RoadBlasters

Wanna race? Bring a gun!

Road Blasters - an arcade conversion by US Gold that attempts to recreate the speed and thrills of the original. Imagine a Bullrun Rally event through 50 overcrowded highways! You must win each to progress on to the next. Yep, nothing new but I'm sure you already know that this is going to be tons of fun, right?

What makes this game different from many racers is a combination of driving and shooting. This means your gleaming red sports car has a mounted machine gun. The easiest targets are the yellow cars which are a quick kill, but the motorbikes are a pest because of their tiny size. Occasionally, several jeeps will swarm around you like something from a Mad Max movie. React viciously; take no prisoners. Oh, yeah!!

It's time to break up the reading with a screenshot. And I want one with a green blob...

Bubble City sounds like a cool place - I must drive there!

Carmageddon!

Watch out for hazards like oil spills, roadside turrets, bullet-proof purple cars and those darn proximity mines. Fortunately, you do seem to have friends, a futuristic aircraft frequently flies by with power-ups: speed boost, extra weapons, shields, etc... However, it takes lots of practice to precisely collect these goodies!

At your disposal is a limitless supply of replacement cars but they are all fuel-greedy, so if you run dry then it's game over. Luckily, fuel pods are available to collect by driving through them for a top-up. Your car is equipped with a reserve fuel tank which should only be relied upon as a last resort, but the good news is that it's replenished at the end of each race. Well, depending on your performance of course. So keep practising!

Oh, it sounds very exciting, isn't it? Well, I think it's time for another screenshot...

Fast cars and guns. What more could you ever desire?

Input & Output!

The controls are sharp with responsive steering that retains an arcade feel - as much as possible with a joystick. No complaints as I found the car handled excellently and instantaneously took to it.

Visually, this is an older generation of racer on the Atari ST, more like a Crazy Cars 2 than the third. I never expected arcade-quality visuals but it retains a good feeling of the original whilst not being the best you'll get from an Atari ST. It's colourful but needed more decor. But, for an older racer, I like it.

The sound effects are good and better than Lotus Turbo. I really enjoyed the music. Nuff said.

Now is the time to drive like Knight Ride to collect those goodies from above!

The CryptO'pinion?

I love this arcade speedster, it might not be perfect but at least it's nothing like that dreadful Outrun. And we're armed so that's basically one hell of an added bonus and probably the best of that ilk on the Atari ST.  A much-underrated game that deserves more attention because it's fast, thrilling and the car has a gun.

What more could you want? Absolutely fantastic fun and I love playing it.

There is a fantastic hdd version to download or

the floppies if you desire that authenticity!

ZX81

The good old days?

Back in the 90s, Christoph Zwerschke developed a Sinclair ZX81 emulator for the Atari ST. Believe it or not but I've never actually owned or even used this old Sinclair computer before! From what I know, this computer is mute and cannot make a sound! Plus the graphics are actually made up of monochrome blocks rather than colourful pixels. Yikes!

This might all sound rather lame but there is a certain charm to the itsy-bitsy computer with less processing power than your average kettle. So I powered on this quirky computer and even took a stab at programming... Well...

10 PRINT "ATARICRYPT ROCKS YOUR ST WORLD"
20 GOTO 10
RUN L

The good news is that even the stock Atari ST should be able to run any of its games perfectly fine - from either a floppy or (better still) a hard drive device. However, if you feel that the ZX81 is running in overdrive, then hit the UNDO key and adjust the speed limiter. I needed to do this for Pac-Man which was otherwise insanely too fast!

Yep, I might never have owned a ZX81 but I was shocked to discover many games that are surprisingly very playable. Albeit without sound or pixels... For starters, 3D Monster Maze by Malcolm Evans is a great example and is highly regarded as one of the best reasons why people many adore this old paperweight. Truly, this game is way ahead of its time and perhaps even the first survival horror game using a first-person perspective? (check out Retro Resolution for a review!).

I gotta say, Mazogs is something else!! (have you played Bugziacs?)

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a fantastic emulator and one that feels complete and robust. It provides an opportunity to play games from an era when fancy graphics and 3D sounds weren't necessary. A time when only gameplay mattered (tell that to today's millennials). Give it a whirl and boot up this fantastic emulator to flip your Atari ST into a Sinclair ZX81.

Party like it's 1981 and have tons of fun. Win, Win!! :^) Scroll down for more ZX81 games that I really liked...

I was also equally impressed by the simplicity of Galaxians.

Castle Of Carmain is just downright awesome fun!!

The mighty 3D Labyrinth is thrilling.

Alcatraz

Steve McQueen?

I have just received a factory-sealed treat, a copy of Alcatraz by Infogrames. I thought about leaving it as is but, within milliseconds, I had ripped it open!! Mint condition and I love the contents of this hidden gem.

Hostages fans will appreciate it but surely that goes without saying? This time, the head honcho of a nasty drug cartel has taken shelter in Alcatraz prison and he happens to be surrounded by many loyal henchmen. Yep, you've probably already guessed that it's your job to sneak in, kill the bad guys, destroy everything and escape in the nick of time.

Well, in light of that stunning revelation, I think we should take a look at a screenshot...

The first stage displays the coop action and reveals that strength comes from stealth.

Take it easy, take it slow

This isn't a gung-ho game, Alcatraz demands stealth and careful covert tactics. The starting level first appears in the style of an arcade beat 'em up but is actually the complete opposite. Tread lightly because firing your loud weapon isn't always the answer! Use the darkness to your advantage by nipping into the background scenery, avoiding any unwelcome attention. It's fantastic being able to hide and watch the enemy oblivious to you lurking in the shadows!!

This won't always be the answer of course, so you may need to resort to a little gunplay now and then. However, it's worth considering your weapon choice: why not silently throw a knife instead of using your BAM BAM noisy gun? And it's this way of thinking that makes Alcatraz very exciting to play. It's like you're there being sneaky and covert. Love it.

This next screenshot is for those who often go out at night and hide in the darkness...

Take cover in the shadows and wait for the best moment to step out and take 'em by surprise!

But is it fun?

Initially, I admit I wasn't sure about this game if I'm dreadfully honest. The controls can feel a bit fluffy, but stick with it and you will master that within a few plays. What is immediately superb is the support for two players in coop who can enjoy each mission simultaneously. This really makes a difference compared to going solo for such demanding missions.

Venturing deeper inside Alcatraz, the game changes to a first-person shooter, similar to a Dungeon Master clone - but we have a machine gun!! There is a handy map function which I really liked because it helped to detail the locations of enemies, rooms, etc. I really loved this part of the game but, I died. Talk about tough love.

Talk about a brilliant surprise! Let's take a gander at a screenshot...

Okay, now we're talking. This Doom part of the game was blummin' excellent!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Alcatraz is nothing like I initially expected but I'm really enjoying it. What a game, especially with a friend in co-op, which is exhilarating. I like what they attempted to construct with the realism element, it works in many ways. What a great game of perseverance, stealth and tactics which will eat away the spare hours. For all its niggly flaws, I love it.

Downloads are available as floppy disk images with a better option for hard drive owners (D-Bug).

Wait, don't go as I made a video and I wanted to show you what's inside the box...

Here's the back of the box cover that advertises the original game, Hostages.

The floppy disks were protected and unused for three decades. Yes, they work!

Codes! Fuzzy to read and will pop your eyeballs if you stare at it too long!

No, I'm not going to post this. Can you imagine their faces? lol

Short but sweet manual but it has a decent map of the island.

This was interesting to find. If anyone wants better scans of the pages then just holla.