Unheart

A fun puzzler?

Unheart is something I've been meaning to feature for far too long. It's new and was only released in 2014 at Silly Venture by Masters of Electric City. Based on the original PC game Heartlight, which happily mixes Sokoban with a dollop of Boulder Dash to produce a riveting, refreshing, brain-teasing challenge.

Boulder Dash fans should look elsewhere because this is a Sokoban game and a brilliant take on that. We are a dwarf who enjoys digging through caves looking for love hearts. Watch out for falling rocks that might block your path or worse, a head-crushing blow. You might even come upon a bomb as you crawl through the soft soil, but be careful, because these will detonate when impacting something hard, like a wall or rock. Heck, there are even balloons that will float upwards, potentially pushing whatever gets in their way...

Don't worry if you get stuck; hitting ESC will humorously make our dwarf explode so we can restart. Also, a level-skip function is available to bypass those brain-destroying levels, with the option to return later. The difficulty remains constant throughout, with cunning map designs causing the most intense problems!

The graphics are simple yet superbly detailed using a gorgeous C64-like palette. The status bar is displayed using overscan, which is always a great thing for obvious reasons. The chip music is on another level. It is breathtaking and perfectly suits the gameplay - I just wish there was more.

Unheart is good fun and pushes you to think differently. Its difficulty remains constant throughout, with shrewd map designs causing the most intense problems to overcome. Thankfully, with unlimited retries - and the ability to skip troublesome levels - you aren't distracted and will keep coming back.

Unheart is challenging, distinctively brilliant, and one of the beST puzzlers on the Atari ST.

- SCREENSHOTS & DOWNLOAD -

Some levels look simple, yet they are not. Perhaps well-placed explosions will help?

I spent ages on this level and yet it is so easy to complete!! Sometimes physics helps a bunch.

Another level that appears so simple, but that didn't stop me from pulling out my hair!!

I can imagine Boulder Dash fans loving the first level, but not so much the others!

Grab the download at Demozoo & Silly Venture!

Anduril

Wilf is back

Anduril is a PD game by Markus Dheus that features a flying hero. Like the ZX Spectrum game, Kokotoni Wilf, this is a flick-screener with cunning rooms to explore. Unfortunately, unlike that game, our guy cannot walk or even touch the landscape scenery. If he does, it results in an instant loss of life. Thankfully, he can fly like a Flappy Bird using simple controls: use the SHIFT key to fly with H + J turning left/right.

Set in a strange and unforgiving labyrinthine realm, Anduril casts you as a winged adventurer trapped within a maze of razor-sharp passages and deadly obstacles. Your quest is simple, but brutal in execution: guide your airborne hero through this hostile world, gathering scattered objects. Yep, don't touch the walls!!

I imagine Anduril is beginning to sound rather easy. Ha, you couldn't be more wrong, as anyone who loves a challenge will get just that - the first screens are fine, but it isn't too long before the game's true sadistic nature is exposed. Most of the map consists of tight spaces to guide our man. If that wasn't tough enough, once gravity is factored in, Anduril becomes distressing for even the most patient gamer.

The graphics are crisp and detailed, but I sometimes had collision detection, which often worked in my favour, so I shouldn't complain. Sounds are almost void, with only a low-volume spot effect for item pickup. Hey, stop moaning, it's a public domain freebie from 1986, and it's pretty darn good.

Very difficult, so not for everyone. However, I found it an enjoyable change from the norm.

• Download Anduril from AtariMania, and this program will help those without a mono monitor.
• Click here if you're wondering what Kokotoni Wilf is.

Pung

Pong?

Pung is an Atari STe game that has finally been released after years of lurking in purgatory. Obviously, it's based on the 1972 classic and currently stands at v0.30, so it may have a few bugs that could lead to those infamous bombs. Just reset and keep on playing! I'm glad this got a release as we have enjoyed playing it over the weekend - it's different with a few neat ideas, and I recommend you take a look.

Get it downloaded and let me know what you think...

• Demozoo website has a download with all the credits and more.
• I nabbed the MOD music file off Demozoo and made a recording. Love it!

Potsworth & Co

Another platformer? Yawn, let's check it out...

Potsworth & Co is a cutesy platformer developed by Ben Walshaw for Hi-Tec Software (1992) and is based on a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series (which I'd never heard of before). I've only just learnt that Potsworth is a dog who happens to have a group of kiddy mates known as The Midnight Patrol (sounds a bit lame!).

So, the story is this: a group of neighbourhood children and their dog enter a magical dream world whenever they fall asleep. Operating as a superhero team called the Midnight Patrol, they are guided by the wise Grand Dozer as they defend this realm from the malicious Nightmare Prince, who seeks to turn dreams into terrifying nightmares. Yeah, it sounds weird? You betcha! But I think you're gonna love it.

Let's take a break for the first screenshot...

Each level is different and features other characters, each with their own skills.

Developers who care!

Potsworth & Co offers a style similar to Doodlebug or Magic Boy, but don't let the comical visuals trick you; this game is challenging. Each world features many hazards and, of course, a wide range of baddies who walk back and forth aimlessly, doing their best to make life troublesome. There are also puzzles, but these won't stump you; it's more like moving a block onto a switch panel (or a teddy bear!).

Different members of the Midnight Patrol are controlled on each level, and each has unique abilities. In the first, we are a stroppy girl who begins underground in a place Rick Dangerous would love:

• Rosie - Uses powerful sound blasts against enemies!.
• Nick - The strongman of the group, able to lift and throw objects.
• Potsworth - Relies on straightforward platforming and has no special powers.
• Carter - Can draw useful platforms that appear within the level, helping him overcome obstacles and reach otherwise inaccessible areas.
• Keiko - Travels on a flying skateboard firing projectiles in her wake.

This isn't an easy-to-pick-up-and-play platformer, if I'm honest. I think it has a testing learning curve thanks to a difficulty level famous throughout the 8 and 16-bit era. Personally, I think a lot more lives should have been given by default, and some parts of the later levels are quite irritating. But all this is solved by having more lives or (cough) a trainer, which means you can then enjoy this game fully.

The joystick controls are superbly responsive, making exploration a breeze without sluggishness. When you move onto a new level, the game changes your character, which is unusual. I especially liked the third world, where we play as a dog in a candy land - this is bursting with cool mechanics and is brilliant.

Let's see a screenshot of that stroppy-looking girl level I mentioned...

No lame port here, but there are... walking guns in this Ricky Dangerous level!

Model looks!

The visuals are stunning, and it certainly proves what a developer can do when they care about their product. This looks the business, alright, and feels quite console-y with fantastic environments, awesome sprites, and bundles of colour throughout each and every level. The scrolling is both fast and fluent, which means we're being treated, rather than enduring a jerky, lame Amiga port. Amazing, just amazing.

Sadly, the audio is the mirror opposite of those lovely pixels and appears to be an afterthought. There are only a few spot sound effects and, even worse, no background chiptune, which would have been perfect. Oh, and don't even ask about a title theme. That is absolutely terrible and should be skipped - quickly!!

So much effort went into the gameplay and visuals, yet hardly anything for the audio. Weird...

Another new level and another different character to master.

The CryptO'pinion?

This is superb and provides a fantastic venture through several interesting worlds. Each is a vibrant and charming experience and, not only that, but a testament to the power of the Atari ST when in the hands of a talented programmer. Prepare thyself for a game that is as challenging as it is beautiful.

This is one of the best platformers there is. I've loved every second with The Midnight Patrol. If I can pass on a piece of advice, it would be this: Don't be a knob and download this game right now. There ya go.

Downloads for floppy disk & hard drive.