Cud Lee's Quest

A cuddly platformer?

I remember playing this platformer by Robert Dytmire years ago. I enjoyed its 'alternative' style as it features rather "odd" mechanics, which are weird. But stop - wouldn't life be boring if every platformer played the same? With that in mind, Cud Lee (geddit?) was originally aimed at a younger audience with interesting child/tutor features by design. I think there's something quite charming about it, so it should appeal to all.

The aim is to fight our way through the hordes of baddies to rescue captured Pixies. It sounds easy, but you'd better watch out for a range of enemies who are roaming through the screens. It's like a weird dream, and this mechanic I adore. They are literally wandering the screens, going about their business - whether you can see them or not. These suckers love to jump, and many are tough and can even fire weapons!

The joystick controls are the first thing that hits you because everything feels low-grav with weird movements. Collecting power-ups is a good idea to increase speed, jumping abilities, weaponry, and extra lives. Keys will unlock doors, and some walls can be climbed like Zool because of "strange knobby things".

Graphically, this is no Hoog or anything else from the Atari ST's PD library. Backgrounds are boring, and the environments aren't anything much to write home about. However, it's got a certain charm with the character sprites being the best thing. Plus, their numbers are huge, and I found them humorously detailed.

The sound effects are made from a mix of chip and samples. This mash works well, but the 'WORRR' when something dies is quite pathetic. So pathetic that I loved it to bits. Hey, it's a PD game... Come on!

Cud Lee's Quest is crudely entertaining, and that's the point. I'm unsure if it will appeal to everyone as it's hardly a conventional platformer. What I love is the freedom we're given and the speed at which we can explore. Also, the ability to float (err jump) with great efficiency through the screens is utterly superb.

Genuinely, one of the silliest and most compelling games. I think you will love this platformer!!

Grab the disk image if you're tempted?

Gotta love the baddies and their freaky jumps, but watch out for the little blue guy's arrows!!

Weapons are great and can be powered up to kill these hopping crazies with great efficiency!!

Hong Kong Phooey

A story about a mild-mannered janitor

Once again, I've been plodding through my YouTube channel and found another old video, Hi-Tec's Hong Kong Phooey. This is a scrolling beat 'em up that begins with a cool intro based on the 70s cartoon I watched as a kid - this certainly brought a smile to my face!! After Spot releases the unappreciated janitor from the filing cabinet, we begin our adventure searching for Baron Von Bankjob, who has just escaped from jail.

Watch out for the thugs wandering back and forth who want to stop us from capturing the villainous Baron. Thankfully, we are experts in kung fu, which is very handy. The joystick controls are superb, and we can punch and kick our foe in many different ways: pushing up (whilst walking) performs a killer Van Damme flying manoeuvre. To reach higher platforms requires a bigger jump, and that means also hitting the fire button, which is a little cumbersome. I'm sure that action could have been thought out better?

And that's about that. Explore the screens looking for folk to hit as we hunt down the Baron. Think Rolling Thunder, but a lot better. Okay, for those old enough to remember this fantastic cartoon...

I love the title sequence. It's short and sweet, but I feel like a kid watching it!

The moves are easy to learn but lots of fun. "Yee-ah that, sucka!" (say this in a Mr T voice!!!)

Hanna-Barbera magic?

The graphics are cartoony with an oldskool style that might not appeal to those looking for something with gorgeous 16-bit sex appeal. The scrolling is smooth, but it's at the expense of screen size, which has been reduced by a largely pointless status panel. Gotta love the crude character sprites and their pathetic animations! Worst of all, when we jump, it's more of a float through the air! Totally ludicrous, but who cares?

Musically, there are nice tunes which I love and that are accompanied by sound effects for jumping and so on. Okay, they're just about good enough, so it's the background music I enjoyed the most.

All pretty good but not great. Let's not let that stop a couple more screenshots from appearing...

Learning kung fu certainly didn't help this janitor to jump gracefully.

One gets kicked into the air, and then Flash Gordon turns up!

The CryptO'pinion?

I remembered making this video recording and feeling lukewarm afterwards, basically because I kept losing my barring so I got lost a lot! Perhaps I should have checked out the map first? Anyhow, back then, I wasn't sure if the game captured the heart of the TV show or not. And I must admit, I'm still not exactly sure.

Hong Kong Phooey brings nothing new to the table. However, the Chuck Norris kicks are crudely entertaining, and I enjoyed exploring a technicolour world. If you have a cat called Spot and a cabinet to get changed in, then I suggest you boot it up. It's a good game, but there are better platformers for the Atari ST.

Download the floppy or hard disk version.

The Last Trooper

I'll be Danny Welinski

Last year, I spent several fantastic weeks enjoying Where Time Stood Still, but was later left deflated because I also wanted to play The Great Escape. This was one of my favourite ZX Spectrum and a truly outstanding release. Alas, the Atari ST game was never meant to be (unless I used an emulator lol), but wipe away those snowflake tears because there might be light at the end of this 16-bit tunnel? Well, I hope so!

Here we have Mastertronic's very own The Last Trooper, which appears to be more than a tad inspired by the 8-bit classic! However, the historical storyline and adventure elements are completely gone in favour of four levels of brutal arcade-style killing. So grab your big boy pants because this is going to be tough!

Wanna see screenshots of this isometric Commando shooter? Yeah, of course, you do...

Escape the POW Camp in true A-Team style using whatever you can find...

Now it's time to attack your foes, but watch out for those GEM-Green mines!

Good but tough!

So, the game begins a little weird. We're a muscle-bound Schwarzenegger trapped inside an isometric POW camp, and we already have a machine gun! The objective is to find a way to escape - before attacking the enemy and destroying their entire base. The enemy will come after you constantly, but they're not the most intelligent and run around like headless chickens - a little annoyingly. Other soldiers will hide in trenches or operate gun turrets, and you should also look out for other traps, like camouflaged mines.

The controls are simple and very responsive, but I initially found it frustrating learning how to line up a shot to kill the frantic headless chickens - aka the enemy!! Your crusade won't last very long unless you eat the food that's been carelessly left lying about. Don't forget to top up your weapon with fresh ammo.

There are items you will need to source that will help you out later in the mission. These are essential items that might not be obvious at first: ropes are always handy to have, and there's a supply of wire cutters left inside the POW camp. Hmm, that's two interesting pointers you should remember. How helpful am I?

Well, enough reading! Let's check out some more screenshots...

Things got a little tiresome by the third level, which was more of the same but a lot harder!

But the fourth level is explosive and much better. Although it's a shame about the poor ending...

The CryptO'pinion?

I've quite enjoyed playing The Last Trooper - but only after activating a trainer for infinite lives. Without that, I failed to beat the second level due to the ridiculous difficulty, primarily thanks to the headless chickens running about. They blindly shoot everything with extreme efficiency. Who play-tested this game?

An above-average shooter that's quite flawed with its difficulty, but it's still a bundle of fun for an hour or two. However, if I'm being brutally honest, I'll stick with Fernandez Must Die and Elite's Commando.

Download for floppy or hard disk.