Liberator

Let's play something weird

Here is something different, plus its box intrigued me with screenshots that appear to be a mix of Toobin' and Mystical. It's almost like those games had a baby - then dropped it, picked it up, wiped away the blood, and then dropped it again. You might laugh, but I really, really don't know what to make of this one.

Liberator is a vertical shooter that throws you into the cockpit of a Tactical Hover Gun Craft on a mission to rescue captured Federation comrades from aliens. Each stage has you blasting enemies and smashing open prison cells to free the captives, before diving through a warp gate to the next battle zone.

It might look tacky, but how often have we played a corker with bad graphics? Exactly. Let's play...

Navigate by alien wreckages, remembering to collect the ammo caches...

 ...while you kill the ugly aliens, of course!

It looks like a bad dream!

Having never heard of Liberator, I was clearly unprepared for what to expect, as shown in my video recording!! We start at the bottom of the level, and, as the screen scrolls, aliens emerge from the ground or approach us. While they’re easy to shoot due to their slow pace, they can attack in hordes, so stay alert!

Liberator was coded by Tim Moore, who gave us excellent games like Verminator and also the legendary Beyond the Ice Palace. Okay, everybody has to start somewhere, so I can only assume he learnt many lessons from programming this shoot 'em up? Ahem... :]

Reaching the end of level one is easy, and then it’s a matter of freeing a captive by shooting the bars of his cell. You’ll then be whisked away into psychedelic gateways leading to the next level. Disclaimer: As guys, we’re not exactly known for reading the instructions, so here is my advice: aim for the square that's flashing. It’s the only way to progress; otherwise, you’ll be stuck repeating the same level. Which is ridiculous!

Wanna see more screenshots? Well, tough, because here they are...

The aliens might be slow, but they're determined to play chase.

Surely, this is the silliest game you've ever seen?

Aesthetics

Visually, the Atari ST is being pushed to its absolute limits. No, not really, as it's pretty lame with poorly designed backgrounds and wandering aliens that you cannot help but laugh at. The scrolling is smooth, albeit with some occasional slowdown, which is odd because there isn't ever a whole lot going on.

The sound effects are quite poor but serve their purpose for shooting, picking up items, and so on. However, the music was created by Wally Beben, and it's shockingly bad. No, terrible!!! I don't get it. Wally is incredibly talented, with a raft of excellent tunes to his name, but what was he thinking here? Turn it off!

We've reached the end, shall we rescue the caged guy and carry on scrolling...

Free your man and then get ready for teleportation.

Make sure you choose the correct square!

The CryptO'pinion?

Liberator is fun for a couple of games. I came away thinking, "Hmm, not bad for 1987". Which is daft, because that era gave us Oids, Gold Runner, Plutos, and Ikari Warriors. All of which destroy Liberator!! Also, I noticed poor collision detection and landscape objects that blocked my movement and firing - Grr!!

Still, nothing is perfect (Liberator certainly proves that), but I must admit I quite enjoyed this shooter. I don't know why! Possibly because it's something I've never played before? But it's weirdly entertaining. Sure, it's not the corker I might have hoped for, but it is worth booting up just to experience something rather odd.

It's cheap, tacky, pointless, and downright rubbish. Go, kill some aliens. Enjoy!

Grab the funky Zuul floppy disk from Atari Legend.

Robin Hood!

A dollop of English folklore?

Okay, I haven't posted any box art from my own collection in a while. So, I figured it should be a dodgy guy in tights, lurking in the woods, was the perfect way to end this bleak streak? Hang on, that didn't sound too good, did it! Anyhow, The Adventures of Robin Hood was released in 1991 by Millennium Software, and it's an RPG similar in appearance to certain 3D isometric God games you may have played.

The box is absolutely awesome and in good condition, with all contents too. It's quite something to think this has been kept for 30+ years and feels (almost) as good as it did back in the day. Wow, I'm really geeking out here - the wife loves that. Anyhow, what I like is that it boasts this statement: "the most original real-time adventure ever produced". Errol Flynn would approve, or is that a load of nonsense?

Wanna see the back of the box and what's inside? Carry on scrolling...

The back of the box is ruined by screenshots from an Ameoba. Otherwise, I like it! ;p

Here's the disk, fascinating, uh? Whose idea was it to stamp green onto a blue disk?

Who remembers the TV show Robin of Sherwood?

It begins with an intro depicting life in Nottingham Castle. However, it's not long before the nasty Sheriff appears and kicks Robin Hood out onto the street, where he suffers cold shoulders and verbal abuse. These peasants continue to go about their day (that aspect intrigues me), and there are many interesting folk.

