Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters

B-movie gaming

Evil Reptilons are hell-bent on destroying us humans and taken hold of Planet X. They've enslaved much of the population, forcing them to build a robot army for an invasion. Jake and Duke are two heroes with a simple plan: destroy as many robots as possible, trash the computers, rescue cute girls, and save the day.

Robot Monsters is played in a fashion similar to other 3D isometric games you might have seen going back to the days of Knight Lore. Imagine a pinch Buck Rogers with a dollop of Gauntlet and you get the idea. The goal is to rescue the humans, without forgetting those held in stasis pods! Along the way are traps designed for us soft fleshy humans: sharp spikes, rotating chunks of metal, and electric floor panels.

All this is going on whilst Planet X constantly spawns enemy robots. Yes, the alien hoard is relentless so you better be quick on the trigger otherwise you will be overrun. It's insane, but it works. And it works better than other games that employ the same mechanic because it's manageable and playable.

This game is like living a B-Movie so let's see some screenshots from the intro...

Grab a raygun and fight

We're not going to sit back and take this invasion lightly? Armed with a powerful weapon that is great for quick kills. However, refrain from overuse otherwise, it is less effective. Thankfully, it can be charged by collecting the green blobs that a dead robot might leave behind after dying. There are also bombs - hit the shift key and they detonate. That kills anything nasty within your vicinity - even the captives so, be careful.

There are bonus stages along a canal route after a few levels and feature many extra bonuses. These aren't essential to your overall progress. Also, I wasn't too eager about them because I wanted to get playing the main game. The big Reptilon boss will first seem an impossible opponent but there is a cunning way to avoid it by using a few bombs and a little joystick waggling!! Just ask me if you need any help.

I know, I know, you wanna see some more screenshots from the intro. Well, you're in luck...

Next-Gen aesthetics!

Back in the day, I remember being blown away by the comical artwork, which still looks great. In-game, I adore the isometric 3D viewpoint which is perfect, and the entire environment has superb attention to detail. The Alien Hoard is varied and excellent - my favourite being the biscuit-looking guys lol. They're not biscuits of course, but they are cute! And that's this game to a tea, it's different and loves to be different. It works perfectly.

The audio is a blast, with zappy effects complementing the gorgeous background music. I like how it integrates during gameplay. Sure, I wish we had an extra channel but the music beats away while you hear relevant sound effects. It works a treat and sounds amazing. I loved the music so click the arrow and listen for yourself.

Go on, I said click this arrow just below and enjoy the YM Bliss...

AtariCrypt · Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters

Don't run away. Come back, there are girls to be rescued and robots to kill!

The CryptO'pinion?

I have really enjoyed playing this great game again after all these years. This is one of those shooters stuffed to the brim with originality and frantic metallic mayhem. Running around killing everything is totally demented and done with a comical personality using great characters. This is a superb isometric shooter.

It's as much fun to play today as it was in 1990. Such an iconic 16-bit shooter and I love it to bits!!

- DOWNLOAD for hard disk and floppy -

Lupo Alberto

Stop the press!

Late last night I found an interesting post on AtariAge by Philsan concerning an unreleased game called Lupo Alberto. This is a platformer that (I think) is based on a European comic or a TV show? Well, after 25 years of lurking in unreleased hell, the ST version gets to see the light of day (now listed on AtariMania)

First impressions are good with cartoon visuals and cute sprites roaming about - just look at those chickens!! However, it's push-scrolling which is a severe shame because the game's mechanics demand scrolling. Well, it is unfinished so I shouldn't complain too much and the push technique is fast and zippy...

Gameplay is tricky for this cute platformer so I imagine lots of frustration ahead of me. I'm delighted we have this rescued and I look forward to giving Lupo a proper run for its money tonight!

Update: during a game press CTRL and type: otrebla. Thanks to Luca Stradiotto!!

Pegasus

Swords, guns and flying a horse

Satan has been a bad boy and turned the world on its head. It's our job to reverse his dastardly deeds before it's too late. Developed by Optimus Software for Gremlin, we are Percius and fly on the mythical horse Pegasus. Our adventure is split into two parts: a shooter with us riding Pegasus. And a platformer where Percius is free to unleash his wrath using a large sword (it flips between these two throughout).

The shooter parts are... okay. Imagine something like R-Type, but on horseback, and you have the idea. The baddies appear in the expected patterns so bang on that fire button and collect the crystals they leave behind. They enhance weaponry and there are lots of power-ups that help brighten up this dull affair.

The platform parts are better - run, jump, and leap, collecting crystals and killing baddies. Hardly riveting stuff but still enjoyable with superb joystick mechanics. Controlling Percius is a cinch and I wish more platformers had fluent movement like this. This part of the game had great potential but ended up very boring.

The graphics are bland and I fear a lame port because it's sparsely populated, quite barren of detail. It's like they didn't put in any effort at all. Not only that but that blue background could have been better with a splash more colour. However, the scrolling is nice and smooth so at least that's something? Sadly, the audio is feeble and only the firing stops this game from being as silent as a ZX81!! I really don't think Gremlin cared...

Let's not kid ourselves, this is lame Amiga port and a terrible one at that. It could have/should have been better so it's embarrassing to think Gremlin released this. However, I gotta admit that the platform stages are enjoyable and had potential. It's not a bad game but it's far from a good game. A rushed port.

There are far better shooters and platformers, just use the search option at the top of this page!

The platform part isn't bad but could have been made into something great with little effort.

Collect those power-ups otherwise, it's Zzzzzz!! Play R-Type instead.

Download and play Pegasus using a hard drive thanks to both D-Bug and 8BitChip. But those wanting the floppies can find 'em on Old Games Finder.

 

If the game is too hard (boring) then here are some nifty cheats: 

Press P on the title screen and type in this code: FRUITBAT

Now use the arrow keys to select your starting level.

F1 for extra lives.

F2 to select a power-up.

F3 for an extra special weapon shot.

F5 advance a level.

F7 for a nifty shield. 

 

 To view the greetings

Use this passcode on the title: CATFOOD.