It's been a while since I posted something cool in our Music section. So, I went looking for something extra special and then I remembered this gem: a "Dark Rock" remake of the Rob Hubbard original. This completely blew me away!!
Okay, I'll award 100 points to those who can answer this question: What game is this music from? (Noooo, don't look at the post title hehe. Pah, never mind). All credit to Yoshitaka Hojo who you can check out on Soundcloud :)
I'm on the lookout now for other "dark rock" or "darker" remakes of ST tunes...
Yomo is an oldskool-styled shoot 'em up by Aaron Fothergill for Mandarin Software. It was runner-up in The 1989 Games Writer Of The Year Award competition which is pretty cool. I've had this on my bucket list for a while because I always admired its 8-bit feel which reminded me of games I played as a youngster back in the early 80s.
The world is viewed two-dimensionally with a landscape populated by many destructible buildings and whacky vehicles which use the most frustrating mechanics. Our character is a tiny stickman who's on a mission to recover a dodgy nuke dropped behind enemy lines. However, this won't be easy because the baddies are constantly attacking so why not fire off a few heat-seeking missiles before jumping inside something probably stolen from the 1960s? On foot isn't fun, but if you see other stickmen wobbling across your screen then hit fire and gun 'em down!!
Visually speaking, you better not have high hopes because this ain't no glamourous Bitmap Brothers product: the graphics are lame with titchy sprites and ugly scrolling that had my Atari STe crying out in agony. However, I must admit that the sounds aren't bad thanks to lots of crunchy samples - lightning is oddly my favourite!
Yomo is pants but it's also surprisingly a lot of fun and the ability to jump into any aircraft is genius. However, there isn't enough ammo and collecting extra supplies is laborious and very tricky during the heat of battle. Overall, Yomo is frustrating and overly difficult but if you enjoy blowing stuff up then it's possibly worth downloading.
21st Century Entertainment released Rubicon in 1992 and is something I've enjoyed playing for years. It's simply my kinda game because it's a ludicrous mix of platformer and shoot 'em-up genres. A great run and gunner!! However, I admit I'm also rubbish and fail to reach the third level - sometimes I cannot beat the first!! So, I've whacked on the trainer and played through to the end (watch my video if you don't believe me lol).
Developed by the Fingerbobs who certainly had a grim view of the future - by 2011 there would have been a nuclear accident which transformed the local wildlife into vicious mutations. Apparently, the situation was so bad that Finland and Russia were evacuated. Okay... it's our mission to kill everything before these creatures find a way to blow us all up!! Tool up, soldier!! So yeah, an original storyline I'm sure you'll agree?
Hey, wanna see some amazing screenshots? Well, whatever you said, here they are...
Level one introduces us to the unfair mechanics, it's not long before infinite lives is enabled!!
But it's also now that you realise the beautiful artwork too.
I love level two with its enormous enemies and trapdoors which host something silly.
Oi, pick on someone your own size!!
Right, I'm impressed
The first thing that hits you is the tracker music which is stereo on the Atari STe and nice (which is high praise from this chiptune guy). Why couldn't other developers go that extra mile? Anyhow, the aesthetics keep on getting better with superb in-game graphics: smooth scrolling across gorgeous landscapes with a wide variety of mutated monsters all intent on killing you. The attention to detail is constantly outstanding but the animations are hit-and-miss because some are great whilst others are oddly void of any extra frames.
Sadly, slowdown occurs when particular (ie, ginormous) enemy sprites are displayed. I must admit that I'm disappointed they didn't also utilise the Blitter along with the DMA - that would have helped with these sprites! Curiously, this framerate drop occurs for unanimated sprites like the Ceratopia which is surprising after battling a screen-sized skeleton and a squid! But who cares about a little slowdown, let's play!
I can live with a little slowdown here and there so let's check out more outstanding screenshots...
Level three continues the theme but in the snow! That tank driver should have ducked down...
Get out of that tank and fight like a man!
We're Pitfall Harry for level four with sinking stepping stones, spikes and lots of monkeys!
That is gonna hurt...................
I need a big gun!
This game is fun but, throughout the seven levels, it's much the same with different graphics. I loved the last two levels which reminded me of Thunder Jaws and, of course, Aliens. Our hero has access to lots of weapons and the single-shot gun initially does the trick well but it's not long before you need to upgrade to something with a little more muscle because those bigger enemies are nigh on impossible to kill with your peashooter.
