50 ST games you have to play

A new Atari ST book

I know, I know, I'm late to this party - a brand new book by none other than Karl Morris to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Atari ST. A flabbergasting 50 games are featured along with segments for point & click games, Jeff Minter, how to emulate an ST, YM2149 chip. Oh, and I particularly enjoyed the Ad Breaks.

Karl begins with a heartwarming dedication to the passing of his friend and fellow Atarian, Curt Vendel. The introduction then begins to offer extraordinary insight into the entire era of just what makes the Atari ST everything we love: from its early years to the people, events, stories, hardware, technology, and specifications. I found this to be a fascinating glimpse into the mid-80s and something that I'll probably read several times over the years - that's higher praise than you think, as I'm no bookworm!!

Wanna see what I'm talking about? Of course, you do, so here is a photo of the page with Atari ST specs...

Arghh, somebody's broken up my beautiful Atari ST into pieces!!

Get to the games!

Okay, you all know how much I love the Atari ST (and Atari STe, of course). This is my era of "Atari", so I was expecting good things. Thankfully, the book does not fail to impress. There are several games featured, and starting with the earliest, we have the timeless classic Time Bandit to begin the 16-bit gaming journey. Later, there are beauties like Operation Wold (Arcade Conversions), Dungeon Master (Adventures), Backlash (shoot 'em ups), Supremecy (Strategy), Vroom (Sports) and much more. Absolutely brilliant gaming!!

But wait. Not only is there the usual selection, but also a raft of games traditionally ignored, which was a lovely surprise. I was pleasantly shocked to see greats like Sentinel, Corruption, Masterblazer, Beyond Zork, Stardust, Backlash, and Lode Runner. Karl is obviously a guy who loves to play Atari, and that shines through.

Hang on, I didn't see Resolution 101!! (I'll stop that... I don't want to be one of those people lol)

The book has several ads... Defender of the Crown is one of my faves! ;o)

Same old, same old?

Over the years, we've seen many articles online or in magazines like Retro Gamer, and more. This had to offer something extra special. Thankfully, this is a book that is well-made with a chic style and presentation that is nothing short of exceptional. The writing style is engaging and from a perspective that is both insightful and fun to read. Content is both predictable and unexpected. That means it doesn't fall into the trap of featuring the same old games we've seen a million times. Hey, you know what I mean!

Each game is presented in a format I admire - rather than defaulting to a meaningless Top 50 chart show. All are split into segments of genre, which makes finding what you need a cinch. I liked the layout with photos of title screens, box art and other tidbits displayed as a funky GEM window. Ad Breaks feature often and are a nostalgic reminder of how the Atari ST magazines once captivated our imagination. Love it!!

It doesn't end yet! Check out these lovely stickers and fridge magnets (which my wife loves!)...

The other books and goodies by Zafinn are magnificent - I feel like a BIG kid on Christmas morning!

The CryptO'pinion?

You can guess how thrilled I am to own yet another Atari ST publication. I've found it to be an enjoyable read, which I'll return to time & time again. However, the AtariCrypt website was not mentioned, but I can forgive Karl because he managed to get Atari Legend's website wrong twice. (Oops, I'm so sorry, guys!). 🤪

But seriously, this is the bee's knees, and for a meagre €35, it's incredible value for money. I believe the available stock is running low, so now is the time to act if you want a copy. My sincere gratitude to Karl for holding onto a copy for me over the last few months - I love the goodies, especially the fridge magnets!!

Come on, folks, grab yourself a copy of this wonderful new Atari ST book from the Zafinn Books website.

Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge #AtariSTe

It's finally here, folks!!

After months of development, the time has come. Yes, a public release of the upgraded Atari STe Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge will be available to download from tomorrow, April 10th. The only caveat is that your computer requires 1MB of RAM and a working floppy disk drive. Surely nothing too drastic to ask?

If you didn't know, the plan was to update Lotus with the original's missing features: sky rasters, revamped roadside details, car sprites, and Blitter-boosting the framerate. Jamie Hamshere worked on the DMA audio to replace the original's horrendous effects. The end result of all this effort is staggering.

I’d like to thank Jon for his hard work and for sharing everything over the months. Following it has been a fascinating experience and loads of fun. I would like to thank Jamie & Masteries for their incredible DMA skills; I'll never forget the first time I played Lotus with samples alongside the chip music.

Downloads will be available from tomorrow morning via AtariMania. That's my weekend sorted...

One day, I'll get myself a sports car, and I'll live the game for real. One day...

Did you know?

Lotus Esprit also works on the Atari ST and features sky rasters, faster gameplay, and more. The only caveat is the requirement of 1MB RAM and a Blitter Chip (check the Options menu in GEM if you're unsure!). Mega STs meet the requirements, and late-model STFMs have an empty socket. Feeling tempted to upgrade?

