Hibernated 1 - This Place is Death

WooHoo a new Atari ST game!

Hibernated 1: This Place is Death is a sci-fi text adventure by Stefan Vogt and released for a variety of different platforms along with our beautiful Atari ST. We are Olivia Lund onboard the intergalactic spaceship, Polaris-7 who has awoken from stasis. The ship appears abandoned and has been caught by an alien tractor beam.

Text adventures aren't often my cuppa tea - my brain needs to be fed visual wonders otherwise, it wanders. But, I've enjoyed myself with this rather splendid adventure with its fantastic sense of humour. The parser is easy to use with a two-word command system using Examine, Get, Open, Search, Move, etc. There are shortcuts: I for Inventory and R to re-describe the current location. Medium resolution is supported but oddly not monochrome... The docs advised making a map and that is a very good idea!!

Hibernated 1 is possibly the first of a new trilogy that can be downloaded and bought. Name your own price - which is a wonderful idea - thus play before you pay. Are any interested adventurers lurking?

UPDATE: You can now purchase a physical boxed release! :-)

This adventure has a great personality with cheeky remarks using buckets of humour!

A droid is punching me and I try to examine it. What was I thinking? A nice response though!!

Yikes, what is on that computer? The last thing we need is to be quarantined for four weeks!

PONG

Ping!

I love finding something "new" and yesterday I saw a version of Pong on Atari Legend but one I had not played. It's by Construct Developments but I couldn't source a download from anywhere until ST Graveyard, aka Maarten Martens, kindly sent me the disk image. (Download also added into AtariMania for safekeeping)

Pong works on the Atari STe with stereo tracker music, but the gameplay isn't exactly what I assumed. Forget your friends and family because this is a one-player conversion using the joystick to control both paddles simultaneously. So, as you guide the left paddle, the right will automatically move in the opposite direction for a brain-busting experience! It's tough to fully master - but Pongtastic and bucketloads of fun!!

Sadly, it appears Pong wasn't finished so there are a few minor niggles. The only thing that bugged me was how the ball becomes difficult to follow as it passes over an area of similar colour. Nothing is perfect and finding new Atari ST games is always good, and this game certainly offers a neat twist on the format.

Thunder Jaws

Big guns and a pervy boss!

I'd seen pictures of this underwater shoot 'em up but didn't know what to expect from what seemed a naff James Bond wannabe. Released in 1991 by Domark, our villain is the busty Madame Q who desires nothing less than to rule the world. She's gone and kidnapped lots of gorgeous girls who are to be experimented on and turned into monsters. Our task is to find her secret base, kill all the baddies, and free the hostages.

Grab something rubbery to wear because her base is deep underwater which reminds me of Scuba Dive on my old ZX Spectrum! But these dangerous waters are patrolled by armed guards and robotic sharks. Harpoon anything you see, destroy the automated defences and blast open the lair's entrance.

Yeah, I like how cheesy this is so let's check out the initial screens...

A cool loading screen but where's the intro disappeared to??

Still, at least a 2-player co-op is still included which is ace!

The opening scene is underwater heading to the evil lair...

Inside are lots of baddies and some great weapons to pick up - the punk girls scream lol

Wear your best flippers for the girls!

Once inside her lair, the game changes to a scrolling platformer similar to Rolling Thunder (yikes, we all remember that dreadful conversion). This stage is better with henchmen and other strange characters chasing you. Weaponry remains the same and can be upgraded to a flamethrower, uzi, rocket, and more. Finally, battle a boss and rescue yourself a few gorgeous babes - who will be extremely grateful.

Once completed, it flips back to the underwater stage and we repeat for similar missions. The difficulty increases as we infiltrate deeper into the base - it's now that I need to activate a trainer because the later levels are crammed with an insane amount of baddies!! Also, the end-of-level bosses are tough and made worse by tons of other bad guys turning up to help. Argh, my screen is littered with too many brawling sprites!!

Gimme a flamethrower, a zillion extra lives and I'm happy...

Yikes, our evil villain looks freaky like something from Twisted Sister!

