It's that time again when I find something Christmassy from within the Atari ST archives. However, this time I didn't want a game so opted for a demo. I think I've found a belter: Xmas '88 which was released by Kenrick Productions. I hope you like this? I find it endearing with cute animations and a few appropriate chiptunes to get you in the festive mood.
Merry Christmas everyone and I wish you all the very beST †
That's right, Death Chase was programmed in STOS, a tool that can produce some neat results but... more often than not... tends to leave me feeling cold. Usually, that's down to the jerky scrolling or oversized sprites! Anyhow, I thought Death Chase was going to be a remake of Mervyn Estcourt's ZX Spectrum racer. Alas, it isn't.
Actually, I'm glad!!! This is a vicious top-down shooter developed in 1996 by Daniel Fielding for the Atari STe and takes inspiration from a variety of action/shooters. It even supports both solo and an incredibly cooperative two-player mode. Yep, this is sounding awesome already, whether you're playing solo or not.
Our character roams Rogue-like locations and initially, armed with a pistol. It's our task to explore the rooms that are inhabited by cyborgs armed to the teeth!! Death Chase is loud, exciting and bursting with big explosions and many baddies. It's intense!! Come on, we have guns and many bad guys to kill. Oh yeah, bring it on!!
Wanna see a screenshot from my (one-player) game? No? Well, here you go anyway...
Each room holds so many possibilities for a whole new level of violence. It never gets dull!!!
Guns and loud violence?
We start with a pistol but our armoury is huge with a possible 18 weapons - including shotguns, rocket launchers, and lasers. I bet Star Wars fans will enjoy using the lightsaber. Ammo and health are found in most rooms, so inspect lockers and tabletops. However, beware of potential traps like mines or even TNT crates.
The deaths are hilarious! Zap, slice, or blow up the enemy and there is often a bucketload of blood splattering throughout the room! Each death will be different depending on the weapon used (how he's killed). And death leads me onto the excellent continue option - that means you can try again after dying - without restarting from the beginning. However, you lose the bigger weapons and start with the pistol. :/
This might be a bold statement, especially because the Atari ST has games like Rick Dangerous, Lemmings, and Gods but, I think Death Chase has the best dead scenes. Ignoring the enemy's deaths, ours is just as great. Which is an odd thing to say. Getting shotgun-blasted and seeing your body thrown across (numerous) rooms into a bloody heap is nothing short of sickening & hilarious all at the same time. Fantastic!!
This is an alluring game stuffed with an insane amount of violence and I love it! Screenshot time...
Death Chase is insanely good fun and bucket loads of it too. Either solo or with a friend.
Enemies?
This may sound like the weakest part of the game as there are only two enemies. I know, just two enemies sounds puny, doesn't it? Well, on one level it is but it isn't a problem whatsoever. Let's see...
Security Guards - these are common and wear blue uniforms but have no intention to serve & protect. Their armour is weak but they can use a range of devastating weapons and will often attack in packs.
Eliminators - these are the toughest and stand out like sore thumbs in their girly yellow body armour. These guys can carry a range of advanced hardware, like a mini-gun or a rocket launcher. Also, they don't care who gets in their way - even unlucky Security Guards can be torn to shreds during a pursuit. Interestingly, these guys aren't restricted to the current room and love chasing you through many screens. So beware because running away like a chicken has little benefit.
Strangely, having only two baddies is odd but it works well, so let's see a screenshot...
Only one guy stood between me and that ammo. So I fried him alive. Mwahaha!!
Controls, Gfx, Audio
Similar to Rogue, movements are performed within a grid layout in all 4-directions. However, I would not recommend using the joystick because it's too sensitive and the documentation advises the keyboard. It's dead easy: the A and D keys are used to turn anti/clockwise. W walks us forward with the Spacebar used to choose from an array of weapons (read the docs). Finally, banging on the Right Shift key produces an enormous amount of gratifying blood-soaked violence (I love the double-barrel shotgun). Absurdly superb!!
The graphics remind me of how today's developers seem to think "retrogaming" looked in the day. It ain't no Enchanted Land but I'm impressed by the perfect pixel art which is a style apt to the theme. Everything you see is gorgeously drawn with fine attention to detail. Needless to say, I love the visuals :-)
The audio is equal to the stunning visuals in all respects thanks to an array of incredible Mad Max chiptunes. These tunes play alongside the sound effects - which are crystal-clear DMA samples for almost every action you can think of. You will recognise many; these were recorded using Microdeal's Stereo Master from movies like The Evil Dead. Wow, so much effort went into every aspect of this killer game!!
Death Chase is almost like a nightmarish and blood-soaked version of Rogue. Love it!!
This is why we play Atari!!