Weapons are excellent but the laser sucks. Thankfully, there are many other weapons to choose from like the "Scatter" and "Napalm" (my fave). However, we start with zero ammo for everything other than our basic gun so collect ammo boxes that are periodically dropped in. This isn't bad but can be awkward because you must press the required Function Key to choose your desired weapon before making the pickup. I would have preferred random types of ammo dropped to save us from fumbling for the right key before it disappears!!
Nothing makes more sense than a fun and senseless game of killing so let's so more of it now...
Level five is incredible with many obscure enemies so upgrade your weapons!
Check out my flame thrower. Take a closer look!
Level six takes us into deep waters and I dare anyone not to love every second of this.
I'll kill you and eat you for my dinner. Well, no I won't but I sounded macho!
The CryptO'pinion?
Rubicon is fantastic but doesn't break the mould with any originality. It's stupidly difficult at times, especially on levels two and three. Having said all that, it's another Torvak the Warrior - a game I love to play regularly. I love the action this freakishly weird platform offers - levels six and seven are my favourites.
Rubicon is far from perfect but it's still bucketloads of fun and definitely worth your time playing.
If you fancy going shirtless and flexing your rippling muscles before taking on the hoard then you have this choice: grab either the floppies or one of these versions for a hard drive: 8BitChip or D-Bug.
The final level has us battling Aliens, Facehuggers, giant eggs, and even the queen herself!!
Wings Of Death is a vertically-scrolling shooter that supports the extra bits 'n' bobs lurking within the Atari STe. It's a stunning production with gorgeous graphics and beautiful audio matched by killer gameplay. Despite my joystick skills, I've recorded another video because I love this shooter. Even though I'm terrible!!
And here are some screenshots to drool over. Okay, convinced now? Right then, download WoD.
I've been trolling through my old videos and found Logotron's Eye Of Horus. I remember this platformer thanks to its confusing labyrinths with many peculiar enemies. I was impressed but oddly, left feeling a little cold too. It's one of those games that looks, sounds and plays great but it has relentless enemies. Kinda like Black Lamp in this respect.
We are the hawk-headed God, Horus, a good fella for the ancient Egyptians. Our task is to explore the labyrinths of Osiris' burial chamber because he was murdered by Set who scattered his body parts everywhere. We need to collect them and rebuild him. It sounds cool and quite gross but it's time that I revisited this peculiar platformer for a second go.
So, let's waste no more time talking, and get him rebuilt like the six-million-dollar mummy...
I think Eye Of Horus nails the ancient Egyptian scenario perfectly using awesome visuals.
Hard as nails
The ancient tomb contains many traps and even the decor appears angry, so finding the body parts is not going to be easy. Thankfully, being a demigod means we have the ability to morph into a hawk, even if birds don't have any hands to carry things... Keys and Amulets can be used - from operating particular elevators to summoning other so-called gods.
I can see why I originally felt overwhelmed: the level design is pretty confusing at times which isn't helped by the repetitive backgrounds. The mechanics behind the elevators/coloured keys are unnecessarily rubbish plus I think that there are far too many amulets. All enemies are unique and it's peculiarly funny when the fixtures and fittings begin wobbling in anger. Well, at least our demigod is armed with a paper gun! No, really we are lol
Sounds rather strange yet uniquely intriguing? Well, at least the graphics suit the theme...
Okay, Okay, let's keep this civil... but Hall Of Light has awesome maps, which I feel are essential.
Aesthetics
Graphically, this game is gorgeous and reminds me of how a game of Stargate might have looked. It also reminds me of Death Trap and its intro whiffs of Ice Palace. Anyhow, the scrolling is super-smooth with gorgeous animations and the hieroglyphic backgrounds are stunning. This is a beautiful platformer and a lot of love went into its design.
Sound effects are very zesty and accompanied by gorgeous Whittaker music. Not his best but still superb.
The CryptO'pinion?
This is a cunning platformer with lots to offer. It's different and I loved exploring the tomb but the ability to flip into a hawk is a genius move albeit with its own restrictions. Just have a pen and paper ready to make a map (until the right amulet is found). Overall, I still found it confusing in terms of memorising the map plus the constant onslaught of enemies does not help. The only way you're gonna love this game is if you are willing to put in the hours (pun intended)
Otherwise, don't bother because this fantastic platformer demands your time and respect. I hope you play it.
Budding Daniel Jackson wannabes can download Eye Of Horus for floppy or hard drive.
