Midi Maze

FPS - long before Doom!

Midi Maze hit the shelves in 1987 thanks to the talents of Xanth FX and was an early taste of multiplayer first-person gaming. It takes place inside a labyrinth of weird smilies who roam looking for blood. So ignore their happy faces because they're anything but nice - and need killing!! You could say, the last sphere "standing" wins? Okay, maybe not...

The controls are rather straightforward and very easy to master. You can use either the joystick or mouse - but I personally think the joystick works the best. Those without midi cables can play in Solo mode which allows up to 15 computer-controlled bots with three levels of AI. Those with MIDI cables and other Atari STs can invite friends over with the potential to link 2-16 computers. Think about that, it is quite staggering for an '80s deathmatch. This was 1987, folks!!

The graphics are good but the walls are "paper-thin" and also without any texture or ambient lighting but do remember just how old this game is. Frame rates are fast and exceptionally smooth and I was impressed to see the baddies have a shadow, thus adding to the 3D perspective. Sound effects aren't going to win any awards but they do their job.

There is nothing I enjoy more than a good first-person shooter and Midi Maze certainly packs a punch albeit killing cute smiley faces! Single-player is welcome and works well but Midi Maze comes into its own when linked with other Atari computers. Midi Maze is one of the best games I have featured and is easily a true Atari ST gaming legend!!

• Check out this Midi Maze fanzine (It's in German but Google Translate will help!
• Here is a PDF document of the original game manual
• Atarimania has all three games listed in their Atari ST database.
• Floppy disk images are available from Old Games Finder.

It's-a-me, Mario!

Oh no! Mario is now available for the Atari ST. Phew, thankfully, I'm lying!! This is actually a cool intro screen that was created to be a main menu for some demo that never got completed. Good old Demozoo informs that it's by Channel 38 and features neat music and a large "play area" making good use of those borders. Oh yeah, so nice!!

My apologies for my video recording which is pretty poor. A real ST/e performs silky smooth.

Asteroidia

Breaking rocks

Dave Munsie is a legend within the Atari ST world. It's as simple as that. The guy released several outstanding games like Berzerk, Frantick, and Kid GP. Some of his games were even enhanced for the Atari STe.

Asteroidia, as you've probably guessed by now, is a Munsie-take on the Asteroids arcade genre. This means it's hardly going to win an award for originality, but don't be put off because I've a sneaky suspicion this might be worth your time downloading this rock blaster. Well, it's a Munsie game so that's a given, right?

Forget about a static/no-scrolling screen with vector graphics. Dave is transporting us to a part of space where moving pixels rule thanks to the Atari STe hardware. Pixels powered by the Blitter chip; scrolling at blistering speeds. Not only that but you can expect DMA audio too. Your monitor won't know what hits it!

To be honest, it's hard to imagine Asteroids looking impressive but, I'll post a screenshot anyhow...

The planet is powered by the Blitter and whizzes by!

Boring old asteroids, right?

As you would expect, the gameplay is predicably asteroids with us controlling a ship chasing lumps of rocks. It's initially quite hard and surely takes some practice because everything moves so fast. Thankfully, the controls are a cinch to master so it won't be long before you realise how fantastic this alternative conversion is.

Visually, it looks nice but it's the speed that will impress. Planet Earth swooshing across your monitor and makes you realise how under-utilised the Blitter and Atari STe was by many commercial gaming companies. Mr Munsie puts them to shame. The audio hasn't been forgotten and we get DMA support which plays a short sampled tune. However, it's quite repetitive so I switched to far better chiptune/sound effects!

Here is the options screen where you can activate the Blitter, flip to PAL/NTSC, and much more...

Gotta tip my hat to Mr Munsie... Blitter, 50Hz, Atari STe / Falcon support. Incredible!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Sure, this is Asteroids but the twist is how it performs with impressive Blitted graphics zooming about the screen. Not only that, it's like watching a demo that proves how much-untapped potential the Atari STe has. That changes and enhances the gameplay mechanics of the genre vastly. Factor in the excellent joystick controls and you know why this is rock-smashingly addictive. One of the most entertaining games I've played.

Blitted graphics or not, this is bucketloads of fun and a superb Asteroids conversion. Highly recommended!

 Download Asteroidia from AtariMania 
 Hey, can you beat my hi-score below?