BeGEMeD

Dear puzzle fans, brace yourself...

Forget playing Candy Crush on your phone because something better is out on the Atari STe. It's called BeGEMeD and is a twist on the Bejewelled theme by Alexander de Vries. It's a new game for the Atari STe with 16 beautiful colours and DMA sound effects. Those familiar with the genre will love this version because it plays brilliantly and is challenging - without irritation or frustrating mechanics. You'll be playing for hours!

The graphics were designed by Carnivac, and it's difficult to believe that he used only 16 colours. The quality is superb, so it appears there are far more on-screen. This talented use of colour is impressive. Accompanying the lush visuals is music by Dma-Sc, one of my favourite musicians, and it's mesmerisingly awesome. We also have familiar sound effects as we play. This includes samples letting us know how awesome we are.

Hey, let’s check out the readme…

Nice of you to visit this text, it will give you all the basic information you need to know to get started. Don’t worry it's easy so you will get the hang of it very soon!!

We are visiting Jack Bright, the castle lord of a medieval castle. He has already lived there for a lot of years and the castle needs some work. But his cash flow is a little bit on the downside so to earn some cash he has to swap gems for it.

He has lots of them hidden in his castle but it is a real mess. They are just piled on top of each other in no order at all. To swap them for cash he has to sort them out! But he can only do so if he has 3 or more of the same collection.

How does he do that? Well simple, just align 3 or more gems horizontal or vertical. For every successful swap, he earns those coins. Click the gem you van to swap with one of its neighbours and then choose the one you want to swap. Or even better just drag it over the other one by holding the mouse button, it both works...

As the coin meter reaches the top you have earned enough cash to go to the next level. The aim of the game is to reach the biggest high score of course.

The CryptO'pinion?

I contacted Alexander to thank him for developing this, and we got chatting! It was only a short time before I was beta-testing a new version - I'm thrilled to report numerous bug fixes and extra features.

This has been a blast because Alexander is a cool chap and I'm honoured to have played a (tiny) part in producing a fantastic and addictive puzzler. I'm confident with the following statement: BeGEMeD is one of the best Bejewelled games there is. A fantastic puzzler that looks and sounds as good as it plays.

Don’t waste any more time and click the link below this text. NOW!!

AtariMania has the latest download

The first screenshot... what a nice display with lovely colour and design!

The second screenshot... It kinda looks the same as the first, doesn't it? lol

Saboteur III - The Egyptian Mission

Durell on the Atari ST?

Saboteur 3 was released in 2012 by Shadow Team for the Atari STe and Falcon (also STfm, if you have a Blitter and TOS 1.04). Developed by George Lefèvre [Shadow 272], with graphics by Mister DID, and music by Mathieu Stempell [DMA-SC]. It's obviously an unofficial fan game based on the original games by legendary Durell Software. Incredibly, it was programmed using GFA Basic, a tool known for many great games.

Right, I’ll begin by saying I’m a massive fan of Saboteur 2: Avenging Angel. I played to death and mapped it, so I'm excited to see this release. Although I'm anxious and wondering how it will compare.

Saboteur III: The Egyptian Mission takes us into an ancient world, looking for fragments of a key to unlock a treasure-filled sarcophagus. However, somebody has rigged most rooms with traps! Beware of killer spikes and scary creatures like mummies, bats, and scorpions. So don't expect this quest to be easy - ha!

Let's pause the reading for a screenshot...

Ok, let's begin the mission... Yeah, that means killing Mummies!

Authentic or worse?

Each room looks like a surreal retake of the original. I like the design layout employed by most rooms, and there's always something that needs to be kicked to death using my ninja skill set. Looking at the map, Saboteur 3 is smaller than the previous games on the ZX Spectrum, but who cares about that?

Movements are kind of what I expected: down/fire makes our ninja hit under the belt without using the kicking mechanic. A slight change, yet not damaging to the playability. In fact, the joystick controls are responsive, and I'm impressed by the fluency of our actions, helping make it feel authentically pleasing.

I expected differences, but some irk me: like falling off a ledge. That is instant death, rather than draining you of (replenishable) strength. Yes, I miss that red bar and wonder why it was dropped. Also, I fail to see the point of those spikes that pop up to impale you each and every time (even during mid-jump!!). However, the most annoying oddity is the ladders because too many of them go nowhere, and that's just absurd.

Quite harsh, eh? Better calm down a bit and view another screenshot...

As you progress, things get odd and very difficult! Perhaps too difficult?

Aesthetics

Visually, it's superb, albeit overly colourful in places. Or is that how Egypt looks! I'm glad they didn't try replicating the original look and style (can you imagine the horror of monochrome graphics?). The characters and their animations are great, which makes kicking the baddies to death an absolute joy!

The in-game music is by Dma-Sc and thus a beautiful example of his extraordinary chiptune talent. I would have liked an option for (DMA) effects to play alongside the music, but I'm being rather picky! Sorry :p

I think we've got time for a screenshot? How about one of me, dead...

Sooner or later, I usually end all my games looking this good! ;o)

The CryptO'pinion?

Saboteur 3 is a good platformer, but far from perfect. I fear hardcore fans will enjoy picking at it, as many Saboteur characteristics are altered or missing. However, this is still a great game in its own right, and I think that even Clive Townsend would enjoy playing this alternative take on his classic game. I sure did!!

A challenging platformer; admiringly recommended for both Saboteurs and Ninja wannabees.

Grab the download if you think you're tough enough!

I've recorded a cool gameplay video!

