition of mechanics like rock-scraping only adds to the appeal and longevity. R0x is unexpectedly different and tremendously addictive!

The latest version is available from RGCD along with everything else you need to know. Also, a secret menu is unlocked when your high score betters 800,000. Easy, right? Send in your screenshots!

Peter Putnik

Here is an interview that I am extremely excited to publish because Peter Putnik is a name paramount with Atari ST gaming mainly because of his hard disk adaptations. This means no more running games from an unreliable floppy disk!

I have been using his warez for a long time and ST gaming wouldn't be nearly as much fun without his efforts. The adaptations offer us the ability to install games onto our "hard drives" instead of the sluggish and failing floppies.

The experience is therefore far superior and usually comes with a trainer to help bad players (like me). Each game often comes with support for faster Atari computers which is incredible when booting up something like Frontier on my Mega STe. What's even more interesting is his 'Gamex' a method of snapshotting your progress instantaneously - kinda like an old Multiface!

I was surprised to hear about his past with not only the Atari ST but also ZX Spectrum. Two great computers form my own computing history. I hope you enjoy this interview with the man responsible for hundreds of adaptations and several outstanding Atari STe enhanced upgrades. I don't think there is anybody so active on the Atari ST scene. My sincere gratitude to Peter for taking the time out for a good chat.

- The PP Interview -

 

What is your Atari hiSTory?

My history started in 1987 when I decided to upgrade from a ZX Spectrum to something much stronger and the Atari ST was my first thought. However, the Amiga had just arrived in the shops so I was in dilemma, but not for long, the Atari ST had far better quality of software and the prices were almost equal. Also, the Atari seemed a better platform for some serious activity. I soon upgraded the RAM to 1MB and also added another floppy driver and made an EPROM programmer (a must for anyone dealing with hardware mods).

I already had some experience with ASM programming with the Z80 so I soon started on the Atari ST. 68000 ASM is really nice to work with, especially with a good assembler like Devpac. I wrote utilities for my own needs with help from Atari Profibuch book and created a floppy copier combined with a RAMdisk. Most learnings was via books and magazines, unlike today with easy software availability. Pirates were pretty much active in these days, even during 1988's PCW Show in London. :-) In Eastern Europe, they were the only source for computer software, I must say. I also wrote some articles for Yugoslav computer magazines during these early years.

What setup are you using these days?

Currently, I have one Mega ST, one STe and a Mega STe. The truth is, I don't use them much because they are very old and fragile and I've needed to repair them a few times, except the Mega STe which is indeed best built. The extra speed is welcome, even for games, although Mega STe was never intended for gaming. I bought this some 9 years ago, and I've since replaced the hard drive. Now used mostly with UltraSatan - much easier data exchange, less noise...

I mostly use the Atari computers to test and to play but my main tool for adaptations is using Steem Debugger and, without this, development would be much slower and harder. This emulator, equipped with a complete overview of emulated computer status, may see all hardware at any moment and following the program flow (even with history). Steem is a very good emulator, and luckily, a couple years ago they released sources so I was able to do some modifications for my needs. On the real hardware, there are limited possibilities of tracing, especially with some software working in very low RAM. Older computers have too low a resolution with a small screen area but there are some things I can not do with my PC: GAL and EPROM programming - where I still use Atari and old programs.


History of your famous game adaptations?

Adapting games started during my Spectrum years actually. However, there was not much to adapt but POKE was popular to exploit the code which decreases a player's life count and the like. I also made a snapshot saving program which was in fact very-very simple and only needed to save the RAM and CPU registers to then restore from where we wanted to play. I did it with faster routines, so loading only took some 2 minutes instead 5. :-) Next step was when I added a floppy interface to the Spectrum and then I wanted to transfer all good games onto floppies. So, basically same thing as the Atari ST with game adapting, except that this was way easier because Spectrum software was singleparted in 99% cases and that means no further loading was required after starting the game. I transferred hundreds of games onto floppies very quickly - one disk could store over 20 games, using compression. Next step was adding hard disk like with Atari ST and I designed my own IDE adapter...

