Magic Pockets

Pocket pool

I finally rebought Magic Pockets by the great Bitmap Bros! Those guys sure knew how to program - never once settled for a lame Amiga port. Not ever, which is a prime historical example to shame many other developers. I'm proud to own what is nothing less than a belting piece of hiSTory by the Bitmaps!!

So the story? Ah, yes... the infamous storyline. Well, brace yourself for a cracker! Okay, the Bitmap Kid (BK to his burger friends) has been given a brand new pair of magical trousers from an old man he met in the park one evening. No, not really lol!! Anyhow, he loves these trousers but, finds out that his toys have somehow disappeared into a fantasy world: PocketLand. Of course, this cool Kid is determined to get his toys back. So, he enters via a black hole he conjured!! Boy, if there was ever a whackier storyline than this!

Anyhow, let's take a gander at a lovely bluey screenshot of the kid in his weird new world...

There are many crazy monsters to kill but... hang on... what's that TV doing there?

Short arms, deep pockets

PocketLand is split over four enormous levels - and they are HUGE. BK is armed with different powers depending on the world he's currently in. There are many strange enemies and also many bonuses to use - heck, he even has extra abilities like the whirlwind to jump great heights. Sometimes the route through can feel like a wild goose chase, but you're often led onto secret areas - that contain lots of goodies. I admire the design because most levels don't feel linear, even though they are which is a muddled thing to say, right?

The joystick controls are spritely with flexible action and movement. I have always liked their responsive mechanics because - it feels less like a computer platformer and more like something a console would knock out. Of course, neither is better than the other. It's just how Magic Pockets feels (to me) and a platformer like this demands decent controls. So I like this game today as much as I did in the 1990s.

Well, it's time for yet another screenshot. Wow, gripping stuff...

The first level nicely introduces various aspects of the game with its trippy mechanics.

Aesthetics

Visually, it has a Godly appearance that the Bitmaps sure enjoyed using. Hardly original but peppered with lovely colours splashed throughout each and every level. The scrolling is fast and fluent - so always manages to keep up the gameplay's pace. However, it's the sprites that are something else; so many incredibly cute critters all of which are nicely animated too. Why can't all games look this beautiful? Outstanding pixel artwork.

The sound effects are fantastic but I would prefer an option for a background tune. Famously, the title music is by Betty Boo but, I'm kinda meh about that. I guess it's nice to have and the quality is pretty good.

Get on your bike and get ready for another screenshot of crazy gameplay...

Hey, I've found a bike? Weeee, come on, there aren't many games like this!!

The CryptO'pinion?

I feel like Magic Pockets is brand new again so I'm well happy with my purchase. At the moment, I haven't gotten very far if I'm honest. But it's fun trying and what a gem this platformer is! It's wonderful to play it again after all these years. I feel it hasn't aged badly whatsoever. In fact, it's still just as much fun and as entertaining as it ever was. You could say that I'm feeling like a big kid on Christmas Day.

Magic Pockets is an outstanding platformer and easy to get into. This article might be a preview but, anything from the Bitmap Brothers is top-notch. I know I'll be enjoying this for many moons to come.

Highly recommended isn't a good enough phrase to use. PLAY THIS GAME!!

Downloaded for floppy and hard disk.

Things Not To Do

Good advice

Electronic Images released the most hilarious Atari ST demo I have seen. I tried to record a video but my emulator messed graphics and the sine scroller (which is beautiful) was jerking like it had a nervous twitch. So I gave up and burned the image to a floppy to enjoy it. Nothing beats the real hardware.

Download this utterly stupid demo from AtariMania then turn up the volume and enjoy the show.

Credits

---

4mat - Music
Count Zero - Music
Griff - Code, Text
J.C.B - Graphics (Animation)

Master - Graphics

Menace [upgraded]

When something isn't quite right...

Menace is one of the few Psygnosis games that I respect. It's a good shooter. Okay, it should have been better with a little effort but, that's an Amiga company for you. Anyhow, it's still a decent game and I enjoy it. But what's with the YELLOW ship compared to that other version? For years, I've hated its bland colour and wondered what they were thinking. And if it was possible to change it for something better?

So I contacted Atari ST wizard Peter Putnik about my dilemma. He's always up for a challenge and open to new ideas. It wasn't long until he came back with a solution that worked well. As you can see in both the video and screenshots, our spaceship now has a new paint job!! The caveat is a change to the (badly placed) status pane due to the 16-colour palette. Of course, the game remains the same but we now pilot a white ship!

