Following on from my previous post, here is part two of my personal homage to some earlier demos that I admire. Keep watching, because I continue with two of the best megademos the world has ever seen before ending with Virtual Escape, possibly the best half-meg Atari ST demo ever? Who knows, do you? Let me know in the comments below!
Once again, I hope you all enjoy what is nothing more than a silly fan-made video of a few demos that I remember enjoying from around 1988 onwards. Each production can be downloaded from either AtariMania or Demozoo.
Finally, I've added an excellent background chiptune called Harmless, by Nemo aka Jan Daldrup.
Grusel by Eckhard Kruse: I've always loved this and so does my daughter 30yrs later!!
Death Of The Left Border by TNT: Finally, the left border had gone - an incredible moment.
Singing Raisins by John Blakely & Mark Booth: An early animation which is so funny.
The Junk Demo by TCB: From start to end these guys never failed to impress.
Dark Side Of The Spoon by ULM: from the moment I first heard "U..L..M". Superb!!
European Demos by OVR: What a jaw-dropping megademo with some incredible screens.
Virtual Escape by Equinox: This runs on an 8Mhz computer with half a meg Ram. Outstanding!!
I decided to make a video showcasing a limited selection of the earlier Atari ST demos that hold a special place in my heart. You know, those productions which made our brains, eyes and ears explode with shock and excitement when we saw our machine doing things it was never supposed to be able to do. Well, that was the start of a special era, alright!
I hope you all enjoy this video and I've also added one of my favourite chiptunes as a cool backing track, Best Part Of The Creation by Big Alec. A mesmerising tune from "Punish Your Machine" which is also one of few medium-resolution screens for the ST. Every demo is available on AtariMania and Demozoo and here is what I decided to pick:
README.PRG by The Exceptions: Come on, nobody expected this when double-clicking that icon!
Little Color Demo by The Exceptions: This is something I really love to listen to over and over.
Full Screen Demo by Level 16: Both my TV and I were blown away by this stunning feat!
The Union Demo by The Union: I still remember ordering this!! What a moment in time.
The Cuddly Demos by The Carebears: To me, this felt like a Union Demo II. Ace STuff.
Overdrive Demo by Phalanx: Oh, that menu. Wow, incredible!! How did they do it?
Mindbomb by The Lost Boys: Possibly the best demo team? Ohhh what have I just started? lol
Myth was a promising game by System 3 Software that was released on several different platforms - except for the Atari ST. We got a playable demo to whet our appetites before they later pulled the plug. The first stage is fully playable but there is no music/sfx. So I added a wonderful chiptune by ActoDi called Friday to spice up the lacking audio.
This is /could have been/ a superb game as it's great fun and has a promising Gods/Black Tiger vibe that I really enjoyed. The graphics are fantastic with smooth scrolling and I enjoyed kicking and stabbing demon filth. Yup, this might have been great so I'm gutted System 3 wimped out on the Atari ST... Wow, the potential was there!!
The download is on Atarimania and there are more unreleased Atari ST games to cry over here - grab a tissue!
I remember playing Frantick years ago, so it's about time I gave this another shot. Well, after today's attempt, I still suck eggs, but this is a cracking game. Released in 1994 by the legend that is Dave Munsie, Frantick is a shooter like a 2D Tempest! The documentation states that your reflexes and dexterity will be tested.
It's not wrong! This game is challenging, so it features two extra game modes to help train you: Easy and Droid. Personally, I preferred the help from my trusty droid, who seemed to enjoy sacrificing itself to compensate for my sluggish reactions. I suggest playing in either mode for several games of practice, as you'll need it.
Our spaceship is situated within a horizontal stripe along the middle of the screen. We can't escape this area, but can move along it and fire up/downwards at the enemies. These blighters descend on your position, so be quick and kill them before they reach you. One touch and you're brown bread, but there are power-ups to help and bonuses. If things get too crazy, then whack the spacebar to activate a limited supply of nukes.
Graphically, things are pretty simple, but using freakishly psychedelic styles! There are different aliens, and everything comes alive with colour. Heck, there is even an epilepsy warning! The sound effects are superb, and STe owners, with enough RAM, can listen to streamed DMA music in-game, which I really enjoyed!!
As with Anarchy, this is one of those games that is too fast for old Stevie. Frantick bemuses and overwhelms me with its furious action, but it's such a thrill. But boy, what a ride. This is what you'd call a great example of arcade-style gaming. Just make sure you wear cheap sunglasses and drink lots of coffee first!
I've thoroughly enjoyed Frantick; it's nothing less than a ridiculous shoot 'em up!!