Worried that you don't have a working floppy disk? Well, the download is compatible with floppy disk replacements and can also run off a hard drive/ultrasatan using programs like Floppy Image Runner (check that out). Also, the 16MHz Mega STe is supported - hold down the SHIFT key at bootup. Also, if you're missing the peculiar YM sound effects, then press the ALT key at bootup to disable the DMA samples.

When you need a screenshot of your success, but you don't quite make it...

Check it out, I made the high score table!!

Preview Release Timeline Updates (for reference)

I've made a few video recordings to flaunt the features of each beta release. All credit to Jonathan Thomas, Jamie Hamshere & Masteries for all their work with each version. Great work, lads, keep it up!!

For reference, here are the links from each development build I have received:

• Apr 10th - It's finally here to download from AtariMania!!
• Mar 31st - video #6 Player two has sky gradient, Blitter scrolls the landscape per pixel, more audio refinements, and a higher framerate!
• Mar 28th - video #5 Portugal track (audio sample for the intro and many improvements made to the volume balance of YM/DMA.
• Mar 21st - video #4 Practice track with a massive change to the audio. Lotus can DMA sound effect samples alongside the glorious Ben Daglish chip music!!! Volume refinements to come thanks to Jamie...
• Mar  7th - video #3 Iceland track (DMA sfx).
• Feb 28th - video #2 Mexico track (chip music).
• Feb 21st - video #1 Italy track (chip sound effects).
• Feb 21st - website feature with information, specs, photos, etc... :-)
• Dec 24th - Jon posted on Atari-Forum about his Lotus plan!

Sophélie

Bums and Boobs!

Sophelie was once a goddess of heaven, but has since been vanquished and left to roam the lands searching for her body. What? Why? Well, some kind soul has turned her into an albatross, so she now spends time flying through worlds looking to find her original appearance. As storylines go, this is silly, to say the least!

This is a horizontally scrolling shooter, not too dissimilar to Menace. This time, we're not killing monsters or aliens, but some of the weirdest things you might never have expected: planets, snowmen, wolf heads, eyeballs, and even trees. The landscapes are lush with colour, and even angels will regularly appear to help.

Sounds great, right? Well, let's take a look at some screenshots from the first level...

Yep, giant eyeballs are coming for you and are actually tough to kill, too!

Now, this is getting silly! What have the trees ever done to you?

Let's kill the planet? No, literally by shooting down the rotating planet Earth!!

Spit, don't shoot!

We begin with the hand of God safely delivering us, ready for battle. The levels are split into segments, with each having its own brand of baddies all too eager to see you dead. The controls are fast and responsive, and a joy to control without any lag. The gameplay is fast and exciting as each enemy will swarm onto the screen using its unique attack pattern. Some shoot at you, like the Earth enemies firing mini-planets. Cool.

Some of the nasties are easy to kill, whereas others are impossible, thanks to the slow rate at which we can shoot. This makes killing certain enemies tough because they move too quickly in comparison to our fire rate. Dying can be a bit troublesome, especially when you materialise close to an enemy and therefore instantly die once again. A simple invulnerability effect could have been utilised for a second or two!!

Angels visit after each segment with power-ups, which are essential from the start. Miss them, and the following swarm of enemies is quite impossible to defeat. Also, dying baddies might sometimes throw out an extra power-up, but these fall off the screen before you've had a chance to even think about collecting them. Finally, there is a time limit ticking down to kill each wave of baddies. Very peculiar, to say the least.

Let's end the whining and take a look at some screenshots from the second world...

Some of the sprites are freaky... freaky-cool!

I can't make out whether these are balloons or floating severed heads!

Damn snowmen, they all deserve to die!! O_o

Aesthetics?

Visually, I like the colourful palettes, funky sprites racing across the screen, and smooth parallax scrolling running at a brisk pace. I love the level of detail that's gone into the sprite's artwork. Sophelie's animation is superb, and never have I played a game with such a wacky variety of different enemies. They're quite insane!!

Sadly, the audio is disappointing with a fuzzy tune and near-silent gameplay. Well, apart from the death-killing sound effect and a strange background whistle. It's shocking because the YM is far more capable.

Well, that was a mixed bag, alright, so let's take a peep at the third world...

These are insanely difficult to kill, if not impossible, without losing all your lives!

He's big. He's bad. He's about to be brown bread!!

Hey, a power-up appears from a dying beast, yet you have no chance of collecting it!

The CryptO'pinion?

This isn’t a terrible shoot 'em up. The colourful levels and impressive baddies zipping across the screen create a constant action-packed experience. Plus, the occasional appearance of angels with gifts to boost your chances of victory adds a nice touch. Sadly, it’s also one of the most boring shooters I’ve played. While the graphics might change, the gameplay constantly remains the same. And then there's the audio... Ugh, terrible!

Technically superb, but it’s an understatement to say there are better Atari ST shooters. Sophelie looks nice, but sounds awful and is very repetitive. While there are boobies, I’m not convinced it’s worth playing.

If you're curious, then grab the floppy disk at Atari Legend. Enjoy...

Oh no, another grisly death beautifully laid out. Interesting artwork!