You know folks, this is what makes the Atari ST scene a marvellous place. Think about it, I wasn't happy with a commercial game from 30+ years ago. I asked a guy living in another country for his thoughts. What does he do? He fixes it without hesitation. Incredible. What an amazing community we have.

My sincere thanks to Peter for being gracious with my request. This version of Menace is the only one I will play on the Atari ST. Here's the download to the newly designed AtariCrypt White Star (geddit?).

Please watch the video trailer above and gander at these lovely screenshots...

I made this silly image. Can you tell? lol

Here it is, our brand new white ship!

Just look at it. Much better now albeit at the expense of the status bar.

Skimming along through space in my spanky new ship!!

It might not be the best shooter but the graphics are cool.

It has it's haters but this is better than most of the drivel Psygnosis produced for us.

Reanimators #6

Reanimators #6 features a few simple effects with a superb chiptune (hmm, it sounds familiar). You know me, I love sine scrollers and this one is a belter and displayed using the full range of lovely rainbow colours. On the disk is Thunderstrike, an incredible 3D shoot 'em up with outstanding graphics - it feels like an early Cybermorph ;-)

Credits

https://demozoo.org/productions/92358/

wave upon wave

There are many amazing artists out there and I've always had a soft spot for the guys that make up the incredible YM Rockerz. So here is the wonderful compilation called "wave upon wave" which they released 17 years ago! It features several tracks by their awesome musicians: 505, D-Force, Dma-Sc, Tao, Lotek Style and Milhouse.

It's impossible to pick a favourite, but I do love Shifter by Tao which you can listen to by clicking on the GEM green arrow. Check out the YM Rockerz website ... I think that I'm going to listen to "Seven" again tonight :-)

Wave Upon Wave by YM Rockerz [demozoo download]

Credits:

505 - Music

D-Force - Music

Dma-Sc - Music, Text

Exocet - Graphics

MC Laser - Graphics (ASCII), Music, Text

Milhouse - Music, Text

Tao - Code, Music

Midnight Sun

Today I fancied some ST GLAM!!

I've just been going through the latest uploads on Demozoo and there have been many incredible releases of demos, artwork and music from both the Outline and Sommarhack parties. I'm constantly blown away by what the DHS boys can produce: the video above is of Midnight Sun for the Atari STe which runs in complete overscan!!

Credits for Midnight Sun by Dead Hackers Society

Crazy Q - Music

Evil - Code

Excellence In Art - Other (Sample sequence)

Proteque - Graphics

https://demozoo.org/productions/174400/

Now check out these screenshots for an idea of what the Atari ST #demoscne is cable of knocking out. Remember, YouTube is good, but nothing beats the experience of using a real Atari ST/e computer. #JustSaying :p

P-47 Thunderbolt

Skim the landscape & shoot everything

P-47 was released in 1988 by Firebird and based on the Jaleco arcade game. There are several levels through a wide variety of landscapes so put on your Biggles outfit because you're about to reach for the skies.

Any shoot 'em up needs decent scrolling, awesome controls and enemies to kill. P-47 has this by the bucket load. It's immediately obvious the teamwork that went into development has certainly paid off. Choose either a 50/60Hz display with smooth parallax scrolling, great graphics throughout and fast sprites that honour the original. Funky chipmusic plays alongside the pizazz sound effects, both of which are great.

The action is hectic as the planes whizz into view and tanks blast artillery - they're just asking for a MOAB!! Other levels have us flying through sunset clouds, pyramids, and over the seas - I love the missiles which emerge from underwater. Strangely, the bosses are easy to defeat by positioning in a safe place and repeatedly dropping a payload of bombs. Each level varies but the concept remains: fly, avoid, panic, and kill everything.

Where P-47 fails is the frustratingly high difficulty - the screen will always be cluttered with many baddies and a collision is inevitable. Stick with it; collect the power-ups, learn the enemy's attack pattern and keep on firing. Sure, this is imperfect but it's also one I really enjoy and a darn challenging shoot 'em up.

Stonish has the game on floppy disk and I recommend New Order #20 Menu CD.

Hard drive installable versions are available by both 8BitChip and D-Bug.

Enter "ZEBEDEE" into the high score:

Press F1 for a level skip

press F2 for infinite lives. Have fun!!