In case of Atari ST games, it was more time consuming, some 60% do not directly access the hardware but instead TOS functions for floppy access. This means it was sometimes simple but other problems might arise, like TOS version incompatibilities, RAM usage, etc. Again, it was easiest with singleparted games, so my first hard disk adaptations were with such games that didn't have any disk access after loading - like Stunt Car Racer and Sentinel. Afterwards, I made adaptations using a RAMdisk for faster loading before the later adaptations, like Formula 1 GP.

Incredible results achieved but why did you begin this?

I started all this because I wanted to get rid of unreliable and slow floppies. The real leap was probably the arrival of Flash cards, so we can now have small, silent, fast, cheap storage. I started to deal with them right at beginning - first one was 8MB Smart Media card in 2004. :-) I certainly did not plan, or expect, that it would reach a count of over 1000 adapted games!


What are your favourite games?

I first played Flight Simulator II which I bought together with Atari ST. Then I was playing Dungeon Master, Carrier Command, Millennium 2.2, Formula One Grand Prix and not forgetting Potsworth & Co.


What other stuff have you created?

My first serious software was MC Tracer, a debugger, for the ZX Spectrum. It could run any software, step by step, and there was a circular buffer feature to store the last 100 executed instructions. What's interesting is that I made almost the same relocating system (it must working at any RAM area) as what is used in TOS executables :-) Also worth a mention is my Spectrum modded ROM - for floppy and hard disk (all available at zx48.8bitchip.info).

For the Atari ST, I first made some floppy utilities and then a hard disk driver, which is still under development. I did some Windows utilities for accessing and transferring data with Atari ST formatted floppies and also hard disks. Soon after the Internet became accessible in our area, I started a website for my Spectrum and Atari ST projects. The site moved couple times during years, I hope that current place will stand for a long time.

Any current hardware projects?

I have many plans but things are moving slowly, especially with hardware. Mostly I would like to finish old projects, like the cartridge port IDE adapter and ACSI port CF adapter. No specific STE projects currently, but the cartridge adapter works better on STE and movies look much better. :-)


What's your favourite hardware creation?

My personal favourite ... hmm it could be the IDE hard disk adapter for Sinclair Spectrum because that was good exercise with GAL programming. For the Atari ST it would be the cartridge IDE adapter.


As a programmer, who inspires you?

I don't think that I was particularly inspired by a particular programmer but there are certain names I associate with high quality. Games by Costa Panayi, Andy Pennell for Devpac ASM and Geoff Crammond for his good simulations.

What about the Atari ST/e future?

My concern is that real Ataris will not last much long. More and more people will use emulators or clones like Mist. Still, adaptations can make playing a lot easier on both. I think doing STe-improved versions of games seems the right choice now. However, this can be very time consuming, I started Uridium couple years ago and simply disassembling it properly took a couple days. I then had to put it on ice because of a lack of time but, luckily, I was finally able to finish this recently.

Other problems are a lack of sources for better sound effects and corrupt or missing original disks. We need flawless images to work with for so many games, like Son Shu Shi, Jinks and others. Thankfully, we recently got Giana Sisters, the internet is a great thing and we need to work together. :-)

Links...

 - I often use Peter's 8BitChip adapted games and all are listed right here!

 - There is an 8BitChip Forum you can join and a YouTube Channel with many adapted games.

 - Have you seen Peter's Atari STe versions of Xenon 2, Cannon Fodder, Dungeon Master, etc??

Sideways

An unreleased gem!

Sideways was developed by Jamie Woodhouse but unfinished and (obviously) unreleased. Actually, it's very close to being a finished product and something of a cross between Uridium and Return To Genesis; a fast-paced shooter with graphics ripping along at 50fps! I'm saddened this was never released as it proves that the Atari ST can perform brilliantly in the hands of a talented programmer. Yep, no lame port!

What a shock it was booting this up for the first time. It's impossible not to be impressed by this ridiculously exciting shooter. The controls feel natural and responsive with precise turning and acceleration - better than Uridium!! Each level is stuffed with baddies and power-ups for increased firepower, shields, weapons, etc. However, not everything has been implemented as this is an unfinished game.

