Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny

Father Christmas has come early!

Atari Legend is playing Santa with a fantastic run-up to Christmas by releasing something special every day throughout December. It wasn't until the 7th when they released an HDD-patched version of Ultima 5 that I became intrigued by their offer. Wow, that doesn't sound right, 1-6 where ace. Doh!

The land of Britannia has lost its king, Lord British, and is now ruled by a tyrant called Blackthorn. As the Avatar, your mission is to return to Britannia. You must uncover Lord British’s fate, rally allies, restore the true meaning of virtues and overthrow Blackthorn’s regime to restore balance to the kingdom.

Yeah, it sounds corny, with the good-vs-evil problem. But this game looks very interesting, and I love the overhead visuals. I’m curious about the character I should create to explore this strange world.

First Impressions

Creating a character is an unusual affair, and something I didn't expect, but this process eventually got Stevie configured and into the thick of it. Boy, there are a large number of keys to learn for each and every additional action, which basically means your interaction with the world at large. In fact, the world is huge, and the battles are challenging, so exploring Britannia is going to be fun (or agony?). I can take it!!

I am genuinely enjoying my first walks through the grasslands and forests, until I found a small bridge with a Troll. Luckily, I made it across without him noticing me, but I then ran into red demons who decided that they wanted a piece. You know, those pieces that I need to stay alive... Yep, my first battle didn't go down well if I'm honest - DEAD! But wait, I've been resurrected for another bash! Let's hope I can do better.

This is one seriously immersive RPG. I'm talking months of my life, gone...

Have my plans changed?

Yes, they certainly have. I’ve decided to spend Christmas in the world of Ultima V, complete with whiskey, turkey butties, and mince pies! I’m really looking forward to learning more about the game and have enjoyed a few interesting attempts (ahem failures). I love the style of Ultima V; the graphics are fantastic, and the adventure is incredibly captivating. I’m afraid I haven’t fully mastered the combat system yet, but I’ll get there.

I’m excited to take this game seriously and see how my next adventure unfolds. Watch this space, folks. Now, if you're totally a noob to Ultima V, then I'd love to hear of your progress. Enjoy the Christmas gift!

Sadly, their file was stored on Stonish, which is now long gone. Update to follow :(

Looks like I'm in a pretty cosy place and very glam too.

Okay, let's get out and explore the lush countryside.

Oh no, a two-headed Ettin has found me when walking over the hills...

I'm too weak and need better weapons - I should have run away!

Vicious snakes decide to spit venom at our plucky adventurers.

Now I feel Ultima V is finally starting to show its true colours.

What a game, and I must say that I adore the graphical style and detail. Amazing!

Hey, look, I've just found a map! Time for a drink before leaving...

MANDELST

Let's mess about!

MandelST is a fractal generator developed in GFA Basic by Manos Kantzos (thanks to GeoAnas for the heads-up). I love messing about with funky fractals, and this program is a cinch to use, which is ace!

Mandelbrot/Julia productions can be generated within moments, but faster computers will benefit from that extra grunt. Of course, emulators are an excellent idea, unless you prefer leaving your ST on for long periods. Images can be exported as Degas PI1 or TIFF. Also, basic animations are possible, and these take us deep into an infinite mathematical world like nothing I've seen before. A stunning idea with great potential.

I've enjoyed creating peculiar images and animations, and I'm quite proud of them. Also, it's fantastic to see something new being developed for the Atari ST, so I'm hoping Manos continues on and improves his work in the future. This is a great program, so have yourself some geeky fun zooming in on infinite!!

- My Funky Creations -

 

 

 

 

 

Lupo Alberto

Taking another look...

Do you remember the excitement when Lupo Alberto was released back in 2015? Well, today I've taken another look because I was contacted by Luca Stradiotto, who supplied a cheat code that enabled me to get further into this *difficult* game. Otherwise, I'd have never stood a chance, not with my skills lol

Lupo Alberto looks and sounds great, but that push scrolling sure lets it down, especially when killed by something off-screen! But it's still great, and the two-player co-op is a fantastic feature to change characters. Overall, it's a shame that this was never released because I have enjoyed playing it a bunch!

It's silly (and a bit buggy), but it's worth downloading!!

Clever And Smart

Fancy playing something weird?

Magic Bytes released Clever & Smart back in 1987, a peculiar puzzler based on an original Spanish comic strip. I've never heard of that comic strip before, nor have I ever played this Atari ST game. I'm hoping that being new to something will be a good thing. I can but hope! Let's see and take this weird game for a spin.

So, we begin at an odd city and are two special agents - who are controlled at the same time (yeah, I don't get it either, but let's crack on). Okay, they're hardly Mulder and Scully, but these guys have been informed about a gifted scientist, Dr Bakterius. He is being held prisoner by a terrorist organisation called OMP. Yup, I guess it's our job to free him, but why is there always an evil scientist on the loose?

Brace yourself. This is going to be a bumpy ride, so let's take a look at a couple of screenshots...

Terrorists are causing trouble again, so let's plod through the city looking for clues... I think?

I must admit, the graphics are quite shocking, but the character sprites are kinda cool.

Let's play something different, you said?

The city is viewed from above, and exploring that is quite a weird and very confusing experience, if I'm brutally honest. Watch out for odd characters lurking in the streets - contact usually ends in a brawl for some insane reason I cannot figure out. Finding a cop won't help because they just disappear (like in real life). I wandered around for a while until a car suddenly appeared, seemingly there to run us down (and it will).

By chance, I entered the sewers through a manhole and found myself in a place that reminded me of an old ZX Spectrum game, Maziacs. I pottered about, dodging rats and silly cats, but there wasn't much else of interest other than to seek out an exit. At this point I was wondering WTH. Anyhow, bumping into the walls displays a menu with two useless options, so I assumed I needed to previously hunt down items from the city above? However, I found nothing in the three games I recorded. Yes, three.

Aesthetically, this game sucks. It's almost like my Atari ST has been transformed into an Amstrad because of the poor visuals made from amateur artwork. Also, the animations are really suspect, and whoever created their shuffling walk (during the sewers scenes) should be shot!! That said, some of the sprites are kinda cute, and those brawls are a neat, cartoon-like touch. However, this isn't a game you'll boot up to show your friends (lol). Sadly, the YM2149 blurts out little more than the odd scratchy effect and footsteps. Very poor.

This now leads me to a couple more screenshots with humorous sprites like this cat...

The sewers are bad but not as much as our shuffling walk, which is odd.

Hey, look, is that a baby trapped in the wall or just hilarious graffiti? Love it!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Well, that was certainly one of the most unusual Atari ST games that I have ever attempted to play. It's quite confusing with lots of careless walking about. Little makes any sense, so you basically wonder, wondering what to do and where to go. Whilst you attempt to figure it out, a car appears to run you down!

Nah, this game didn't give a good vibe. Pretty much a terrible game.

• Those willing to torture themselves can grab the floppy and HDD versions.