I thought I'd entertain myself with a few games of Ghouls 'n Ghosts, a classic platformer and a fantastic Atari ST conversion by Software Creations for US Gold. However, I ended up laughing out loud as I suffered numerous deaths in utter frustration! For those who have been living on another planet, this is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins, another game I'm not particularly great at. Sigh... when will I ever learn?
This is a faithful and beautifully crafted conversion with rock-solid gameplay that takes many moons to master. The visuals are lovely with nice scrolling and superb sprites. Who doesn't love it when Arthur bumps into a baddie and somehow loses his clothes? It doesn't make any sense, but it has our 7-year-old laughing her cotton socks off, which is a win in my book. Musically, Ghouls 'N Ghosts features captivating tunes and some of the most memorable I've heard. Just listen to the first level's music. It doesn't get better than that!!
Ghouls 'N Ghosts is a tough one; an arcade classic. The Atari ST received a superb conversion, which looks great, sounds incredible, and offers the chance to enjoy the most frustrating action. Dare you accept this challenge? Of course, you do, and those brave players can grab the floppies or a hard disk version.
Check out these screenshots while you decide how brave you really are... Good luck... HA!!
Clod Hopper was released by Budgie UK in 1992 by scener Goth, aka Gary Wheaton. It's a platformer that features a fella called Bill who's in search of his girlfriend. She foolishly wandered into the nearby plutonium mines, which are inhabited by crazy creatures, wacky puzzles, and dangerous hazards. Women, uh? Luckily, she left a convenient trail of footprints that we can use to track down our beloved. And save the day!
Bounty Bob/Miner 2049 fans will love this: each screen has platforms to be walked on before we can exit and progress deeper into the mine. This isn't as easy, thanks to tricky level designs and cunning puzzle elements - these often need completing in a particular order. Watch out for those slippery slides, dangerous falls, and the nasty inhabitants who love getting underfoot. Thankfully, there are magical items we can collect that render these creatures defenceless, if only for a short period of time (think before picking them up)
The third level includes working machinery essential for completing the level. It's a concept that works well, but I doubt I'll ever see the fourth!! Sadly, as with many older games, there is a time limit, so don't dawdle for long, as Bill has about five minutes of air supply. I must admit, I hate them, but this time limit is decent.
I would have loved to have shown you many more screenshots, but Clod Hopper is a tough cookie. I managed to get onto the third level, which is a killer. I know how to complete it, but there are many slides and ... just ... one ... wrong ... move!! This game is incredibly tough, but I'm blaming my wonky joystick. Ahem.
On that note, let's see some screenshots of this Bounty Bob platformer...
Level one breaks you in gently to paint those platforms with your feet...
The second level is far trickier and needs to be completed in the correct order.
The devilish third level. I know how to complete it, but my skills deny me the pleasure!
Looks and Sounds?
Graphically, I admire Clod Hopper. The look and design are reminiscent of early 8-bit days, and this style works well. Plus, everything moves smoothly with a console-like feel with awesome animations. This design took me right back to when I was a kid, and without looking like a tacky ripoff. A superb 8-bit vibe throughout.
Along with the 8-bit feel and smooth performance, Gary uses overscan for the score/timer display!!
As for the audio, the music is absolutely beautiful, using a quality that I loved. The effects are great, from the raspy level intro to other in-game sounds. A lot of effort went into how this game sounds!
Do you want more screenshots? How about a video recording and screenshots? Here ya' go...
Check out this intro!
Can you make the high-score table? Not on your first go, you won't lol
Would you believe it? Gary only lives up the road from me...
The CryptO'pinion
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing this platformer! Naturally, it’ll appeal to fans of Bounty Bob and any console owner from the early or mid-80s. The gameplay, sounds, and visuals are reminiscent of that era, showcasing the effort and dedication that went into this. It’s incredible to think it wasn’t a commercial release!
Of course, there’s always something to grumble about, and my main complaint is the measly three lives. This challenging game demands far more lives, especially considering how difficult it is. I managed to reach level three, but those slides are incredibly tricky. A single misstep means no way back.
Having said that, it's brilliant and a freakishly outstanding old-school romp. Oh yeah, I loved it!!
The last time I played Army Moves was probably on my Spectrum +3 just before moving up to the Atari ST. I remember it being part of Ocean's Live Ammo (that was a great compilation). It was extremely sluggish, very hard, and I was rubbish at it. Yep, so I never managed to beat the first level (stop laughing).
Army Moves was developed by Dinamic, who brought us After The War. Army Moves has many ideas borrowed from a variety of great(er) games, and it begins with us trundling over a damaged bridge in a surprisingly well-armed jeep. Firing the infinite supply of rockets at the constant flow of enemies whilst hopping over potholes in the hope of safely reaching the other side ...cough... Moon Patrol...
I think we need a screenshot of this opening level, so here it is...
The jeep is brilliant with realistic handling and fantastic leaping abilities! Yeah!! ;)
When variety isn't the spice of life!
The following level has us flying a helicopter over enemy territory protected by planes - blindly shooting whether you're in their sights or not. The controls are lethargic, making it difficult to avoid their shots. Don't forget to manually land on the helipad at the end - otherwise, you suffer a suckers' death!
The next part is more of the same, ie nothing-you-haven't-seen-before. The final levels take us through the jungle, avoiding grenades and silly buzzards before it flips into something resembling Joe Blade. Of all the levels, the first is the best, whereas the others are far too tough with many enemies.
Wanna see a screenshot? How about one that feels odd as it scrolls in the wrong direction...
Reversed scrolling is pretty weird and doesn't feel right, so it makes stage two quite frustrating!!
Speccy aesthetics?
Visually, I like Army Moves, but that's probably because I'm fondly reminded of my colour-clash days on the Speccy? The graphics are barebones, but I must admit, everything scrolls along nicely, and I do like the detail in the sprites. The helicopter levels feature parallax scrolling, which is a neat touch I appreciated.
David Whittaker's music plays throughout and isn't his best work, but it's still good. Nuff said.
Honestly, I swear that jeep doesn't fly all the time!
The CryptO'pinion?
I like some of Dinamic's ideas, but it tries too hard to be cool. They spoiled it with ludicrously-long levels, which is made worse by being sent back to the start after losing a life!! Ignoring the nearly-fun Jeep stage, I find it difficult to recommend this game - just play Moon Patrol, Silkworm, or Joe Blade instead.
Army Moves could have been great, but it feels like a rushed 8-bit conversion with a massive fistful of frustration. Unlike the Spectrum game, our conversion feels like a glammed-up quick port and one that lost much playability thanks to faster mechanics; scrolling, enemies, etc. I don't get it, what was Dinamic thinking?
The first level is the best, but the rest of the game is too difficult to be entertaining.
Jinks appears as a horizontally scrolling 'Breakout' but is technically one of the worst Atari ST games. A shameful port by Rainbow Arts with incredibly jerky scrolling that is enough to make your eyes bleed after only a few minutes of horrendous play. Honestly, it's that bad and I pity whoever spent their cash on this!
Thankfully, Peter Putnik has begun work on a version making use of the Blitter for far better results (see in the video above). Sadly, all current copies of Jinks contain bad data so Peter is looking for somebody to supply an image of the original floppies. Then he can repair this piece of hiSTory for this enhanced version.
Please get in touch if you can help.
This new Blitter-powered version is downloadable from Atarimania (Atari STe / TT / Falcon)
If you want to torture your eyeballs then the original game can be found via Old Games Finder.
Trusteft has a humorous recording of the original jerky game...
