Clod Hopper

Big feet, big... shoes!

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!!

- DOWNLOAD -

Army Moves

Reliving Christmas 1987

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.

Wear camo and grab the floppies or hard disk version!

Jinks

This looks sucky!

Jinks appears as a horizontally scrolling 'Breakout', but is technically one of the worst ST games ever. Rainbow Arts’ port of this game is a disgrace. The incredibly jerky scrolling is enough to make your eyes bleed after just a few minutes of play. It’s that awful, and I feel sorry for anyone who spent their money on it.

Thankfully, Peter Putnik has attempted to improve the code by using the Blitter (as shown in the video). However, all disk images of Jinks contain the same bad data. Therefore, Peter is seeking anyone who can provide an image of the original floppy disks. This will allow him to repair this piece of history for his enhanced version.

Please get in touch if you have the original disks and can help...

• This new Blitter-powered version is downloadable from Atarimania.
• If you want to torture your eyeballs, then download the original at Hang Loose.
• Trusteft has a humorous recording of the original jerky game!!

Collaboration Two

Oh no, not another disk?

Following on from last year's success, Collaboration #2 has been released. The STatariART gang has been busy and created more funky pixel art - by many different people who kindly submitted their Degas dabbles. You will even see a few images from yours truly. Brace yourself for that horror; don't get your hopes up :o)

A lot of hard work went into this production, and it's always fantastic to see so many people coming together like this. People like us aren't often associated with the "scene", so let's hope we see many more disks. Any ideas? Contributions? Get in touch. Until then, Clickety-Click and download Collaboration #2 via Demozoo.

Credits

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AtariSTaffroom - Graphics

Atarian1982 - Graphics

Bionic Nerd - Code, Graphics

Dj Sergant - Music (We hope you don't mind ;))

Forgotten Grove - Graphics, Other (Started the whole idea)

Loggins - Graphics

Scarlettkitten - Graphics

Stefan Lindberg - Graphics

karim - Graphics

I hope you enjoy this show. Let me know what you guys think in the comments below...

- SAMPLE IMAGES -

r0x

Asteroids?

Set within deep space, you are Commander Perez, who humorously finds himself alone in uncharted space during a meteor storm. R0x was released in 2009 by NoExtra / RGCD and programmed by YMRockerz's Nicolas Flandin (Tomchi). It may look like an Asteroids, but it's not. It's an Atari STe game that requires quick reactions to pilot your spacecraft through a continuously hectic asteroid field. This is a game of dodge and scrape!

Before you load it up - make sure you read the storyline within the 'Readme' file included in the download. What a brilliant read and it had me laughing at loud. It's genuinely superb!!

Anyhow, let's quickly stop for a screenshot whilst you dig out that readme file...

Hang on, this isn't Asteroids!

Yeah, this isn't the arcade shooter that I first imagined. Instead, it's an avoid 'em that requires skill and careful timing to skim past hundreds of rocks zooming down your screen. It may sound simple, but the rocks are flying furiously at great speeds and range from iddy-biddy stones to huge planet killers. There is a distance counter at the top/right of the screen that indicates how long you need to survive before the level ends.

The longer you last, the faster the rocks move - many zooming diagonally - and are intent on squashing you into pieces. Your ship is equipped with smart bombs to zap the local area when things get too hair-raising. This also offers a brief moment to rest from the rocky onslaught, but it's not long before they're back!

I love it when games explain the basics, just like in this screenshot...

This is different. I like different!

A range of bonuses is available for daring pilots to collect - letters that spell out "EXTRA" for another life, but watch out for the fakes, especially the blue one, which inverts your controls! You shall see Treasure Rocks, which look different from the rest and offer up points should you bump into them. There are even teeny cosmonauts floating helplessly in space, just itching to be rescued - a lot harder than you imagine!

Skilled pilots can scrape their ship alongside any rock for a hike in bonus points, but the risk of being obliterated makes this a dangerous job. Interestingly, co-op is supported for those lucky enough to have friends or, like me, a gullible 7-year-old opponent who is eager to be my next victim!! This game mode also involves dodging more of those space rocks, but with the added incentive to rescue 20 astronauts for the win.

For such a humble game the graphics are fantastic with beautiful colours and movement, all by C-Rem, Heavy Stylus, and Templeton. Audio is the bee's knees with utterly fantastic chiptunes by Crazy_Q, TomChi, and DMA-SC. I will fight anybody that dares to disagree with me!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Shoot 'em up fans might be disappointed that R0X isn't ... well ... a shoot 'em up! No, it's a game of avoidance, I guess. It's straightforward and easy to pick up and play, but tough to master. Each level becomes progressively challenging, and I guarantee it's nowhere near as easy as you imagine. The rock-scraping mechanics add to the appeal and longevity. R0x is unexpectedly different and tremendously addictive!

The latest version is available from RGCD along with everything else. Additionally, a secret menu is unlocked if your high score beats 800,000. Easy, right? Send in your screenshots. Hmm, I thought so! :p