Fernandez Must Die

Let's kill everyone!!

Fernandez Must Die drops you into the war-torn Republic of El Diablo, a once-stable South American nation now crushed under the rule of the dictator Fernandez. After a violent coup, the country has fallen into chaos, its people silenced by military force and its cities and jungles turned into heavily fortified strongholds. As a lone mercenary, you are sent into the heart of the conflict to do what an army cannot: dismantle the regime from within before finally confronting the man himself, the dreaded Fernandez - who must die!

ImageWorks released this cool shoot 'em up in 1988 and is pretty much another Commando/Ikari Warriors clone designed to unleash our inner combat soldier. Every time I play, I'm reminded of those A-Team episodes in a dodgy part of South America. Just like the TV show, an evil dictator is causing havoc, but B.A. Baracus refused to get on the plane! So we're on our own; grab a weapon and head out to the killing fields, soldier!

The war zone is stuffed with enemy soldiers and their slow-flying bullets that we can dodge. Our weapon of choice is a machine gun with unlimited ammo, but we have a rocket launcher for extra firepower. Some buildings can be plundered by blowing off the door with dynamite, which is useful in ammunition depots! We're not only on foot, as vehicles can be utilised. And what's better than the option of mowing down a few soldiers?

The visuals are distinctly "1980s" with a cartoon style for both soldiers and scenery. ImageWorks didn’t skimp on smooth scrolling either. The audio is fantastic, featuring sampled sounds for effects. No complaints.

I’m glad I bought this game; it’s fantastic fun with perfectly balanced gameplay that’s highly addictive. While Fernandez Must Die lacks originality, it makes up for it with loads of gun action that never takes itself seriously. This is an awesome Commando shooter and possibly my favourite for the Atari ST!!

Head out to that battlefield, soldier!
Arm yourself with a floppy or hard disk.

Bullets flying and armouries to loot. This is just like being part of the A-Team!!

Watch out for sneaky soldiers hiding in the trees and also those operating gun turrets.

The action comes thick and fast, and the onslaught of soldiers never ceases. Oops, I died!!

Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters

B-movie gaming

Evil Reptilons are hell-bent on destroying us humans and taking hold of Planet X. They've enslaved much of the population, forcing them to build a robot army for an invasion. Jake and Duke are two heroes with a simple plan: destroy as many robots as possible, trash the computers, rescue cute girls, and save the day.

Robot Monsters is played in a fashion similar to other 3D isometric games you might have seen, going back to the days of Knight Lore. Imagine a pinch of Buck Rogers with a dollop of Gauntlet, and you get the idea. The goal is to rescue the humans, without forgetting those held in stasis pods! Along the way are traps designed for us, soft fleshy humans: sharp spikes, rotating chunks of metal, and electric floor panels.

All this is going on whilst Planet X constantly spawns enemy robots. Yes, the alien horde is relentless, so you'd better be quick on the trigger, otherwise you will be overrun. It's insane, but it works. And it works better than other games that employ the same mechanic because it's manageable and playable.

This game is like living a B-Movie, so let's see some screenshots from the intro...

Grab a raygun and fight

We're not going to sit back and take this invasion lightly. Armed with a powerful weapon that is great for quick kills. However, refrain from overuse; otherwise, it is less effective. Thankfully, it can be charged by collecting the green blobs that a dead robot might leave behind after dying. There are also bombs - hit the shift key and they detonate. That kills anything nasty within your vicinity - even the captives, so be careful.

There are bonus stages along a canal route after a few levels, and they feature many extra bonuses. These aren't essential to your overall progress. Also, I wasn't too eager about them because I wanted to get playing the main game. The big Reptilon boss will first seem an impossible opponent, but there is a cunning way to avoid it by using a few bombs and a little joystick waggling!! Just ask me if you need any help.

A cynic might say, that's all there is to this game: Run around, kill monsters, rescue girls. Well, yes and no. Yes, that's the gist, AND IT'S BRILLIANT!! But no, you're a knob for even thinking that. Look, just play it.

I know, I know, you want more screenshots from the intro. Well, you're in luck...

Next-Gen aesthetics!

Back in the day, I remember being blown away by the comical artwork, which still looks great. In-game, I adore the isometric 3D viewpoint, which is perfect, and the entire environment has superb attention to detail. The Alien Hoard is varied and excellent - my favourite being the biscuit-looking guys lol. They're not biscuits, of course, but they are cute! That's this game to a tee; it's different and loves to be different. It works perfectly.