The Sheriff is ruthless! The people need a hero who is willing to wear tights, find a band of Merry Men, and camp out in the woods. All perfectly normal, honest. Joking aside, I loved watching the intro so am eager to finally take up the challenge of this rather spiffy RPG, which has been sitting on my shelf for too many years!! :/

I hope the UI is intuitive with elegance in its design. Sometimes, games of this ilk can suffer from cumbersome controls or an over-complicated interface that is slow to operate. The last thing we need is something fiddly which hampers the experience, so I'm hoping for less Galdregon's Domain and more Shadowlands.

It's now time for some extremely interesting manual shots. Brace yourself...

The manual is great and concise, with helpful information. A good read indeed.

This folds out like a poster and contains bucketloads of tips and extra help!

The CryptO'pinion? (Not yet!)

Yes, I'm looking forward to exploring Nottinghamshire to see what fun adventures await within the legendary Sherwood Forest. The graphics look tiny, but it appears to work well with lavish colours and beautifully designed surroundings. Just look at the buildings! So I'm eager to see what else there is to discover.

Have you guys played this? I would love to know what you think in the comments below. Until then, I'm going to make time to kill forest baddies, capture the castle, and defeat the Sheriff before King Richard returns home for tea. That's right, he drinks tea. Anyhow, watch this space for a review later in the year!

Until then, enjoy some more screenshots... :-)

Once upon a time, in God's country, there was a peaceful place called Loxley.

The folk had it good with dancing, beer and music. Life doesn't get any better than this!

Hang on, a new Sheriff has arrived and he's not a particularly nice guy...

Robin gets kicked out of his spanky castle, and the townsfolk ain't exactly supportive!

Yep, bumping into anyone proves to be an eye-opener. Billy no mates!

Fascinatingly, the medieval world continues to spin... Life carries on!

What? Wait a minute! What is that?? A dragon?? RUN!!!!

Come on, Robin, put on those big boy pants and sort out this evil dude!!

Temple of Apshai Trilogy

Another dungeon!!

Temple of Apshai Trilogy was released in 1986 by Epyx, with the Atari ST conversion handled by Westwood (Command & Conquer!). The package features the original plus two expansion packs, "Upper Reaches Of Apshai" and "Curse Of Ra". Oddly, Hellfire Warrior is not included (does anyone know the story behind that?).

It's a turn-based RPG with few expected similarities to Rogue. Each of the three realms has four distinct difficulty levels, but unlike Rogue, each dungeon has been designed rather than randomly generated. Curiously, there is an almost nonexistent storyline beyond the point of killing and treasure hunting. Understandably, this might disappoint some adventurers, but I enjoyed the freedom to roam without a bothersome backstory.

Let's see a couple of screenshots. Just to get rid of those who only care about pretty visuals...

Yep, you're probably wondering about the graphics. Right?

Please don't do that. Graphics never make the game, and this game proves that fact.

Monsters, weapons and freedom to roam?

First things first, we need to build ourselves a character using a combination of different attributes that will affect strength, dexterity, intelligence, and so on (you can save and reload your characters). Either keep it real and roll a die, or fudge the numbers to get playing. Personally, I wouldn't restrict myself at all.

You can venture naked with only your pride as a weapon, but it's best to visit the Innkeeper to get equipped. He has everything you need, even if you must haggle for the best price - if you can be bothered? Armour, weaponry, arrows, and more. But these all come with a financial and weight cost. Be very wise and savvy.

Let's have a deeper look at some screenshots that detail much of the RPG side...

  
The Innkeeper seems to have everything you need to get started. Well, for a price...

  
He's not a generous man. I tried to explain that I couldn't pay, so his heavies broke my kneecaps!

Role-play like it's 1986!

Temple of Apshai allows you to start at the beginning or (foolishly) jump in at the deep end on the later levels (these are tough!). When you begin, your world is viewed from a top-down perspective with helpful information listed on the right for health, ammo, information, etc. And yes, it's running under GEM :)

Oddly, there isn't any real objective to the dungeons - other than exploring, killing the baddies, and collecting loot. Although Upper Reaches does attempt to give your adventure some purpose. Well, it tries.

For example...

Level one takes place behind the Innkeeper's Backyard which needs tidying up. Yep, we're on cleaning duties but at least he's warned us of a bandit in the area. Come on, this has to be the strangest tasks ever?

Level two, Merlis' Cottage is quite odd. We're in Merlis' home looking for cash because he failed to cough up after we painted his fence!

Level three is Olias' Cellar but nothing is mentioned in the manual so I assume we're back to killing and looting without reason? Fine by me!

Level four is set within Benedic's once peaceful Monastery which has been turned into an unholy Romero movie thanks to an evil vampire!

  
Start slow. Why not fire an arrow at your first opponent, and don't forget to search...

