Creepy

Atic Atac?

Atlantis Software released Creepy in 1991, it may sound like yet another predictable good vs evil affair but just wait until you play it! Some might say it's inspired, but it's nothing more than a shameless Atic Atac rip-off.

Creepy is a little fella but very brave and his old brother appeared in a famous 1983 game. Well, he is about to enter a castle owned by The Lord Of Darkness. Why, I hear you cry? Is he mad? No, it's to find four pieces of the Necromancy Scroll that will defeat this nasty man and restore peace to a land ravaged by all kinds of evil monsters.

What, you don't believe Atic Atac appeared on the Atari ST. Hmm, you better take a look at this then...

I killed a warrior so pinched her dragon and road him like John Wayne!

Dark rooms and lots of monsters!

The Lord's castle is huge with rooms spawning a whacky bunch of evil monsters. Some are easy to kill but others are a lot harder, like the She-Warriors who ride on dragons. She might be tough but, when you defeat her, Puff is left behind so hop on for a ride. Watch out for other nasties like the odd-looking Frankenstein and a ginormous spider!

We are equipped with arrows but these are slow so it's best to upgrade to something better in the shop. Yes, this castle has a shop with stuff like health and fireballs - I really liked the fireball weapon and restoring health is always a wise purchase. Locked doors can be opened with the correct key and tiny yellow keys will unlock treasure chests that adorn many rooms. Gamblers will love these as you never know what's inside - something useful or something sinister?

Monsters won't aimlessly wander and sure love to play chase - at the expense of your energy level (displayed as a crunchy apple rather than a roast turkey). Also, a life loss no longer leaves behind a Cross where we breathed our last breath. Oh, and I still haven't made up my mind about which has the best effect when falling between floors...

Ignoreing the graphics, Creepy is not a carbon-copy clone of Ultimate's game. It plays quicker with other subtle differences within a castle that is dingier than the colourful Spectrum game. It took me a while to feel comfortable with the speed but it wasn't long until I was zipping through the rooms like a crazy medieval dude.

Whether you came from the ZX Spectrum or not, you'll love this ripoff game :)

The CryptO'pinion?

Okay, those old enough to have gasped in awe at Ultimate's 1983 classic will probably turn up their nose at this blatant imitation. However, please don't. Yes, it's a blatant ripoff but it's still a fantastic game in its own right. I am incredibly impressed by the fast and furious oldskool gameplay which takes that original and adds its extra zest.

Creepy is nothing less than a nostalgic 48K impersonator with addictive gameplay. I enjoyed plundering the castle's rooms, bashing in monsters!! A genuinely excellent 8-bit game with 16-bit aesthetics. Highly recommended.

DOWNLOADS

for hard drive or floppy disk.

Deathbringer

It's Hercules!

Deathbringer is a horizontally scrolling hack and slasher that reminds me of a bunch of different Atari ST games like Barbarian II, Golden Axe and, dare I say it, Shadow Of The Beast. You are Karn, a warrior with muscles who must kill an evil wizard using a sword possessed by a blood-hungry spirit called Abaddon.

Our world is viewed side-on and can be travelled in either direction through a variety of eye-popping landscapes. Of course, the basic gameplay remains much the same which means wielding your huge sword whenever you see anything nasty. Predictable or not, I like the sound of this slasher already!!

Karn can run & jump using 3 attack moves: fire + left/right for a jab that is handy against skeletons. Push up for an overhead swing - great for flying enemies. Pull down for an underhanded swing that works well for the goblins and other peculiar nasties like rocks. Yep, rocks.

Killing is the name of the game to keep Abaddon happily stuffed with souls - represented in the status bar by the sword's blood. The more baddies you kill, the happier our resident demon is, try not to starve him otherwise he might just get his fix elsewhere. It's silly, but I admired this unique mechanic.

Many other monsters will want to stop you from completing your noble quest: baby dragons, trolls, skeletons, bats, giants, and birds who drop stinky eggs. A boss screen follows each level and are rather easy!

It's time for an extraordinary screenshot. Breathe. Now, check this out...

The graphics in this game are outstanding.

Psygnosis eat your heart out!

Deathbringer has fantastic graphics - truly fantastic - and regulars will remember I featured the game within our Pixel Art section because of its intro/boss stages and outstanding artwork. The in-game multilayer parallax scrolling is legendary and proves the power of the Atari ST in the hands of a decent programmer.

Aesthetically, this game makes our port of Shadow Of The Beast look like Pong!!

The audio is on par with the visuals and a great title tune along with funny in-game sampled sounds - I love the horrific screaming in the intro!! However, I can't help but be disappointed Empire didn't make use of the Atari STe. Even so, we have sampled effects and smooth parallax scrolling. Eat that Psygnosis!

I only hope they didn't concentrate on the aesthetics too much? Let's see another screenshot...

A goblin riding a snail is not the quickest way to get about lol

The CryptO'pinion?

Deathbringer appears to have it all but I've not yet mentioned how this Conan wannabe actually plays. Surely running and hacking at slimeball enemies is guaranteed fun? Well, it should be but this is where disappointment rears its ugly head thanks to the unresponsive controls. The mirror opposite of what a game like this needs. It's the last thing you need during the heat of battle when dexterity and agility matters!

For example, press fire/up for an overhead swing which actions a split-second later. Other niggles exist like when Karn and a baddie are standing too close - so are unable to hit each other. How weird!

Deathbringer's strong points are its beautiful graphics and sound effects. I would also include its vast variety of interesting monsters too - I don't think I have ever seen a goblin on a sleigh before! Sadly, I'm left wondering if anyone at Empire actually bothered to play this game before releasing it. Probably not, which is oddly peculiar. With a little tweak to the control system, this would have been a show stopper!!

Ultimately, a good game but the laggy controls ruin what might have been tremendous...

Only one move will kill these skeletons but I don't care because it's fun!

Stonish has the floppies (Special FX (#53a/#53b)

But I would install it on a hard drive if possible!

Berzerk

Let's go way back...

I needed a game that compensated for the horror I just suffered playing Platform Capers). So, Dave Munsie has rushed to my rescue with his adaption of the 8-Bit classic, Berzerk. However, I admit I had my fingers crossed when first loading - hoping it didn't suck compared to the great 2600/5200 games!!

We are the wobbly stickman intruder running through randomly generated rooms killing robots. Interestingly, these robot guys are a mixed bunch - some dumb enough to fry themselves on the electrified walls, whilst others are amazingly accurate shooters. Try to kill them and collect the bonus reward otherwise, you're called a chicken!! Otto is fearless and only too eager to rear his smiley mug and chase you across the screen.

Some (those under 40) might scoff at the boring blocky graphics. I appreciate they aren't spruced up to ST standards but that would have ruined the authenticity. Also, I treasure the speech synthesis which is spot-on perfect and makes me grin like the Cheshire Cat. "Chicken, fight like a robot" -this is fantasticl!!

Berzerk is one of the best 8-bit conversions I have ever played. An easy 10/10 from me!!

What an easy decision it was to award this game with the AtariCrypt SMASH accolade.

Download the floppies @ Atarilegend

Shoot those angry robots before they shoot you!

Then again, some will kill themselves cos they're stoopid!