Any shoot 'em up needs great mechanics to deliver a thrilling experience and Sideways has that by the bucket load. I feel Sideways is better than either of the above-mentioned games, albeit unfinished. If you favour a shooter to be nothing less than FAST and FURIOUS, this game was made for you!!

This is a superb shoot 'em up. Unfinished or not, it's absolutely superb! Get it downloaded right now.

- Download Sideways -

Demoscene poster

Your mancave needs this!

The most amazing demoscene poster has been updated again. If you have never seen this before you should take a look and download it! Clickety click to view this jaw-dropper by Gregory le Roux (HMD!!)

For those who may not know who this chap is (where have you been?), visit Demozoo...

Wasabim

FantaSTic ArtiST

It's always great to see somebody start up a new Atari ST site and today we have one by Aurélien Vaillant, aka Wasabim (I dare you to say that after a few beers). His website will feature each of his various artworks along with those awesome videos, many of which begin with the box cover coming to life - that never fails to impress. Incredible talent!

Clickety click right now to take a gander through the Wasabim website... Enjoy!!

Dodgy Box Art

  

Strange box art!

Today I thought I would sort through some of my Atari ST games to choose the ones which had the funniest artwork. One is an odd movie spoof whilst the other gives me goosebumps. Seriously, it does make you wonder what these two companies were thinking when they agreed to release these games. Come on, surely they were having a laugh?

• Leatherneck takes the biscuit for most camp cover art ever and what happened to his weapon? It's a relief the game is good with multiplayer support and sample sounds. The graphics are smooth and the chipmusic is downright beautiful - a timeless quality. Sadly, the one-directional shooting makes it incredibly tough. If you like Leatherneck then you might enjoy Fernandez Must Die.
• Galdregons Domain gets the award for its Conan rip-off artwork. It's a little like Dungeon Master in a land where evil has been unleashed, yet again. We've been chosen to battle the minions and recover five precious gems to save us from peril. Aesthetically gorgeous, this dungeon crawler isn't bad and once you've got over its learning curve. A much-underrated adventure.

Right then, if you're feeling creeped out by these two "works of art", then click here to remedy that. Enjoy ;-)

Beyond The Ice Palace

Brace yourself for a corker!

I think everyone has played Beyond The Ice Palace at some time in their life? I got mine free with my first Atari ST computer. Until that day, I was a Spectrum user, so I'm sure you can imagine the look on my face when first loading the ST version with its colourful graphics, smooth scrolling and jazzy sound effects. It was something else I can tell you!

Much like Ghosts & Goblins, this is a scrolling-platformer that involves three monster-infested levels. But there is something special about this platformer because Elite has everything spot-on perfect with awesome joystick controls to the vast variety of enemies within its tricky levels. It's interesting and playable so why couldn't every platformer be this good?

Right then, let's break this pointless trip down memory lane with a couple of funky screenshots...

I knew this game was gonna be great from the start but choose your weapon carefully.

Hey, I think I've found a severed head!! Hmm, what could it possibly be?

Play the game

The first level is a trip through scary woods and is pretty much the typical platformer environment with lots of peculiar baddies to encounter with a freaky end-of-level boss. Actually, each level follows the same formula with interesting places and many monsters to shoot/avoid/run away from. The second and third levels are, more or less, the same: a vertically scrolling cavern filled with hideous creatures before eventually reaching the wicked witch.

You're not alone: a good spirit can be summoned which helps clear the screen of the baddies. There are only so many times you are allowed this feature - a funny face is displayed in the status bar when one is ready to use. So choose your moments wisely when you are most vulnerable - then watch it zig-zag down your screen-killing baddies.

Ice Palace isn't complex but can sometimes be tricky due to awkward mechanics. For example, the blue demon is quite irritating as he cunningly appears just as you begin to use the elevating platforms. My advice is to leap off just at the moment he appears as it's easier to kill. Otherwise, you are stranded on the platforms and very vulnerable.

Hey, I think that we need two more screenshots of our hero with his flowing blonde locks...

