You know me, I love the Atari STe, so I'm always on the hunt for games, demos, and programs that make use of its enhanced hardware. Well, I was flicking through ST Format #58 and noticed a review of a game called Crime Wave, by Dillon Agoma. It appears similar to Super Cars and makes use of hardware scrolling! However, the reviewer didn't seem too pleased with the controls, so perhaps it was a work in progress?
This is a tough one to research because its name is the same as a US Gold game. Plus, no PD library stocked it as Crime Wave was only available directly from the author. I've searched online but found no downloads or information. I have written and posted a letter, so I hope he is living in the same house!
Update July 2017: I've managed to contact Dillon on Twitter. The event log...
June 2016: This is the date I originally posted the letter!
Feb 2017: Sadly, I never received a reply to my letter. (I later found out that he had moved!)
July 2017: I've managed to contact Dillon online and he thinks his disks are in storage :-)
Oct 2017: Nothing turned up there, but he now hopes that those disks are in his attic.
April 2019: I've sent Dillion another message but sadly I've heard nothing back. I hope he's okay but I'm now starting to think this piece of ST history is now lost forever.
Marko Latvanen handles all of the Atari ST administration for the AtariMania website, which must be a massive undertaking, but one he is committed to finishing (he's a workaholic!). AtariMania is a popular website that has catalogued and detailed almost every Atari ST game. I don't think a day passes without a visit from myself and zillions of other people, I'm sure.
Of course, AtariMania isn't just about Atari ST gaming because they also feature utilities, applications, demos and even scans for books, adverts and magazines. Not to mention support all other Atari machines, from those odd-looking consoles to the mighty Falcon computer & Jaguar CD. Quite incredible!!
Marko is a cool chap who works hard for our Atari scene, so it was about time he answered a few questions for me here at AtariCrypt towers! And it was well worth it - thank you, Marko!
You know what to do... clickety-click and visit the AtariMania website right now!
THE INTERVIEW
MARKO LATVANEN
What is your role within the world of AtariMania?
Atarimania is a huge project which tries to preserve and catalogue the golden memories of gaming but also demos and utilities over 9 different systems (Arcade coin-op, 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx, Jaguar, Atari 800-series, Atari ST–series and Falcon030 / TT. A lot has been done but also a huge amount of work is still ahead for a small team like us. Our headquarters is in France and we have 5-7 active members for the whole Atarimania website.
My role is mainly Atarimania ST database moderator. So I’m basically doing a lot of “household” work with our custom built software. It includes building database records, correcting information based on our own research, adding screenshots, hunting down unreleased games and their creators, helping them with utilities to save precious ST productions before they break down, doing a lot of cross reference checking, game archiving and research which is the most interesting part. I like being a software archaeologist for the digital dawn of 16bit computing.
In the last 12 months I’ve been also building a database for Atari’s last beast, the Jaguar. Oh and I’ll update the Atarimania Facebook page as well. What else, surely missed something (grin emoticon). I get of course a lot of help from Stefan_L and Champions_2002 who also do the database moderation, background research and are equally as important part of Atarimania ST-section.
What does the Atari ST platform mean to you?
It was the first computer I bought with my own money after working hard the whole summer 1990. My parents really didn’t dig computers so we never had one when I was a kid. That’s why I jumped straight to the 16bit waggon. Played a lot with Philips VideoPac G7000, C64 and Amiga with my mates though. After seeing an ST in Finland’s leading computer magazine Mikrobitti I knew what I wanted. I had to wait for a few years but when I finally was old enough for the summer job, oh boy! There they were side by side at the computer shop – an Amiga 500 and Atari 520STfm. I still remember it like yesterday. My choice was clear and I never regret it (wink emoticon)
So I grew up with my ST, it offered me thousands of hours of fun with games and some jaw dropping demos, I learned English (sort of anyway!) by using an ST and it helped me to secure my job in Desktop Publishing business (thanks to Calamus and TimeWorks Publisher). For a while, I even got paid using an ST as a workhorse in mid 90’s.
I do this because I want ST and its memories to live forever. It’s also my way to say huge thanks to all those game, demo and serious software developers, graphics artists, musicians and designers who offered me so much fun over the last decades. Their work should not be forgotten. It’s also a most rewarding feeling to get unreleased stuff dug out of people's attic to save them from destruction.
