Pssst, wanna play a game bursting with fun? Then check out Bug Spray, developed by Philip Bishop, which should please gamers with both green fingers and a natural love for killing nasty insects. In fact, it might look familiar if you're old enough to remember the 1983 Speccy original by Ultimate Play The Game?
Sunflowers need protection from hungry pests who nibble at them. To stop this, we use different cans of bug spray, as each type is designed to kill a specific creature. So spraying a bug with the wrong type will only stun them. Sadly, our gardener can only carry one, so it's a rush battling the swarming critters.
Just like Jet Pac, this is like the original, but it isn't an exact replica. It's close and brought back many happy memories for me. The graphics are pretty much ZX Spectrum standards, and the sprites are cute, especially the spiders. Sound effects are adequate, but there is an option for chipmusic which is a better option.
Bug Spray is a blatant rip-off, but it works well. My only criticism is manoeuvring the gardener into the gaps, which is tight. That aside, I've enjoyed what is essentially a fantastic 16-bit conversion of Pssst!
Ever since I first played Erik And The Floaters on my ZX Spectrum, I have enjoyed playing Bomberman clones, and here is another called Bombaman. Developed by Kevin Callahan for the Atari STe, this conversion is multiplayer for two to four people, with support for the often-forgotten enhanced joystick ports!
Being a take on Bomberman means we need to freely blow stuff up! Well, good news because Bombaman has fantastic controls that are light and responsive. There are tons of power-ups available and contain some favourites, like a molotov cocktail and chucking bombs over a wall. Others can increase the number of bombs we are able to drop, but watch out for chain reactions during their explosions. Roller skates speed up gameplay whilst flap jackets protect us, but slower players better watch out for zombies.
Want a screenshot? Well, brace yourself and get ready to squint...
It starts tame, but soon you're using power-ups and blasting everything!
Aesthetics
The visuals are incredibly colourful, but may require sunglasses to protect your eyes from all that glare!! The colour is completely over the top and looks like a child would have designed it, but who said Kevin was an artist? The game is smooth at 50fps, thanks to the Blitter and is also displayed in overscan, too.
Chipmusic plays throughout, which I really enjoyed because it's downright awesome. It never overpowers the DMA sound effects bursting out of your Atari STe, and this is how games should be!!
The colour palette is trippy, so let's annoy your eyes one final time with another screenshot...
All that colour could drive you insane - if it wasn't such a great game!!
The CryptO'pinion?
This is a brilliant multiplayer game that has lived up to my hopes and expectations. It's a shame there is no solo mode, but I'm sure you will all love gathering around the computer to play it. In fact, my daughter says it's her favourite Atari ST game [watch our video recording]. High praise from an iPad generation kid!
A cracking game for those who enjoy throwing bombs at their friends. Who doesn't?
Update: Kevin has found the floppy disk of the registered version. It's safely stored on AtariMania. Go on and grab it!