Creatures

Cute & Cuddly Gaming

Somewhere in the far reaches of the universe is a planet called Blot. Much like Eden, this is a wonderful place; everything is perfect, and everyone is happy. The inhabitants are creatures called the Blotians. However, for some peculiar reason, these guys got bored with their paradise and wanted something better, so they came up with the daft notion of a new identity on a different planet. They're now called Fuzzy Wuzzies!!

Creatures was released in 1992 by Thalamus and programmed by Philip Watts of WJS Design. Yes, he of Leander and Ork, two decent scrolling games you should definitely check out.

What these sad creatures didn't realise was that evil demons already lived on this new planet. And they are a bad-tempered bunch, too! Needless to say, they should have been happy where they were because everyone had been captured and awaited a cruel and bloody fate. You are Clyde Radcliffe, your breath stinks terribly, but it is your job to rescue all of your simple-minded friends from these fiends! Good luck, you'll need it.

What an insane story, so let's view an authentic screenshot taken with my phone...

Actually, this is quite sadistic!

Clyde is the cutest thing and is equipped with a rapid-firing weapon, which is handy because many of the baddies annoyingly take numerous hits. Power-ups are available. I love the 'wriggler', but there are many others to choose from. However, your superpower is the funniest weapon of all. Press and hold the fire button to breathe bad breath over anything that gets too close. A bad-breathed hero must surely be a first?

A good tip for Creatures is to not rush. The enemies can take more than a few hits which is a little weird and can often feel a little OTT. Try to kill what's already on the screen before moving on and being overrun by evil cute critters. That's a simple and obvious tip, but there ya' go. Take it or leave it!

Controlling Clyde is a cinch thanks to great joystick controls and fantastic level designs. The monsters come in all sorts and manage to bring a smile to this ugly mug of mine, thanks to great attention to detail and cruel personalities. End-of-level scenes are particularly cruel (but funny), but employ a harsh time limit before a fellow Fuzzy Wuzzy meets their bloody death at the hands of a sadistic demon!

Wait! It's not screenshot time. Oh, no, let's jazz this up with a video recording...

Sexy Pixels & Smooth Audio?

I love the lush aesthetics with beautiful colours and artwork - the attention to detail is amazing. Wow, the sprites are as cute as they are evil and never fail to impress. However, everything might look nice, but is spoiled by push-scrolling! Sure, that method works fine for games like Rick Dangerous, but not here.

The audio is excellent with a theme tune that has you bobbing away to its funky beats. The sound effects are making use of the DMA hardware - if you're lucky enough to own an Atari STe? They are ace!!!

Let's break up the silence! The shock of that push scrolling means we have another screenshot...

The CryptO'pinion?

Creatures is enjoyable with well-balanced gameplay and a sadistic sense of humour. However, it was originally designed as a scrolling platformer, and a scrolling platformer needs to SCROLL. It sadly falls short of the mark compared to other versions and appears to be a rushed port. Maybe I'm too fussy? Tell me!

Don’t get me wrong, Creatures is a worthwhile game. It has a humorous theme, good controls and audio. However, it's a shame they didn't make full use of the Atari STe. Or even push the STfm like so many other companies did with their platformers already released. Disappointed in Thalamus.

Help Clyde and grab this for floppy & hard drive.

Annex

DM meets Doom!

Annex is a first-person shooter published by LAPD in 1995, and attempts to blend together the action of Doom with a little Dungeon Master thrown in. Nasty aliens have taken control of the science space station, Annex. Guess what? It's our job to kill every last one of them whilst fixing the life support reactors.

At first, I didn't think this would work using 90° turns, but it works out very nicely. Movement is performed using a combination of the keyboard and mouse: the keyboard walks and activates switches with the used mouse to aim and shoot. As you can imagine, this works well, and whenever a bad guy sees you, they actually speak. This conveniently acts as a nifty "heads-up" alert so you're not taken by surprise.

The graphics are great, but lack variety in both colour and texture, so things tend to look samey after a while. Sadly, there is also no map function to help - the docs suggest making your own. A very good idea.

I like the way it combines action with adventure, but you need a pen and paper to map as you explore. Far from perfect, but fans of the first-person shooter genre should definitely take a look at this. Annex is fantastic!

• AtariMania has a download available from their Atari ST database.
• Zogging Hell has a nice selection of the LAPD library.

Floyd The Droid

One of my earliest purchases

Floyd the Droid was developed in 1986 by Paul Lay for Analog Software. We're a droid who loves to explore, but this trait got him into trouble, so now he's stuck inside a (wait for it) topo-dimensional converter. So you're alone in the void of whatever this existence is and surrounded by weird enemies intent on our death.

This game is simple: shoot everything - robots, spaceships, C64s, etc. We begin each game with 75% health, which increases with enemies killed. Sadly, it also decreases if you bump into them or if you shoot an Atari logo. Kill everything and move on to the next level to do it all over again at a faster rate. Don't panic!

Interestingly, you can hit F1-F6 to start on the following stages: 1, 10, 20, 30. 40 and 50. Loved that!!

The graphics are basic, but it's all about the sprites, which are huge and beautiful in their own weird way. The music is insanely awesome. Insane, because it's so zany and weird, yet I leave it playing - I love it. There is also speech, which is quite superb for such an early ST game and is excellent. A lot of love went into this.

• I believe there was a hi-res version in the making, but was it ever released?
• AtariMania lists Floyd The Droid in their database and also Missing One Droid.
• Atari 8-bit fans may also wanna click here: Floyd the Droid Goes Blastin'.

Overall, it's a little rough around the edges because it's an early title, but this is also a piece of Atari ST history. I enjoy frantically blasting a relentless hoard of invading oddities - it never gets old, and it's so addictive. This is ancient retro gaming at its best, so hit that fire button and try to last as long as you can!!

I managed to find the original of Missing One Droid, and I just had to buy it!!