Rescuing the sexy girls produces lots of kisses and hugs for our hero!!

Later on, we're in dirty waters with toxic waste barrels.

This leads to a scary rock monster and naked firewomen. Nice!

Graphics & Sounds

The visuals use many different styles with gorgeous backgrounds and each level looks stunning. The sprites are superbly drawn and nothing beats the girls falling to their feet for lots of comical kissing!! The scrolling is smooth but feels a little lethargic on later levels when there is much action but, I'm being very picky.

There isn't a chiptune bopping away in the background but the effects are good. Actually, no, they are crude but the grunts are deranged - I loved the haunting female's scream of death. Sonically superb!!

Check out these screenshots that demonstrate this game's stunning artwork...

The end boss battles are rubbish if I'm honest. You are forced to cheat which is a bit daft!

This is basically because there are far too many enemies. It's impossible!

Finally, we get to meet the flame-haired temptress. Gorgeous pixel art!

But it isn't long before she morphs into something hideously ugly. Like a dog turd with hair!

The CryptO'pinion?

I'm a little unsure what to make of Thunder Jaws. It's predictable fun and the addition of a two-player co-op is exceptional. However, the later levels are impossible without cheating and I got a whiff of a lame port when things slowed down. Having said that, it's not the disaster Rolling Thunder was and I enjoyed pretending to be James Bond, rescuing sexy girls, and saving the world from a busty flame-haired tyrant.

I enjoyed Thunder Jaws - it's not perfect but I played through to the end and loved every second!!

You can download the floppy or hard disk but only if you look good in a wetsuit! Note, that faster computers will certainly benefit from smoother framerates when running on a hard drive - thanks to 8BitChip.

Here is the end screen... it's probably best I don't remark :)

Ikari Warriors

The battle of the Atari's?

Ikari Warriors brings back many special memories for me because it came free with my first Atari ST and was something I loved from the moment I loaded it up that Christmas morning (yikes that was 1988). I don't think anyone forgets the first time they saw how superior the ST was compared to their old 8Bits...

Anyhow, I admit it's hardly perfect but Elite delivered the goods for a brilliant arcade conversion which is one of my favourite ST games. Now, unlike my dreadful progress with Commando, I am actually pretty good at Ikari Warriors so figured it a good idea to check out the Atari 7800 game alongside the classic ST version.

Now, before you moan, this isn't a MCIBTYC comparison! I wanted to see how the games compare...

  
The 7800 has superb scrolling, albeit surprisingly very blocky unlike the Atari ST

Graphics or Music?

After watching the 7800's intro swoosh by, I instantly wished Atari would have released the STe back in 1985. Anyhow, once the game began, the first thing that struck me was its sexy-smooth framerate. However, the sprites themselves are crude in comparison with blocky heads? Yikes, what's wrong with the resolution?

Graphics aren't everything nor is the audio which happens to be as good and exactly what I expected. Those grenade throws are excellent but I missed the sound of the tank. Background music is okay but I don't think anything compares to the legendary ST tune by Jason C. Brooke which is bleeping excellent.

  
The 7800 looks poor but I really like that chunky look plus it won't slow down like on the ST.

Pros And Cons?

Enough of this talk about aesthetics because what we want is great gameplay and the 7800 certainly produced the goods. Okay, my console might be virtual, but I'm still able to use BOTH joystick buttons which means the machine gun and grenades are separate and that beats the ST's one-button method hands down.

Also, firing can be locked in any specific direction thus rapid - independent - shooting is possible until you decide to release the button. This takes a little getting used to but it's certainly worth mastering because it works extremely well - especially when making use of the superb power-ups always being offered.

Sadly, I admit to struggling with this conversion because I found it shockingly difficult. Perhaps it's just me and my lame joystick skills? But, no matter how much I tried, my progress was always weaker in comparison. YMMV but I personally found that excess difficulty promoted how balanced the Atari ST game is.

  
The console struggles with visual definition but this is a beast of a port! Just like the ST.

The CryptO'pinion?