Stay Awhile and Listen

Whatever realm you're in, each room has a design with a description detailing what you can see and hear. There's no need to pick up the manual for the ST game; just hit [return] to read about your environment. Also, the rooms are numbered, so you can make a map of routes, traps, hidden doorways, etc.

Getting around the dungeons is done using a keyboard command system, quite similar(ish) to something like Ultima. Predefined keys are used to walk, turn, fight, talk, search, etc. You can use the mouse - but that's bad, so stick to using the keyboard. This is perfect and a lot better than you might initially assume:

RETURN = Make sure you read each room's description!

0 = Use this to rest and recover from some of that nasty fatigue.
L/R = This is pretty obvious and makes turning around easy.
V = Swoosh, you've just made a complete 180°
1-9 Let's go for a little walk, under the moon... Erm, never mind!

A = Hit 'em hard when you're up-close!!
T = Thrust a lunging attack which might leave you vulnerable?
P = Defend yourself with a countermove, you wimp!!
F/M = Take 'em out from a safe distance, sniper-style.

E = Budding adventurers will look under every stone.
O = Doors won't just open themselves you know!
S = Don't rush through, search for those hidden thangs...
I = Inventory (there's a shock).
G = Grab any treasure you find.
D = Ugh, drop that heavy trash.

Q = Shushh, did you hear something?
! = Dr Dolittle, he talks to the animals!

H = Heal yourself before you croak it.
Y = Ohh, gimme some of that fancy Elixir healing.

  
I found a secret room inhabited by a swamp rat. I killed that and took the Magic Sword!!

Characters, with character!

Yep, characters make any adventure fun and interesting, so it comes as no surprise to find out that this Trilogy is stuffed with many exotic creatures and spooky delights. The first being a skeleton - a classic encounter. This guy is pretty tough, so I wouldn't let him get too close if I were you. Challenging from the start!

Brilliantly, we have the option to listen out for distant sounds and even talk to some of the nasties. I doubt you'll get much sense from many, but some creatures might respond. They could let you pass or reveal something of interest. Attempting a dialogue is something unexpected, mind-blowing, and pretty funny too.

Each of the realms has a myriad of ghoulish creatures and some unexpected ones. Battles are fought using a few weapons, but victory comes to those prepared. Press [A] to attack when up close, but you could use [T] to execute a ravaging thrust? This might plunge your sword into a beast's heart, but at what cost? Those carrying a bow can use arrows to kill their prey from afar. Just make sure you're facing them - don't be a fool!

You must admit that this is different and amusing. So, let's view more (clickable) screenshots...

  
There are some fantastic enemies within the dungeon. And ants and mosquitoes too...

  
Upper Reaches is so different, but can you find the bandit? Whereas Merlis' home has ... a cat!

  
The Antmen are incredibly tough blighters, but oddly, the Ghoul was an easy victim of mine!

  
Bears and Giant Bats, whatever next? You'll be telling me there are Vampire Bats around the corner!

Mind As You Go

Playing any part of this trilogy is an amazing experience, but it's an idea to experiment with your newly-created character, just to see how clothing and weaponry feel to your own preferences. Experience is gained as you progress deeper into the dungeon, and it's good practice to take it slow at first. Remember to search/examine/listen no matter where you currently are. Loads of secrets - you never know what might be nearby, be it a treasure chest, a trap or something lurking in the dark waiting to pounce. It's never a bad idea to read the room's written description. Some might say that it's essential!! (/end of hint!)

Always keep an eye on your fatigue, which can take a hit whether you're exploring or battling something freaky. Walking isn't free, and multiple movements will cause a little tiredness that adds to your fatigue (hitting [0] can be rewarding). As with purchasing a box of band-aids before heading out into the unknown.

Remember, we're not God, and any demanding battle might result in severe wounds, possibly leading to death. Not all is lost - roaming these dungeons are three helpers who may help. Bendic is a lost priest who can revive your broken body. All he asks in return is a financial donation. However, others aren't as kind, watch out for a dwarf or wizard who yields greater sacrifices - you might wanna keep your hands in your pockets?

During those desperate moments when all has gone wrong, this is the message I prefer!

Graphics & Sounds

Visually, this is pretty lame by ST standards yet faithful to the bare-bones originals. The backdrops are rather basic, but the sprites are detailed and can look good. I prefer the visuals in other RPGs, most of the time, but Apshai still has its own unique charms. Also, it's GEM-based, which I think is crude - yet it works well.

Audio features chiptunes on the title screen, but only spot effects during the game. However, I do love the clipping for when a monster appears - scary stuff! lol. If ever there was a game that proved fancy aesthetics aren't needed, this is it. In two words, authentically pleasing. I have nothing bad to say.

Hey, let's see another screenshot and this time one with a woman in it...

Please remember what I said, graphics never make the game. Play this RPG!!