The audio is a blast, with zappy effects complementing the gorgeous background music. I like how it integrates during gameplay. Sure, I wish we had an extra channel, but the music beats away while you hear relevant sound effects. It works and sounds amazing. I loved the music, so click the arrow and listen for yourself.

Go on, I said, click this arrow just below and enjoy the YM Bliss...

AtariCrypt · Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters

Don't run away. Come back, there are girls to be rescued and robots to kill!

The CryptO'pinion?

I have really enjoyed playing this great game again after all these years. This is one of those shooters stuffed to the brim with originality and frantic metallic mayhem. Running around killing everything is totally demented and done with a comical personality, using great characters. This is a superb isometric shooter.

It's as much fun to play today as it was in 1990. Such an iconic 16-bit shooter, and I love it to bits!!

- DOWNLOAD for hard disk and floppy -

Lupo Alberto

Stop the press!

Late last night, I found an interesting post on AtariAge by Philsan concerning an unreleased game called Lupo Alberto. This is a platformer that (I think) is based on a European comic or a TV show. Well, after 25 years of lurking in unreleased hell, the ST version gets to see the light of day (now listed on AtariMania)

First impressions are good with cartoon visuals and cute sprites roaming about - just look at those chickens!! However, it's push-scrolling, which is a severe shame because the game's mechanics demand scrolling. Well, it is unfinished, so I shouldn't complain too much, and the push technique is fast and zippy...

Gameplay is tricky for this cute platformer, so I imagine lots of frustration ahead of me. I'm delighted we have this rescued, and I look forward to giving Lupo a proper run for its money tonight!

Update: during a game, press CTRL and type: otrebla. Thanks to Luca Stradiotto!!

Pegasus

Swords, guns and flying a horse

Satan has been a bad boy and turned the world on its head. It's our job to reverse his dastardly deeds before it's too late. Developed by Optimus Software for Gremlin, we are Percius and fly on the mythical horse Pegasus. Our adventure is split into two parts: a shooter with us riding Pegasus. And a platformer where Percius is free to unleash his wrath using a large sword (it flips between these two throughout).

The shooter parts are... okay. Imagine something like R-Type, but on horseback, and you have the idea. The baddies appear in the expected patterns so bang on that fire button and collect the crystals they leave behind. They enhance weaponry and there are lots of power-ups that help brighten up this dull affair.

The platform parts are better - run, jump, and leap, collecting crystals and killing baddies. Hardly riveting stuff but still enjoyable with superb joystick mechanics. Controlling Percius is a cinch and I wish more platformers had fluent movement like this. This part of the game had great potential but ended up very boring.

The graphics are bland and I fear a lame port because it's sparsely populated, quite barren of detail. It's like they didn't put in any effort at all. Not only that but that blue background could have been better with a splash more colour. However, the scrolling is nice and smooth so at least that's something? Sadly, the audio is feeble and only the firing stops this game from being as silent as a ZX81!! I really don't think Gremlin cared...

Let's not kid ourselves, this is lame Amiga port and a terrible one at that. It could have/should have been better so it's embarrassing to think Gremlin released this. However, I gotta admit that the platform stages are enjoyable and had potential. It's not a bad game but it's far from a good game. A rushed port.

There are far better shooters and platformers, just use the search option at the top of this page!

The platform part isn't bad but could have been made into something great with little effort.

Collect those power-ups otherwise, it's Zzzzzz!! Play R-Type instead.

Download and play Pegasus using a hard drive thanks to both D-Bug and 8BitChip. But those wanting the floppies can find 'em on Old Games Finder.

 

If the game is too hard (boring) then here are some nifty cheats: 

Press P on the title screen and type in this code: FRUITBAT

Now use the arrow keys to select your starting level.

F1 for extra lives.

F2 to select a power-up.

F3 for an extra special weapon shot.

F5 advance a level.

F7 for a nifty shield. 

 

 To view the greetings

Use this passcode on the title: CATFOOD.

The Ultimate Captive Guide

Escape!

I recently bought Captive, and anyone with half a brain (like me) knows this is an awesome RPG by Mindscape. It has us held prisoner for a couple of hundred years for a crime we did not commit - and the A-Team thought they had it bad! After such a long time, your freedom from this unjust hell is your only goal.

This RPG uses a unique user interface to configure and control droids - it's a briefcase. I cannot tell you why a prisoner has this, but operating it is like something from Mission Impossible! The graphics are excellent with stunning monsters, but I was a little disappointed by the sparse audio. This is made worse when finding out that the original release used DMA of the Atari STe, whereas that was dropped for the v1.2 update!

Fans of this RPG should take a look at a website by Pierre Fournier called The Ultimate Captive Guide.