Ikari Warriors is a class act on any platform. The 7800 and ST succeed in delivering a great arcade conversion that is great fun. All that's required are quick reactions and a love for guns and violence! So, enjoy what is nothing short of a cracking shoot 'em up for either your 7800 or Atari ST [floppy or hard disk].

I hope you enjoyed this sway from AtariCrypt's dedication to the Atari ST? Let me know what you guys think in the comments below (because I was quite smitten by the mostly unknown Atari 7800 if I'm honest!)

Berzerk

Comparison Time!

I figured an expansion to AtariCrypt was in order because there are many other great Atari games to play. We already have sections for the Atari STe and Falcon030 so why not the consoles? The Jaguar has many superb titles but, I admit that I am a noob which means I'm excited to see what's out there in Atari console land...

- A T A R I  2 6 0 0 -

This actually looks/sounds a lot better than I first imagined albeit without speech. The control mechanics are spot-on perfect with spritely movements that almost made me forget about the Chicken's limited one-shot mechanic. However, I didn't see Otto during the recording so perhaps I did something wrong? But the fat man did show up in other games and he can even be shot. What? Overall, a limited version but without limited gameplay.

  

- A T A R I  5 2 0 0 -

Things feel familiar from the go, possibly because it's an authentic conversion and also reminded me of the ST game - both visually and with that funky digitised speech. I enjoyed it but the speed feels a little slow and it's extremely difficult, to say the least. The robots are way beyond accurate - more like ruthless assassins. They're quick so expect no mercy. Yep, I fear my old-man reactions found this the hardest of all. Chicken, fight like a robot...

  




- A T A R I  S T -

Finally, we shouldn't forget the ST/Falcon game developed by an ST legend who needs no introduction. Those robots might be a little too eager to smash into the walls but I fear this is one of the best conversions. Bold statement - but it has well-balanced gameplay, is authentic, and incredibly playable. Check out our feature from last year.

  

RVF Honda

Street Hawk!

I felt it was time I included more biking games as they're pretty scarce on this lil' old website. So here is MicroStyle's RVF Honda which is one tough biking simulator many remember. It comes in a familiar box that features a beautiful bike somebody... somewhere... will appreciate. Inside the box, is a brilliant manual but that's enough yapping and I booted up the game and took my new Honda for a ride.

First things first, RVF Honda isn't an arcade racer, more a simulator with semi/realistic mechanics like manual gears and opponents that only Barry Sheene could beat. The graphics are barebones but the performance is furious. Heck, there is an option for a faster 60Hz display - which is something all games should have.

This racer is fun albeit with a massive learning curve due to the way the bike handles. The controls take some time to master and you will crash a lot - having to push the bike is a neat touch when restarting (but that soon wears thin when struggling to master those corners; slamming into yet another tree). Yep, the learning curve is hell on two wheels which I think is successfully demonstrated in my video recording.

Basically, you must devote lots of time to learning the controls. Again, this isn't an arcade racer so play Enduro Racer if that's what you want. Devotion beats the learning curve; your reward is a superb racer.

Okay, let's take a look at the box, contents, and some nifty screenshots...

In keeping with their theme, the front is predictable yet pretty cool.

The back of the box is actually better than the front, which is odd!

The manual is concise and stuff full of information. Make sure you read it...

Hmm, not much for your pennies when you think about it?

Make sure you're in the right gear for the corners otherwise, you hit the tarmac!

That then means pushing your bike to get going again. Love it!!

Take time, learn the controls and grasp the feel of the handling.

Oi you, keep off my grass!! Pah, a need to practise more...

The Atari ST And The Creative People

Another book?

Marco Breddin has done it again!! After unleashing the jaw-dropping Breakin' The Borders we finally have volume two, Beyond The Borders. I have only just received my copy and it appears a wonderful work of art, detailing yet more hiSTory about the creative folk who made us gasp in awe. For once, I am (almost) lost for words by what is nothing less than a beautiful and professional product that is worth every penny. I hope you all buy yourself a copy!

Take a gander at both volumes on the Microzeit store and see if they don't get your demoscene juices bubbling with excitement. I know mine is so I'm excited to carefully begin flicking through each page of volume two :)