Turbo Cup

ROOAARRRRR!!!

Turbo Cup was released in 1988 by Loriciel and places us behind the wheel of a Porsche 944. Enjoy the practice run before moving up to the thrilling race events against computer-controlled competitors. The graphics are great, and even though I'm no Porsche fan, it's one of the best-looking 16-Bit racers. Sound effects are equally nice with the roar of that engine, which beats the YM buzz used in other racers of the day.

What I love is the player's point of view because the perspective is quite unique and gives an illusion of a wider view. There are also some neat physics, which prevent the race from being easy, so perhaps you should take the corners a little slower? It's no sim, but it's still a tough cookie and one that will take time to master.

Turbo Cup is a hard racer and will take many attempts before you've mastered the control mechanics. Stick with it, and you've got yourself a great racer that also looks and sounds rip-roaringly superb.

Much overlooked due to its learning curve, but I love this racer to bits!!

• 8BitChip has a hard drive installable version to download.
• Old Games Finder has all the floppy disk images you could ever need.

Erik

Erik The Viking!

Erik is a peaceful Viking who keeps himself to himself and bothers nobody. Unfortunately, that evil trickster god, Loki, isn't too pleased about Erik choosing a pacifistic lifestyle over one of pillaging, so he casts a spell and turns the world rotten. Erik must travel to these infested lands and battle sadistic evil before returning home. Wow, the problems that these computer characters must face daily... It's just not fair, is it?

Atlantis Software released Erik in 1992. It is a vertically scrolling platformer with dozens of levels spread over four worlds. Of course, each contains a fair few baddies, cool traps, and scary end-of-level bosses. The graphics are cute and cuddly, with nice detail and super smooth scrolling, with raspy samples for sounds.

A simple platformer, which happens to be tremendously entertaining and challenging. Loads of fun!!

Floppy disks can be found over on AtariMania.

Klaz has a fantastic hard disk download!

Black Tiger

Ohhh, yes!!!

Black Tiger is one of those games I have loved since day one, and today I got to play it again after what feels like a lifetime! It's a good arcade conversion of the famous arcade game we love. Disclaimer time: my old joystick doesn't work well moving diagonally, so you will see lots of silly mistakes in my video recording. Honestly, it's the joystick!

We step into the sandals of a muscle-bound barbarian hero who’s had enough of monsters wrecking his homeland. Three nasty dragons have plunged the kingdom into chaos, unleashing wave after wave of grotesque beasties. It’s down to us to hack, slash, and leap our way through the ruins to put things right. Along the way, we will free imprisoned wise men for handy rewards, scoop up piles of gold, and grab weaponry. So do you fancy saving the world?

This game is classic arcade fun - pick up that joystick and instantly you're having tons of fun leaping over the landscapes and pummelling monsters into oblivion. Each level not only looks superb but is really interesting to explore: I love the mechanics of clinging onto ledges to fire or leaping towards higher places in a dingy, creepy world. What a great adventure - arcade-style - and this is proving to be every bit as good as I remember.

It's the joystick controls that impress me the most, which is no easy task for the Atari one-button design, with regard to many arcade conversions. It is very responsive, so it keeps the action going as fast as it should. The range of monsters is brilliant, and what's better than powering up with ridiculous weapons to crush your enemy?

Graphically, this is a stunner, and considering no STe hardware scrolling is (sigh) utilised, the old STf keeps up with the pace just fine. Sure, it's not as zippy as the arcade, but it works, so I'm impressed with how good it moves considering what's going on. The creepy backgrounds and sprites are ace - I love those wonky old skeletons the most. Overall, the design is something I adore because it works perfectly, so it feels like a belting arcade experience.

Yep, this is pretty faithful to the original, and I feel US Gold did us proud, especially considering they ignored the STe hardware... sigh... That would have been a huge deal with a little help from the Blitter. Still, as is, Black Tiger is fantastic and one of my favourite arcade conversions. This means it scores top marks from me!!

Grab the floppies via Atari Legend or HDD by Klaz!

Leap your way through the labyrinth, killing anything and everything that moves. Perfect!!

Clinging onto anything sturdy helps you get to those areas other beers cannot reach!.

Oh no, skeleton monsters!!! They look awesome, but it's best to KILL THEM!!

Hang on, there's a little old man here. Let's kill him... wait... no, maybe not?

Killing Spree

TLB made a game!

I loved The Lost Boys; they started as Britain's answer to the Carebears! Their demos are outstanding, and I remember my jaw dropping to the floor when I saw Ooh Crikey Wot a Scorcher - a masterpiece!!

And that "main menu" used to access each demo screen? Impressive, to say the least? Hmm, but what would happen if it were adapted into a game? Would it be good enough? Why not take a look for yourself at Killing Spree, because I think its potential is insane. Like an early Cybermorph... what might have been?

Demozoo features a massive page dedicated to The Lost Boys and their fantastic ST catalogue.