Goodbye...

Another year is done!

I thought it might be nice to leave 2019 with a selection of previously featured games that you may have missed. So before welcoming in the new year, here's a bloated list of games which I think are true Christmas Crackers - and for a variety of different reasons. So, should be played by all ST Nutters!! :-)

We begin by taking gaming seriously. Yep, let's tax the old brain cells with four amazing games:

• Yopaz is a familiar thinker running in GEM. But don't let that put you off because it plays really well and even supports the STe for some seriously cool ambient sounds.
• Next is Unheart which has a C64 visual feel and some think it's a Boulderdash clone when they see screenshots - which it isn't. Instead, it's a mind-bogglingly brilliant puzzler!
• Thirdly, it should be instantly obvious what BeGEMed is all about? Never have I played something so captivating with beautiful aesthetics. One seriously addictive puzzler!
• Finally, the brilliant and originally titled Sokoban. This unassuming game is cunningly difficult and easily expandable. It will always get a thumbs-up from me!

 

 

Two extra games

Now that's four games you should take time out to play. But wait, that's not all... Here are two more little-known games which I think deserve a lot of attention and for different reasons...

• Alpha Waves. Wow, this is something captivating and it blew me away when I first saw it. Imagine yourself trapped inside a box and the only way to escape is by bouncing your spacecraft on springy platforms. It's weird yet works so perfectly. A milestone in 3D game that will offer hours of surreal and alternate fun. Download this right now!! 

• Okay, let's switch now to burning rubber and head straight onto the asphalt! The Atari ST is certainly blessed with lots of ace racers and driving games but few seem to remember Power Up? Okay, it's hardly original and slower than we'd like but it's fun, especially on the STe because it can make use of the DMA and Blitter. Faster Atari computers are supported for smoother framerates. It's not perfect but I still love this game!

 

 

Fancy a little more?

Platformers are next and those who know me will be aware of my addiction to the genre. The Atari ST has many: Stario, Rainbow Islands, Gods, Ghosts & Goblins... But here are a few others I wanted to share:

• Prehistorik was written in STOS and is so much fun. It's a lightweight platformer but one with incredible mechanics and is GREAT fun. It should be played by all. Oh yeah! 

• Magic Boy is next and I said BOY not POCKETS!! This is another Christmas Cracker which plays as good as it looks and with STe support. No lame Amiga port here. 

• Next is a fella with a Big Nose who walks along boring landscapes - which should have been far better. But, you know what, this plays brilliantly and is so addictive. 

• Finally, we end with a Thug but he's a nice thug and another hidden GEM in the ST world.

 

 

Yes, there is always more!

Okay, it's time to end this little compilation but there are plenty more games within our archives - so use the *search* function because you never know what's lurking! Also, don't forget to download AtariCrypt Magazine. Yes, it's free... well... donationware for the honest among you. Go on, grab yourself a copy.

Finally, thank you for visiting my website for another year. It's great reading the comments; your messages of support are always appreciated. Once again, I cannot leave without paying homage to our dear supporters: so this article continues over on Buy Me A Coffee as a special treat to those amazing guys!

All the very beST for 2020 and above all ... STay Atari !!

Merry Christmas

Catnap is a wonderful animation by Gary Johnson of Atari USA that makes the perfect Christmassy post! Apparently, the cat & dog are the pets of Ralph F. Mariano, publisher of the online diskmag ST Report. Personally, I've never read an issue but it lived long into the 90s. Yep, this is something I must research over the Christmas holidays.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our Patreons for their support over the year: Mind-Blowing support from our ST community!! Plus, there are many friends in my little ST world who help: Tom, Dale, PeterJ, Marko, PP, Paul, Karim, Michael, Maarten, and Seb. Finally, my greetings to those who regularly visits my little ol' website to get their fix of Atari :-)

Merry Christmas to all ST Nutters

I wish y'all the very beST †

Silent Night Atari ST chiptune by Chris French

Thundercats

Today's cartoons are rubbish!

Thundercats was released back in 1988 by Elite and is obviously based on the old kids' TV show. I don't remember the programme much myself, but YouTube does, which meant I got to watch a few episodes of this olde classic. An interesting show for the time, and something that makes you realise just how much better things were back then. The ST game shares many expected similarities, particularly with its characters.