The CryptO'pinion

Temple of Apshai Trilogy is brilliant. It's also possibly a forgotten (and much-underrated) game, and that's a shame because the original was a massive success. Dare I say that our Atari ST conversion captures the original's essence perfectly, whilst also making many more improvements I appreciated.

Whatever adventure you choose to play, each one is huge with loads of rooms to explore. Most of my time has been spent within the realms of the temple, which I'm still battling through as I write. The theme is compelling, captivating, and I adore the pre-designed layout. That, I did not expect.

If you want to relive an age of exploration, secret passages and monsters, then this old-timer is definitely for you. Ignore the graphics, don't use the mouse, read the descriptions, and remember to save regularly! A whole world awaits, so expect lots of late nights. One of the best olde-style RPGs that the Atari ST has.

Grab a copy of this brilliant RPG

for a hard drive or floppy.

An easy winner of the accolade of an AtariCrypt SMASH!!

Van Eijk Collection

Van er what?

I love finding Atari ST/e demos I've not seen, and here is one I thoroughly enjoyed. It's called Van Eijk Collection, developed in 1994 by Van Eijk. A time when most of us had powered off the ST to play Doom...

Anyhow, this is a collection of GFA Basic screens featuring dots, colour cycling, and a familiar tune you will adore. The presentation is a little sluggish, and a few screens are dated, but many are superb - like that morphing!! All text is in Polish, so don't expect to read anything. Well, unless you're Polish, of course!

This and other ST videos are on my YouTube Channel.

Downloads can be found on Demozoo + AtariMania.

Crank up the volume as it's STe only!! 🎧

Sardonic

Another brand new game!!

Sardonic is a brand new (well, for the Atari ST) vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up recently released by José Mário. Yep, it's already out on other (lesser) systems, so it's fantastic to see it getting a 16-bit Fuji conversion!! Now, I love getting my grubby mitts on anything new for the Atari ST, so let's see what the fuss is about.

This game is basically an oldskool styled shooter, and the idea is to blast many aliens, use power-ups, kill the end-of-level boss, and repeat. These aliens are constantly invading the screen in waves using various attack patterns - and from three sides of the screen. Our spaceship can only fire upwards, but can move in all directions rather than being limited to just left/right, ala Space Invaders. It works brilliantly, too, I might add!

Righto, let's quit the reading for a few screenshots...

Each type of alien is unique, and the power-ups will help to recover lost lives and much more!

Sardonic is an arcade-style shooter, so I loved it from the start.

Hey, check out that funky mothership!

The Atari ST conversion has a few enhancements: extra power-ups, different enemies and new attacking styles. This is cool and even more so when you remember than this is Jose's first Atari release!! Hold onto your hat because he's also implemented support for both ST models making use of the Blitter = ultra-smooth 50fps action!

This is a tough game. At first, I didn't last long, and it took a few more attempts before I came close to reaching the first boss! The action feels familiar, but it isn't some cheap clone of Space Invaders, Phoenix or even Galaga, but instead feels more like a game of dodgeball - in space! You can only fire a couple of shots at once, and the enemy will come at you using some seriously wacky patterns, so be prepared to battle hard.

Blasting five of these blighters into smithereens will result in a random bonus for speed, armour, bombs and so on. This will help newcomers, and thus, I eventually got into the flow and reached the fourth guardian, which you can see in my video recording. Hint: if I were you, I'd save all those bombs for these bosses!

Wimps need not apply. Hey, come back!!! Here are some more screenshots...

After attacking from all directions, their boss shows up for some gun love!

I hate Stealth ships; they're so tough to destroy.

...and then their Mummy Stealth turned up to the fight!

16-Bit Aesthetics?

Well, no. There's not much to see beyond a black background populated with a few stars, so quite disappointing. The enemy sprites make up for that with nice colours and brisk movement, and I'm talking 50fps, which is gloriously smooth. Love it, I just wish the background had "more" to it, other than a few stars.

The title screen is great with funky chiptune music, but it's less impressive afterwards. The in-game sound effects are insufficient, with the YM chip having only three uses: firing, pickup, and explosions. That is it! I personally think more could have been done to dazzle. Especially for the Atari STe using DMA samples.

It's hardly another Xenon II in terms of aesthetics, but who cares about that...

Can you believe this? I made it to level four, WooHoo!!

Until the boss turned up and whooped me...sigh!

So cruel... LOL

The CryptO'pinion?

Sardonic is a good shooter, alright. I love how the aliens attack in many different formations, and the frequency of power-ups is excellent. It's quite repetitive, but this is a fun arcade blaster and addictive. It's impressive to think that one guy was behind all the development and also supported Atari STe graphical hardware.

A slick shooter and something new that I have really enjoyed. So go and grab Sardonic now!!

https://madaxe-pns.github.io/sardonic/