I hope you are in for the long haul?
Been into the Atari ST every day since 1990 so I’ll be there as long as most of my fingers and senses are working! And of course, as long as Franck keeps the site up and running. Retro computers just keep getting better every year!
How do you envision AtariMania 10 years from now?
In 10 years it should be a top research-quality database for the future generations of computer historians, journalists and the people who want to see and feel what Atari was about its golden years. Hopefully, it will also feature a lot more videos, music files and a capable online ST / Falcon emulator to try out the games and demos.
What Atari computers do you own?
Erm.. Well, they sort of started to pile up since 1996 when people practically gave them for free or for very little money… I think it’s better to just click here: http://www.gameberry.net/user/kokoelma.php?1503211172 ;-) (like wow!!! -Steve)
What are your favourite Atari ST games?
I’ve always been a big fan of racing games from the day one so Vroom, Microprose GP, Stunt Car Racer, Crazy Cars III, Toyota Celica GT Rally, Lotus and Super Cars series were the ones I’ve played most back in the day. For the other genres, i guess I'm still playing Kick Off, Phantasie III, Obsession, Pro Tennis Tour, Fire & Ice, Elite and most part of the awesome Power Pack bundle in the retirement home if they allow computers!
Are you planning any changes to AtariMania?
As I’m only an ST moderator it is really up to Franck to decide where the future of Atarimania is heading. I think there’s so much work ahead in most of the databases itself. We should concentrate on that until the work is done.
Is the Atari ST database close to completion?
I would say something like 45-50 percent. We have most of the commercial releases in as well as the biggest demoscene productions from ST’s commercial years. We are still missing many hundreds of PD / shareware games, a huge amount of Falcon stuff and utilities.
From the artist credits part, it really is not yet in such shape it should be used for research purposes without double checking first. The problem originates mostly from the imported list Atarimania used as a basis of the database. It, unfortunately, had a lot of errors in it. Another part is caused by me as doing too many 10-11 hour Atarimania days at the start of the project wasn’t maybe wisest move after all! It’s an extremely slow task to check everything, but we’ll publish the correction progress on the Atarimania news page a bit by bit.
AtariMania's ST games - not playable on real hardware?
It’s because we try to preserve games as originally as possible. Most cracked versions had title screens or even digital music tracks removed or altered so the originality was gone. As we want to give the full credits and support to the original authors who did the hard work in the 80’s and 90’s, we don’t use cracked versions on ST section.
However, I must point out that game crackers did a very important job historically speaking if you look it nowadays. The majority of the classic games would have been lost without people spreading them back in the days, and there probably wouldn’t be commercial interest in retro gaming nowadays without crackers who kept the software alive. So they really deserve the credit for their work but we just like to do things unedited when possible.
You have so many aliases on Demozoo! Why?
Hmm. There seem to be some errors. The ones I used were mostly related to Jean-Michel Jarre’s recordings. Not sure where the Beatdrum or Squish came from… Probably from some lazy editing of my crappy MOD-files.
I guess I just couldn’t make my mind. First, we had a little user group called The Atariga Crew. We did some 40+ compact disks mostly for our own use and had little gaming parties. We also toyed a bit with STOS Basic but I soon found out I had no character of a coder. My highlight was to get a UFO sprite bouncing around the screen (grin emoticon). My cousin was a bit better but he never got much running either. So we used an util called Intro Concept to run our menu disks. I concentrated mostly on swapping and graphics.
After my cousin got bored on ST I started Alien Nation to do some graphics work. In later stages, we finally got a real coder from the UK. Under that name, we released 10 MOD disks and some 40 more compact disks, again mostly for internal use. I used some of the graphics in them I did with Canvas and Deluxe Paint ST. I also did a new set of VW Buggy themed graphics for PD racing game called Hot Wheels but the disk is unfortunately lost. After a while, our coder went to iMac and we had some plans to make a game for but it got nowhere.
In the meantime, a crew called “Depression” asked me to do some logos for them. One of them is actually painted using Amigaarghh (don’t shoot me, my STe was collecting dust at a computer shop for memory expansion) and others with 68030 powered Apple Macintosh IIfx in PhotoShop 3. Shame on me! (demozoo weblink)
What makes Marko tick?