The gameplay is represented as a sideways-scrolling platformer across multiple (torturous) levels. We are Lion-O, a Thundercat with flame-red hair and a huge sword who battles strange animal foes. These baddies are from Mumm-Ra, who has stolen the Thundera jewel and kidnapped the other Thundercats.

What shall we do? I think we'd better save the day, but let's see some screenshots...

The first level breaks you into the mayhem nicely. Look for power-ups and try not to panic.

However, things soon get freaky with loads of enemies attacking from all sides!



Being attacked by so many birds at once isn't my idea of great fun.

The weapons are great, but I didn't like that slowwwwww laser gun!

Run...Shoot...Die!!

The terrain is straightforward with monsters, deadly water, disappearing platforms and rocks/etc to leap over - watch out for the bigger baddies who will follow and chase after you. Random power-ups will appear at regular intervals and will need to be struck (with your sword) before you can collect them (I liked the mushrooms). An extra life is appreciated, but I wasn't thrilled about the laser gun, which is limited - it doesn't fire far, thus annoying when something is out of reach! That doesn't make sense, does it?

The gameplay is regularly broken up by bonus rounds like trying to rescue Tygra, which proved impossible: one touch and you have failed the mission!! Who playtested these games back then, or is it just me and my lame skills? Also, the levels are broken up into themes, which you can choose between: they are Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Basically, little changes, but we do get different visuals and extra baddies to kill.

Are you ready for more awesome Atari ST screenshots? Of course, you are...

That creepy fella is tough, so repeatedly hit him where it hurts. No, not his wallet!

Don't forget the mushroom power-ups... You will need all the help you can get.



Hang on, what's this? A spaceship? Gun? Plane? Hover car?

Nope, it's a lame spaceship and one that features that silly laser too... Joy!

16-bit gamers are tough!

The joystick controls are easy to learn and also very responsive: left/right walks our flame-haired hero, and he can also jump and crouch with ease. I liked these controls, which work well, and the best part is our huge sword, which puts Conan's to shame!! However, it's used more like a club, which is weird, but it works.

Sadly, no matter how responsive the controls are, there are too many baddies to cope with. They appear from both sides of the screen - so you're soon overrun as the hordes gang up. To make matters worse, your weapon (which thinks it's a club) can only kill what is directly in front of it, rather than swinging like a sword in a wide arc. So you're constantly jumping, crouching, and turning around. Add that to everything else, and it won't be long until you've died - or launched the joystick in frustration! Yikes.

Maybe games were a lot harder back in the day? Thundercats certainly proves that possibility...

I love the macabre artwork here. It's a bit crude yet very cool... and his toes are funny!

Graphics & Sounds

Visually, things are lovely, I thought. Colours are bold and represent the cartoony-feeling well. Plus, I loved the sprites, which are superbly detailed. However, what shocks me most is the smooth scrolling, including a second parallax layer, too. It's always nice to see when developers don't wimp out with flick/push-scrolling.

The in-game sound effects are nice, even if everything sounds all too familiar. However, it's the music I adore. This game ROCKS, and the theme tune is Rob Hubbard awesomeness. Leave it playing!!

Check out this artwork and listen to the tune. Go on, it's lovely...

I always fail to rescue poor old Tygra!

Click on the green arrow and enjoy this outstanding Rob Hubbard chiptune.

The CryptO'pinion?

Thundercats is a good game, albeit ridiculously challenging. My red-haired hero was walking, jumping and crouching like a crazed maniac on speed!! Yet, I still couldn't manage to kill everything without dying several times. Heck, even with a trainer, it's still hard, but at least this cheat enabled me to endure and finally see the other levels after decades. However, those who playtested this need their head examined.

Yes, it's crammed full of annoying mechanics. However, it's still a game to boot up and play because it looks great, sounds great, and who doesn't enjoy clobbering animals with a huge sword? Personally, I'm more of a He-Man fan, but I enjoyed this platformer, and I think you will too. Flawed but bucket loads of fun!

AtariMania has the Super Pack floppies, and 8BitChip supports hard drive.