Tetris

Another lost game has been found and preserved inside the archives of AtariMania. Yes, it's (yet another) Tetris clone, originally developed in 1991 by Tassos Seizis, with graphics by his brother John Seizis. Sadly, it was never released - until now!! I'm not a huge Tetris fan, but today is a good day for all ST nutters!!

Click the link above to download it. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Escape 2042

A slick new game

Escape 2042 has just been released for the Atari STe by Cedric Bourse (yes, he of Yopaz IceStar). It's an exciting new platformer with great gameplay mechanics, ultra-smooth scrolling, and DMA sound effects. It's something else, alright!! The game can be downloaded for only a few pounds, which is insane value for money, I'm sure you'll agree. Your purchase will get you both the floppy disk and hard drive versions.

Firstly, let's read about the background story, which goes something like this...

In the year 2042, a socialist government is in power, but nobody had foreseen the progressive dictatorship that settled in. The elites of the government hid behind a sham democracy, disconnected from the lives the people were leading and acted solely in their own interests.

The regime considered the dissidents as conspiracy theorists, treated them like terrorists and locked them away in highly-secured prisons, to prevent them from telling the people the truth about the media's complicity with the government's power.

You are Shun, a computer engineer and member of the Truth Defenders coalition.

After a clandestine operation to inform the people, you are locked away in the highly secured prison, Bulor 24. But your knowledge of security systems will enable you to escape.

Your turn now to escape as fast as you can from this place!

Let's Play

Escape 2042 drops you into a futuristic prison complex and leaves you to figure out how best to survive. At first glance, it looks like a straightforward platform game, but there’s a little more going on beneath the surface. Running and jumping are important, but you'll also need to keep an eye out for security systems, locked doors and hostile guards patrolling the various levels. Quick reactions will be required.

This is also a game that encourages a more cautious approach than simply charging through like Mario. Certain terminals can be accessed to disable nearby systems or unlock new areas. Security cameras and guards can quickly kill if you're careless, so timing your movements becomes incredibly important.

After a couple of hours of playing, I can honestly say this is incredibly slick. It’s a refreshing change from what I expected, and the puzzles are challenging yet doable. The joystick controls are perfectly responsive, and everything moves and reacts flawlessly. This is truly a slick game. Has that word been overused?

Well, how about this then: Escape 2042 is quite literally an epic release!!!

Links and Screenshots

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• Escape 2042 download page - https://orionsoft.itch.io/escape2042
• YouTube promotional video - https://youtu.be/aEo9V6zCZeY?si=...
• Yopaz Ice Star -  https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/2015...
• Cedric's profile on Demozoo - https://demozoo.org/sceners/10490/

The Atari STe looks good, with detailed visuals and ultra-smooth scrolling.

Watch out for those cameras flipping between two points of view.

Rolling Ronny

A wheelie good platformer

This is an attractive platformer developed by Carsten Neubauer of Bones Park and published by Virgin Games in 1991. Before I begin, we're not using our feet to walk - because we're on skates! This is in the quiet town of Fieldington, a lovely place that has just suffered the theft of its crown jewels. I know, I know...

Fortunately, the gang of bumbling thieves were disturbed, but they still had the time to hide each jewel inside boxes and scatter them about before fleeing. Why? I don't know, but Scotland Yard decided it was a good idea to enlist Ronny as their secret agent to recover the jewels in return for a generous reward.

Ronny uses his skates to get around this oddball town, but he can still climb ladders and leap across most platforms. He will need every ounce of agility to avoid/kill the nasties. There are many silly creatures, so defend yourself by hitting the fire button to fling your killer salamis. Yes, you heard me correctly!

This is starting to sound rather unbelievable, right? Well, we need a screenshot then...

Ronny needs to watch out for various nasties, even those cute little birdies!

Run, Jump and Kill

Any platformer needs decent controls, and thankfully, these are responsive and let Ronny leap from ledge to ledge. The status panel displays various pieces of information: love hearts indicate health, a clock is counting down, the number of remaining jewels, and the gadgets enabled. Along the way, you can stop to run errands for extra credit. This is an excellent way to top up your earnings, so it's not really optional.

Ronny's inventory consists of his four spare pockets for storing gadgets (essentially power-ups). These provide functions like a Super Jump or a Magnet that attracts out-of-reach items. There is a massive range of different power-ups, and I really like Power Sneeze!! Coins can be collected to spend in the town's shop. However, be wise and leave enough cash for your bus fare to access the next level. Yeah, that is very odd!

I love it when a platformer has gameplay that perfectly matches its aesthetics! The controls are a joy and are complemented by interesting ideas and amusing mechanics. Simple, and it works. Why didn't I know about Rolling Ronny back in the day? I missed this one and I'm gutted about that!

Right then, let's take a little break for another colourful screenshot with our red-nosed fella on skates...

This jump across the water looks tricky! Surely, I can make it in one?

16-bit Sex Appeal

The visuals are fantastic, with cartoon-quality, comical sprites and smooth scrolling. It's obvious that colour is a big deal, given the richly decorated backgrounds; even the title screen is a stunning Spectrum 512 image. I believe this was Bones Park's only Atari ST game? They should be proud of their achievement.

The audio is a sweet title tune (that I can't get out of my head), all thanks to Adrian Dalecki. The sound effects are accompanied by an obsessive tune that gets my foot tapping. No complaints here!!

And on that note, let's view the final screenshot...

Hang on a moment, there's an actual droplet of water chasing me? Or is it a ghost lol

The CryptO'pinion?

Rolling Ronny doesn't exactly break the mould, but the addition of a skating clown is an odd idea that works (even with his mad hair - just look at that hideous barnet - lol). There are a few niggles which I didn't care for, the most irritating is failing to collect enough cash for the bus fare. I hated it when that happened!!

There is something about this quirky and extremely entertaining game that I love. It's so challenging and keeps you coming back for more. Also, this ain't no lame Amiga port - it's obvious that a lot of love went into making Rolling Ronny. One of the best platformers for the Atari ST. Yes, I actually said that.

Floppy & hard disk versions from Klaz!