Biomechanoid Locomotion

I spent some time last night listening to many incredible tunes from the SNDH Archive. Biomechanoid Locomotion, by Shinobi (aka Marcus Andre Rousseau) was probably my fave of the night so click the green arrow to hear it :-)

Turn up the volume and use these Atari ST programs to play everything from this amazing archive. 🎧

Pole Position

The arcade is within your Atari STe

Pole Position is a classic arcade racer from a time when the computing world was youthful and fresh. I played it on the Atari 2600 at a friend's house but the ZX Spectrum version I mostly played. The Atari ST has a raft of great driving games but sadly, never received an official port of this old favourite. Well, until now.

Official might be the wrong term to use but don't get your knickers in a twist. A brand new version has been developed by Jonathan Thomas who reverse-engineered it from the arcade machine itself. He has also implemented many cool features and uses real-time sprite scaling, DMA sounds, and more.

The requirements are 1MB RAM, a joystick, and an appreciation of what is nothing less than a brilliant racer. It's quite surreal to have such an iconic arcade racer on the ST. Upon first booting up I got a giddy feeling at having a phantom arcade machine in the house. Hey, no need to have any 10-pence coins!

I should break for the first screenshot and I love it for obvious reasons...

I'm feeling like a kid in a Blackpool arcade, spending all my pocket money!!

Yes, put your money away!

It's not an overstatement to say this is an authentic conversion as it even features the same (ripped) visuals and sonix I fondly remember. Now, if you're looking at the screenshots and wondering why the gaming display is narrow, then blame Namco because it's all down to the arcade's vertical monitor. The Atari STe was meant for a different display and doesn't have the same spec. So it merely attempts to replicate the slim ratio.

Playing is tough and initially, I was all over the road!! Slipping and sliding into cars or skidding off into roadside objects. In fact, it felt like I was purposely trying to hit everything - and doing a great job of it!! Ideally, I need a wheel but stick with it and put aside half an hour to master the controls. The corners are a killer!

I don't think we need a boring screenshot? So how about an animation instead? Here ya go...

The actual framerate is twice as good as you can see here in my capture.

The gory details

The latest release candidate has major improvements and delivers near arcade-busting gameplay:

• 60fps framerate to bring the speed and difficulty correctly in line with the feel of the arcade machine. Play on a real computer!
• You can thank the Blitter Chip for whizzing the graphics so fast and furious. If only more games would have used this chip!
• Sprite scaling is utilised for ultra-smooth results. Check out that road zooming up close, so impressive.
• Even good 'ol Mount Fuji is displayed in all its glory!
• The sky gradient is back along with numerous glitches fixed and it looks very nice using a good flow pattern.
• The sound effects are taken from the arcade game using the DMA coprocessor. Doesn't get any better than that - gorgeous!
• Code compiled with GCC 7.1 for a significant performance increase. Sounds good to me but what would I know about programming!
• Many new optimisations, mainly around text rendering for authenticity.

If only those tyres would look like they're rotating (come on, Jon) :-)

The CryptO'pinion?

It's impressive to think that here we are today in 2017 with a version of Pole Position that's been reverse-engineered from the arcade machine. Everything looks, sounds, and feels like we remember with only a couple of missing features: the animated tyres are nothing more than a bit of a colour wobble (needs fixing)

Pole Position is very addictive, a cracking arcade port making use of the Atari STe hardware: I love its framerate, audio, and authenticity. Possibly one of the toughest racers but it certainly keeps dragging you back for more - kicking and screaming!! Pole Position is nothing less than a spectacular arcade racer.

What are you waiting for? Come on and play this outstanding game!! (Download from AtariMania).

Space Monsters

Don't panic!

Space Monsters was developed by Darren Ithell for Goodman PDL and I'm sure you've already guessed it's a conversion of the arcade classic, Space Panic. I'm often a little dubious of 16-bit conversions for old arcade or 8-bit classics because, quite often, they don't work or it feels like something is missing. So I tightly crossed my fingers and booted it up.

Initial impressions are great, the game looks good with each screen having the expected platforms and ladders with horrid nasties roaming. It's instant death if you bump into one so Spaceman has discovered the best way to kill these critters is to dig a trap. Once they've foolishly got themselves stuck (for a few seconds) he has the opportunity to whack 'em with his spade which for a splattery death. Spaceman is a truly gruesome fella but, whatever works, right?

Let's check out the different types of nasties that you'll encounter. . .

Oh, the nasties in this game are so... well... nasty!! The Boss is tough but Don is a killer!!

No matter how much I try, I still panic!!

Yup, there are only three types of monsters but that doesn't mean their numbers are limited or boring. The first is a "Creature" and is pretty gullible and easy to avoid or kill. However, the other two aren't so dumb and possess a freakishly cunning AI. Next is "Boss" who is tough and then "Don", well, he's the real boss. Try not to anger them!!

Also, it takes a greater falling distance to kill the stronger nasties but you are rewarded with lots of extra points. However, if you fail to smash in their faces with a spade, then they angrily climb out looking for blood!! Finally, watch out for that time limit. Don't dawdle and get these beasts killed before your oxygen runs out - I'm never a fan of timers!

Right, let's check out an in-game screenshot...

Right, we've got him just where we want him. Quick, club the sucker!!

Input & Output?

The controls are superb!! This is a relief as I've played a few similar games which required pixel-perfect alignment with the ladder before you're allowed to climb it. That's always a pain which I'm happy to say doesn't exist here. Digging holes and caving in the heads of aliens is easy and so much fun. My only quibble is not being able to fall down a hole otherwise, the authenticity for both style and gameplay has been perfectly captured and I love that.

Visuall, well, it's Space Panic so is everything you expect it to be with a clean-cut design and cutesy sprites. It won't win any awards and nor should it, but who cares? The audio is far better with nice sampled sound effects throughout - that ROAR as a monster climbs out of a hole will scare you to death!! I just miss the lacking background chiptune.

Well, you guessed it! Yes, it's time for another screenshot so keep on scrolling...

'Creature' is a cute but gullible goon and temporally falling into a hole will make him angry!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Space Monsters is fantastic and perfectly captures that oldskool vibe in both look and style. The gameplay itself gradually increases for that expected stressful experience and trying to tactically dig the right holes whilst worrying about what could creep up on you is truly a PANIC. Yep, this is literally one of the best conversions I have played.

Grab the DOWNLOAD right now!