Having two under 10-year-old daughters, a Collie dog and doing mainly working hours from 3pm to 11pm does, unfortunately, rule out most of the social hobbies.
Besides Atari things, I'm also a big Mazda Motorsports fan and follow everything Mazda-related racing action closely. They’ve an amazing racing heritage in the USA thanks to the rotary engine which was something no other car manufacturer managed to get working properly. I even travelled to the UK last year just to see and hear their vintage rotary powered racing cars. I also keep my 1995 323F’s and 1992 MX-3 in running order, expanding my 520+ title racing games collection.I try to go to as power metal gigs I can & of course have a beer or two with my friends from time to time and play retro games.
I picked up a random (#101) issue of Atari ST User magazine (see below) from my collection and sat down for a good read with a nice cuppa joe. All of a sudden, I almost spat out my coffee in disbelief. There it was. Something I had forgotten about: my old Motelsoft favourite - Walls Of Illusion.
How could I have forgotten about this?? Perhaps I'm crazy!! Yes, but, for those who don't know, Walls Of Illusion is a "Dungeon Master" follow-up to Arcan, released in 1993/4 (shareware). This is an impressive and extremely well-made RPG, so I think I should lock myself away for a few days to relive it.
Has anyone played this RPG? I'd love to know if there are any fans. I remember playing this like crazy, even though I would never have come close to finishing it! Anyhow, I feel like I've just been reunited with an old friend and I'm so happy! Atarimania has the registered version to download. Go on, get it. Play it. Live it!!
It's time to be flabbergasted because Motelsoft still has a website w/ Atari ST downloads!
Crapman was originally featured within the Synergy megademo and later released as a standalone product in 1993. Most Atarians rate this as one of the best Pac-Man games, with spot-on perfect gameplay: those pesky ghosts are clever, and a cunning level design helps make this extremely challenging.
The graphics are marvellous, and the Scavenger music is just perfect - gorgeous and timeless! Crapman may have a silly name, but it's a fantastic twist on the original and immensely addictive. Right, I cannot stress this enough, stop what you're doing and play this game right now. Possibly the best Pac-Man clone?
Every so often, a game is released that breaks the mould and blows you away. Virgin Games released this point-and-click adventure in 1992, and it's something remarkable. A game of great character, lore and charm. Interestingly, it was developed by David Sykes and Tony Warriner of Revolution Software and appears to be their only Atari ST game. Damn, I cannot help but wonder what else they might have made.
The story begins with you waking up one day, only to find yourself locked in a dungeon. You are a nobody, a peasant, called Diermot. You were previously part of an attempt to free the village of Turnvale from Selena and her army of Orc lookalikes, the Skorls. That campaign ended in tragedy, and everyone was killed! Whilst the bloodshed reigned, you bumped your noggin and were knocked unconscious, only to be captured.
Upon waking, you find yourself banged up in jail with a bad-tempered Skorl as your guard...
The intro is fascinating to watch. Like a 16-bit mini-movie!
I love the opening scenes, which nicely introduce you to the world you're in.
As you begin to explore, you meet new people like this old chap idly relaxing...
It's Like Having A Second Life!
Immerse yourself in this wonderfully crafted adventure taking place within a gorgeous Olde English setting I adore. It's a point-and-click adventure controlled using the mouse: the left button guides your character around the screen and can also display status and object information. The right button is used to command and interact with characters and more. This system is well-designed, intuitive and easy to master.
Gameplay is experienced in real-time, with the populous merrily going about their business while you go about yours. Having woken up in jail, your first task is to escape, so it's fortunate Skorl's aren't the brightest bulbs in the box (by a long shot!). Your progress hinges on careful exploration, examination and communication. So pick up every object; you never know when you might need it. Talk to everyone and see what information they can share. Sometimes someone might ask you a favour before revealing anything.
The world is populated by some of the most entertaining and delightful characters that will win your heart. Just start a chat with someone in a tavern, for example, a dialogue guaranteed to entertain! This charm and charisma are evident from the start when you rescue a fellow inmate named Ratpouch, who instantly becomes a loyal friend. Well, when he's not in the pub! But watch out because he doesn't half get himself into trouble by saying the silliest of things to other characters. Such a mischievous guy and a best friend.