I remember reading the review for Strider in ST Format which basically said it was great. And, although the ST version had smaller sprites, the gameplay was faster and better than on the Amiga. I foolishly believed them and wasted my cash on a game I could not play. Boy, this was nothing more than another terrible Tiertex port I thought!! I recently gave it a silly mention and wasn't too kind when I remembered its eye-popping scrolling and ridiculous difficulty.
Since then I've mellowed - and I've also come to realise that my gaming skills suck (well, there's a shocker). So, I figured I should give it another go. And you know what, I think I'm not only older but also a lot wiser. Well, ahem... Anyhow, almost three decades have passed since I last played this game so let's see what I think of Strider today.
Before we begin, here's a screenshot of the opening start of this wonderful arcade platformer...
The first level is unique and kinda Ruskie. It's the place where you'll learn the controls and that swoosh!
Me? Wrong? Never!
Well, after several games, I still found it extremely difficult and failed to beat the first boss - a Flash Gordon wannabe. However, eventually, I did it!! But then fire rained down and halted my cries of joy. Thankfully, I beat him on my second attempt and proceeded to a whacky level that I absolutely enjoyed, but was also wishing was larger. Sadly, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't beat the next boss so that was that and I gave up [see the first part of my video recording]
For some odd reason, I felt brave and booted up Strider once again only to enjoy my greatest success. Heck, I even beat the worm thingy and made it onto the following stage - which I've never seen before. This starts off great with big cats that wanted to eat me before a giant mechanical creature thing tried its luck. Banging on the fire button proved profitable and I beat him quite easily but I died later by a circular saw which came outta nowhere. Quite unfair as it's impossible to see it approaching off-screen... [see the second part of my video recording]
Oh, how time flies and can also change the perception of many things. Games being one! Check this out...
That swoosh is absolutely superb as are the enormous monsters. Love it!!
Aesthetics
Graphically, Strider is beautiful. From the very start, it looks the part and I think they did a cracking job of converting the arcade backdrops over to the much-lower-resolution ST. The sprites are just freaking incredible - they all look impressive and some are huge. This is a beautiful game but, of course, something had to give for all that glam and that means we have a slightly reduced play area and the scrolling isn't nearly as smooth as it should be. Don't get me wrong, the scrolling is good and works very well but dies alongside other ST games, like Turrican.
The audio is tremendously entertaining, I love the beautiful tunes which are so apt for this conversion. From the very start, I was hooked, just click on the green arrow below to see what I mean. The effects aren't massive in quantity but who doesn't enjoy swooshing through each level? Yes, I love that swoosh lol. I think they did a great job all around.
Before I give my opinion this needs to be said: Dear ST Format, I've hated your review for years but today I hold my hands up and apologise!! After all these years, you was bang-on correct so please forgive me! You guys rocked and I shall blame my old opinion on my joystick skills ;p
The CryptO'pinion?
Strider is absolutely superb so now I'm tempted to whack on the trainer and play through to the end? Okay, the scrolling could have been better but the gameplay is furious and makes the Amiga conversion look dull as dishwater. Strider is sleek and with bucketloads of fun so don't be a fool and load it up right now. More fool me, brilliant game!
Klaz has a spiced-up version for both floppy & hard drives (it includes an option for faster gameplay)
Sometimes, I don't want to play a life-sucking adventure or learn the ins and outs of some RPG. Sometimes, I just wanna smash up stuff and then feast on many annoying human beings. Well, today I loaded up Aaargh! by Melbourne House which is basically Rampage and we can be a giant ogre or a fire-breathing dragon.
Destroy buildings, kill attacking critters, eat stupid humans and then collect an egg trophy. Watch out for the angry yocals and various dangerous critters so conserve energy by eating what you find - or those tasty humans!! Once you have the egg, it's time for a (terrible) battle with a beastie opponent before plundering the next village.
The controls are a little clumsy because our beastie must be facing in the right direction to pick up items and perform specific attack moves. Sadly, we can be knocked to the ground far too easily which is very frustrating when waiting for him to get up - and that gives other nasties more than enough time to creep up on you once again...
It's not Rampage, but it's still fun for an hour and who doesn't enjoy burning homes before eating the angry villagers? Aaargh! might be utter rubbish but I actually enjoyed it. Of course, I'm mad but it's great fun being mad!
I found this screen pretty awkward to walk around.
This is a great level and nothing is better than killing the native peasants!!
Oh no, this looks scary. Love that face in the rock!