Argh, you've blown it by staying on that life. Now the battle is much harder!

Oh no, here is the end-of-level green worm guardian!

A 16-bit jaw dropper

I've always felt the graphics were extraordinary for the period as they perfectly demonstrated our superiority over the 8-bit computers. The 80s were an era of no-lame Amiga ports, so this game has been programmed well. The scrolling is smooth, but the backgrounds are basic. However, each level looks great with gorgeous sprites. Heck, even dying is a beautiful moment, and I'll never tire of the flicky death effect as my soul ascends into heaven. An amazing effect.

The sound effects are ravishing, with a sharp arcade-like quality throughout. David Whittaker's music plays alongside the sound effects using a technique we saw in Xenon. After all, there are only 3 channels. The music is awesome.

So it plays brilliantly while also looking and sounding superb. What a game, eh? Screenshot time...

Level two ramps up the difficulty with weird wolfmen roaming the labyrinth!

Let's leap for joy, for we have collected another severed head!!

The CryptO'pinion?

I've sometimes found that Beyond The Ice Palace is a much-underrated platformer. This is odd because it holds a special place in my retro-gaming heart. Why? Well, it was one of the first games I booted up on Christmas morning in 1988. Just imagine how I felt seeing its graphics and hearing that music - they blew me away. What a time that was!

After all these years, it's still great fun and completely addictive thanks to great joystick controls, smooth scrolling and variety in gameplay. The only downside is the size of each level - I wish they were bigger.

Okay, he might wear cute green boots but I guarantee you will love this platformer. A cracking game!!

A Midi tune of the awesome game music.

Maps for the ZX Spectrum game, aren't needed but nice to have.

Downloads are available for hard drive installation or floppies.

My Hi-Score. Can you beat me????? No, you cannot! ;p

Popstars by YM Rockerz

Living the dream!

Yesterday I had a demoscene night and relived the old glory days. When we eagerly await the postman's delivery of floppy disks - from Demo Club and other Atari ST PD libraries. Fun times with beauties like Anomaly, European, Punish Your Machine, Antiques and Rising Force. Also, I re-enjoyed some cool animations like Rippler, Newton's Cradle and Walker. I then finished off listening to Popstars by the awesome YM Rockerz. What you can hear for yourself, is ace!!

Yup, this is my rock and roll lifestyle... Well, when the wife and kids are out! :^)

Credits

Popstars by YM Rockerz :

505 - Music

Crazy Q - Music, Text

Dma-Sc - Music

Dubmood - Music, Text

Exocet - Graphics

Frazer - Music, Text

Frequent - Music

Lotek Style - Graphics (ASCII), Music, Text

Nemo - Music, Text

Tao - Code, Music

gwEm - Music, Text

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more Atari ST demos :)

Thrust

Reliving my college days!

The thumping chiptune of the day is awarded to Thrust!! Let me explain... Earlier, I enjoyed a couple of plays and now must suffer the reward of having its funky music booming through my tiny mind. Yep, I just can't get it out of my head lol. Well, it's a good job then that it's one of my favourite Rob Hubbard masterpieces.

I love Thrust but I don't recall many rave magazine reviews? Probably because it didn't appear that much of a technical improvement over the 8-bit games? For me, that's good because it's perfect. Any cosmetic changes would have been a huge mistake. Remember Chuckie Egg 2, a shocking 16-bit disaster!

Thankfully, Thrust isn't like that. It's still a great game with tough mechanics and hugely addictive gameplay. I love it and so will you because it's a cracking game. It's as good today as it was back then - I should know, I spent most of my college years in the 'library' playing Thrust on a BBC Micro instead of studying!

It looks funky, sounds boomtastic and plays great so is a timeless classic for the Atari ST. Love it!!

D-Bug has a version of Thrust that you can install onto a hard drive/ultrasatan.

Those that need the floppy disk can check out Old Games Finder.

SNDH Record is the place if you fancy driving yourself crazy with this gorgeous chiptune?

Masochists can download it to play later, courtesy of the SNDH Archive. All good fun :-)