Let's take a look at a few more screenshots with subtle hints...
It's worth exploring everywhere and chatting with everybody... Even the half-naked man!
Or you could play dress-up and enjoy being a dude in a dress. Incognito is fun!
Relax. Have a beer and chill with your mate Ratpouch. Maybe you'll hear something interesting?
Looks And Audio
This adventure is visually stunning, and the artwork is a pure delight, perfectly capturing the enchanting medieval setting. The characters move with smooth animation, and I adore the intricate details like the bird perched on the fence for a few moments before taking flight. Such a delicate touch adds to the scene’s beauty and is impressive to witness during play. It’s these little details that enhance the atmosphere.
The sound effects are the only weakness, but don’t misunderstand me - they’re beautiful and crafted from high-quality sampled sounds. However, some screens lack any background audio, which, in my opinion, slightly detracts from the overall beauty of the game. Perhaps that’s the floppy disk’s capacity limitation?
I'm moaning about, right? Let's take a look at a screen, you will see a lot of...
Oh no, it's game over for another fallen adventurer. They think it's all over? It is now!!
The CryptO'pinion?
Undeniably an impressive adventure that you’ll thoroughly enjoy exploring. It’s hilarious, captivating and incredibly addictive, so I recommend making time for this game. Take notes and engage with everyone - yes, even those who might seem like a bum or a pub wacko knitting. Everyone has a story to share.
It keeps you on your toes with its unpredictable twists and turns cleverly woven into the storyline. It’s a massive adventure that might even lead you to fall in love (you'll see). Personally, I’d rank Lure Of The Temptress as one of the best adventures for the Atari ST, just a hair’s breadth away from absolute perfection.
Here's a thought: why not ditch TOS for a spanky installation of MiNT? That's been done - it's called ST MiNT by Marcello, based on Cripple MiNT (w/ extras). It's intended for a 4MB ST running in High Res, and all you need is a spare SD card for your Ultrasatan (or similar), to fly free in a multitasking world!!
I've installed this myself, and it's shockingly easy to get up and running. It's an impressive product...
Installation is easy, and Marcello has even provided helpful instructions to recreate the image. However, I thought I'd also add my own experience just for us Mac folk - but it's dead easy to do on any computer:
1) Download ST Mint disk image. 2) Insert the SD card(if an alert appears, choose ignore) 3) Open up Terminal.app and enter in three commands: 3a) diskutil list(this displays the necessary information to identify your SD card - diskX on my iMac was disk1) 3b) diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX(now that you know the device ID you can unmount it - but leave physically inserted!) 3c) sudo dd if=st_mint-0.7.img of=/dev/diskX(dd is the command that transfers the data onto the SD card and will take several minutes. Enter your password and wait!!) 4) Now eject and insert the SD card into your ultrasatan 5) Switch on the Atari ST and enjoy a baby MiNT OS
This next bit is optional and only for those struggling to identify the SD card device ID. This is a copy of my Terminal activity, and, as you can see, I entered the "diskutil list" command twice. Once before I inserted the SD card, and afterwards just to compare the differences in its output (before running the above)
iMac:~ ataricrypt$ diskutil list /dev/disk0 (internal, physical): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk0 1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1 2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 999.3 GB disk0s2 3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3 /dev/disk3 (disk image): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: Apple_partition_scheme +18.1 MB disk3 1: Apple_partition_map 32.3 KB disk3s1 2: Apple_HFS Flash Player 18.1 MB disk3s2 iMac:~ ataricrypt$ iMac:~ ataricrypt$ diskutil list /dev/disk0 (internal, physical): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk0 1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1 2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 999.3 GB disk0s2 3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3 /dev/disk1 (internal, physical): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: *1.0 GB disk1 /dev/disk3 (disk image): #: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER 0: Apple_partition_scheme +18.1 MB disk3 1: Apple_partition_map 32.3 KB disk3s1 2: Apple_HFS Flash Player 18.1 MB disk3s2 iMac:~ ataricrypt$ diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk1 Unmount of all volumes on disk1 was successful iMac:~ ataricrypt$ iMac:~ ataricrypt$ sudo dd if=~/Desktop/st_mint-0.7.img of=/dev/disk1 Password: 1228800+0 records in 1228800+0 records out 629145600 bytes transferred in 986.684138 secs (637636 bytes/sec) iMac:~ ataricrypt$
Sorry, I meant to say, here we have Gauntlet 3 developed by Software Creations for US Gold. Yet another sequel to the incredible arcade game we love. Only this time, somebody thought that the winning formula of speed and frantic action wasn't good enough for the 1990s. Here we go. Yup, somebody decided that a modernized version with a new isometric design was needed to replace the classic overhead view.
