Narco Police

Drugs... Guns... Violence!

I've always had a soft spot for Dinamic. It might be because they were one of those companies releasing games during my twilight ZX Spectrum years, just before playing their Atari ST games. Along with games like Army Moves, they went on to make some belters, one of which is their 1991 hit shooter Narco Police.

In the future... or rather... back in 2003, most of us were apparently heavily dependent on hardcore drugs, and this addiction made the dealers rich and powerful. Actually, I'm now getting a whiff of the recent scamdemic! Anyhow, the various nations of the world all got together to form an elite anti-drug unit: The A-Team. No, I meant NARCO POLICE who have been trained to rid this filth from existence. Yeah!!

Three Narco units are deployed to infiltrate the drug lord's hive located on a remote island off Colombia. It won't be easy because they have invested in security, including marines and combat soldiers. You start with the 'option' of choosing your team's equipment and weaponry. Also, a map of the island allows you to view the landscape and choose the best entrance into its network of underground tunnels. Dare you enter?

Of course, you do, so let's take a look at some earlier screenshots...

Don't forget to visit the armoury before heading out into no-man's land!

There's little to plan, but at least we get to tunnel in like killer worm cops!

Walk... Shoot... Kill

In the tunnels, we encounter henchmen, security systems, and artillery. As we venture deeper, the enemy will surprise us by jumping out from hidden sidewalls or falling down from the ceiling to ambush us. Use the joystick to direct gunfire at their location and unleash an onslaught of revenge!! Controls can take a little getting used to with movement feeling inelegant, but you will get used to dodging grenades in no time.

Other defences cannot be destroyed easily and require a tactical approach. (It's now that you realise your team needed the correct equipment). A terminal is available to enter basic control commands, such as 'C' (which stands for 'chopper'), to display information about your teams. The 'K' command restores vitality. The 'M1' command is entertaining in sticky situations! A command list can be displayed using 'DIR'.

Don't be fooled into thinking this is a simple shooter; hold fire and blindly kill everything? Far from it, and you will need to practice to make any kind of progress. After a few games, I found the controls great, which helped me make headway deeper into the game. Very rewarding, but reading the manual is essential O_o

Is this too demanding for a 16-bit computer to handle? Think again...

Tell me you're not impressed by this floppy disk-based computer from 1985!!!

Aesthetics, long before Doom!

Visually, this is gorgeous, with captivating locations and huge enemy sprites using great animation. Our soldier is stunning as we patrol the corridors - even with our suspect limp. It's not all perfect, as some soldiers almost look like cardboard cutouts waiting to be shot. Other soldiers roll across your screen in slo-mo!

I've always had a passion for 3D shooters (especially the first-person variety) and, even though this is third-person, it's one I have enjoyed since the 90s. Narco Police actually uses a pseudo-3D engine that pushes our 8MHz CPU by using clipped graphics that increase as you walk, giving the illusion of movement. I remember drooling over my ST's keyboard the first time I got to see this in action!

The audio is fantastic with a stomping theme tune for an 80s retro-styled title screen. All in-game sound effects are made from impressive samples; however, it's odd to walk without hearing the sound of my footsteps. Maybe I'm being picky, and perhaps our hero is just too stealthy for his own good!!

This game looks and sounds brilliant, so, erm, here are a couple more screenshots...

Hands up who would love a job as a Narco Policeman? No, me neither! lol

The perspective used in this game is impressive, but that doesn't stop me from dying!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is a Christmas Cracker stuffed full of mayhem to get the blood flowing - all over the walls, usually! Who doesn't enjoy killing henchmen and repetitive tunnel exploration? Sadly, Dinamic made yet another ludicrously tough game. Perhaps too tough? Maybe the Spanish are ultra-hardcore gamers, but I need a trainer!

Having said that, I'm always drawn back into the tunnels, time & time again, because Narco Police is a seriously addictive shooter. Sure, it's always predictable, but in a good way. Even though it's insanely tough, I cannot help but recommend it to those who love guns, loud explosions and plenty of killing.

A fistful of fun, and I love it. It's tough, but this is an excellent shooter!!

Narco Police floppies & hard drive.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Ghouls? Ghosts? I'm outta here....!!!

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 that 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. Wow, it doesn't get better than this!!

Ghouls N Ghosts is a tough game and an arcade classic. The Atari ST received a fantastic 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!!

Clod Hopper

Big feet, big... shoes!

Clod Hopper was released through the Budgie UK label 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 off into the nearby plutonium mines which are inhabited by crazy creatures, numerous whacky 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, of course!

Bounty Bob/Miner 2049 fans will love this: each screen contains platforms that need walking over before we can exit and progress deeper into the mine. This isn't as easy as it sounds 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 will render these creatures defenceless, if only for a short period of time (so think tactical before picking them up)

The third level features working machinery, necessary to operate to help you finish. It's a fascinating 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 too 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 alright. 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!! ARGHHHHH this platformer 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 those early 8-bit days and this style works very well. Plus everything moves as smooth as silk with a console-like feel with awesome animations. The level designs took me right back to when I was a kid and without looking like a cheap or 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 an Atari-Console quality that I loved. The effects are great, from the raspy level intro to all the 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 then...

Check out this intro!

Can you make the hi-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?

Wow, have I enjoyed playing this olde platformer!! Of course, it will appeal to fans of Bounty Bob and indeed any console owner from the early/mid-80s because this quality platformer is reminiscent of the era for gameplay, sounds, and visuals. The effort and dedication that's gone into this shine through, to think it wasn't commercial. Outstanding!

However, there's always something to moan about, and my only gripe is the measly three lives - which aren't enough for such a challenging game. A game this tough needed many more because it's so damn difficult. I managed to reach level three but those slides are insanely tricky - one wrong move and there's no way back up again.

Having said that, this is a brilliant platformer 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 before moving onto the Atari ST. I remember this coming as part of Ocean's Live Ammo and what a great compilation that was. However, it was extremely sluggish and very hard plus I was rubbish at it too. Yep, so I never managed to beat the first level (stop laughing).

Army Moves was developed by Dinamic, the same guys who brought us After The War, and this is a scrolling shooter with many ingredients 'borrowed' from a variety of great(er) games. It begins with us happily 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.. cough...cough!

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 that is protected by planes - who blindly shoot whether you're in their sights or not. The controls are agonisingly lethargic and it makes avoiding the enemy rather difficult. Oh, and 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 theme, 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. Oh all the levels, I oddly enjoyed the first the most whereas others are far too tough with too many enemies.

Wanna see another screenshot? How about one that feels wrong as it scrolls in the wrong direction...

Reversed scrolling is pretty weird and doesn't feel right so makes stage two quite frustrating!!

Speccy aesthetics?

Visually, I quite liked Army Moves but that's probably because I'm fondly reminded of my colour-clash days on the old 128K Speccy? The graphics are barebones for the Atari ST 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 is 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 here but it tries too much so doesn't seem to be great at anything. Plus 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 very easily have been great but feels like a rushed 8-bit conversion offering little fun and a massive fist full 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?

Overall, the first level is the best but the rest of the game is far 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 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...