Please note that I tried to keep an open mind throughout. Rather than being a grumpy old man wondering why his favourite game had been drastically changed. It's not all bad surely? Of course not, but why change a winning formula? Nevermind, let's crack on with the review...
Yes, it looks different, but in a good way, actually. I liked how we begin the opening levels in a spooky forest; this stage looks the part. All the familiar Gauntlet elements are lurking in these woods: ghosts, generators, treasure, and food. The idea remains much the same as ever - we hack and slash through to a medieval church, killing everything in our wake. Not only that, but the levels appear huge; this is a big game.
Let's view a cheap & tacky screenshot that I took with my phone off my Atari ST...
The ruins of an old church deep in the woods. That tree looks scary, so let's get inside quick!
Let's kill monsters!
First things first, who do we want to be - Warrior, Wizard, Rockman, Lizard Man, Elf, and more. That's right, there are many more characters! One or two players can team up (definitely better with two), and the classic gameplay mechanics remain much the same. We're still throwing axes, arrows, magic, and more directly into the faces of ghosts, goblins, and other hideous creatures that emerge from their generators.
The levels are vast and divided into several smaller sections, which you can revisit whenever you like. Monsters constantly spawn, so blast the generators! Remember your usual strategy: collect treasure and eat food. Shooting a potion clears the screen of enemies, or you can collect them for later use. Escaping to the next realm is only possible after completing simple tasks like collecting keys and that sorta stuff.
Essentially, they wanted this to be Gauntlet but with an isometric perspective. Unfortunately, I doubt that’s feasible. The original’s timeless appeal stemmed from the ability to start blasting monsters instantly, whether solo or with others. The action was fast-paced, but this isn’t the case with Gauntlet 3. Not even close.
I've progressed into the weirdly designed church for this next screenshot...
Inside the church are many ghosts and awkward objects to try to walk around...
Fighting in slo-mo?
The gameplay is a lot slower, so gone is that instant enjoyment of mass killing we love. The thrill has been replaced with a more sedate exploration that happens to include killing. That's how it feels to me; the frenzied action has gone. That's made worse thanks to the level design and terrible control mechanics.
Even walking is an issue, as the levels are littered with objects that need to be walked around. That might not sound like a big deal, but it is. I was sick & tired of getting stuck on the scenery. This applies to your weapons, which are often blocked when trying to hit a target. Heck, even the ghosts suffer from this problem!
The controls are lethargic and verrrrrry sluggish, making walking incredibly tiring. Furthermore, the attack speed is far too slow. This means we can’t destroy generators unless we walk and fight through hordes of ghosts, losing energy in the process. A faster firing rate would have instantly fixed this problem.
Surely, it's not all bad? No, but let's view one final screenshot before my judgment...
Looks like we've just walked straight into an ambush. Shoot the generators, if you can!
The CryptO'pinion?
Gauntlet 3 was programmed by Bill Barna of Software Creations, and I wonder if his job was to rush through a nasty Amiga port. It certainly feels that way. This is very disappointing given the company’s history of producing classics like Bubble Bobble, Ghouls & Ghosts, and Bionic Commando. What went wrong?
Ignoring that it's supposed to be the third in the series, this is actually enjoyable in its own right. I liked exploring the various lands and killing everything in sight. While the controls are somewhat problematic, it’s still a decent game. However, it falls short as a "Gauntlet" game and only redeems itself in co-op with a friend.
Update: I have contacted Peter Putnik (8BitChip) to ask about a hard drive version that supports faster Atari computers. Once again he worked his magic and I've been enjoying Gauntlet 3 on my 16MHz Atari STe and yes, I said the word with enjoy in it!!
Sure, it still isn't perfect but, if you have a faster computer, then this update will help to eliminate some problems, especially with the unresponsive controls.
And that's big news!! Gauntlet III is playable, at last.