What a pleasure it is to play Death Chase - The Remix. It's a job when a game comes along that, not only takes you by surprise but, completely blows you away. Death Chase first appeared quite modest, gimmicky, and perhaps even stupidly senseless. But a few moments pass during your first game and you are HOOKED. Use the keyboard and enjoy the frantic action which is exhilarating and bursting with bloody mayhem.
I can't stress how much of a rush it is to experience such a psychotic shooter. The unexpected "continue" feature is an excellent addition. Likewise, supporting two players spices it up beyond perfect to guarantee hours of fun. It's barbaric and Death Chase is one of the best games I've played. Well done Daniel Fielding.
I said that. Not only a brilliant Atari STe game but one of the best games I have ever played. Ever.
Atlantis Software released Creepy in 1991, it may sound like yet another predictable good vs evil affair but just wait until you play it! Some might say it's inspired, but it's nothing more than a shameless Atic Atac rip-off.
Creepy is a little fella but very brave and his old brother appeared in a famous 1983 game. Well, he is about to enter a castle owned by The Lord Of Darkness. Why, I hear you cry? Is he mad? No, it's to find four pieces of the Necromancy Scroll that will defeat this nasty man and restore peace to a land ravaged by all kinds of evil monsters.
What, you don't believe Atic Atac appeared on the Atari ST. Hmm, you better take a look at this then...
I killed a warrior so pinched her dragon and road him like John Wayne!
Dark rooms and lots of monsters!
The Lord's castle is huge with rooms spawning a whacky bunch of evil monsters. Some are easy to kill but others are a lot harder, like the She-Warriors who ride on dragons. She might be tough but, when you defeat her, Puff is left behind so hop on for a ride. Watch out for other nasties like the odd-looking Frankenstein and a ginormous spider!
We are equipped with arrows but these are slow so it's best to upgrade to something better in the shop. Yes, this castle has a shop with stuff like health and fireballs - I really liked the fireball weapon and restoring health is always a wise purchase. Locked doors can be opened with the correct key and tiny yellow keys will unlock treasure chests that adorn many rooms. Gamblers will love these as you never know what's inside - something useful or something sinister?
Monsters won't aimlessly wander and sure love to play chase - at the expense of your energy level (displayed as a crunchy apple rather than a roast turkey). Also, a life loss no longer leaves behind a Cross where we breathed our last breath. Oh, and I still haven't made up my mind about which has the best effect when falling between floors...
Ignoreing the graphics, Creepy is not a carbon-copy clone of Ultimate's game. It plays quicker with other subtle differences within a castle that is dingier than the colourful Spectrum game. It took me a while to feel comfortable with the speed but it wasn't long until I was zipping through the rooms like a crazy medieval dude.
Whether you came from the ZX Spectrum or not, you'll love this ripoff game :)
The CryptO'pinion?
Okay, those old enough to have gasped in awe at Ultimate's 1983 classic will probably turn up their nose at this blatant imitation. However, please don't. Yes, it's a blatant ripoff but it's still a fantastic game in its own right. I am incredibly impressed by the fast and furious oldskool gameplay which takes that original and adds its extra zest.
Creepy is nothing less than a nostalgic 48K impersonator with addictive gameplay. I enjoyed plundering the castle's rooms, bashing in monsters!! A genuinely excellent 8-bit game with 16-bit aesthetics. Highly recommended.
Deathbringer is a horizontally scrolling hack and slasher that reminds me of a bunch of different Atari ST games like Barbarian II, Golden Axe and, dare I say it, Shadow Of The Beast. You are Karn, a warrior with muscles who must kill an evil wizard using a sword possessed by a blood-hungry spirit called Abaddon.
Our world is viewed side-on and can be travelled in either direction through a variety of eye-popping landscapes. Of course, the basic gameplay remains much the same which means wielding your huge sword whenever you see anything nasty. Predictable or not, I like the sound of this slasher already!!
Karn can run & jump using 3 attack moves: fire + left/right for a jab that is handy against skeletons. Push up for an overhead swing - great for flying enemies. Pull down for an underhanded swing that works well for the goblins and other peculiar nasties like rocks. Yep, rocks.
Killing is the name of the game to keep Abaddon happily stuffed with souls - represented in the status bar by the sword's blood. The more baddies you kill, the happier our resident demon is, try not to starve him otherwise he might just get his fix elsewhere. It's silly, but I admired this unique mechanic.
Many other monsters will want to stop you from completing your noble quest: baby dragons, trolls, skeletons, bats, giants, and birds who drop stinky eggs. A boss screen follows each level and are rather easy!
It's time for an extraordinary screenshot. Breathe. Now, check this out...
The graphics in this game are outstanding.
Psygnosis eat your heart out!
Deathbringer has fantastic graphics - truly fantastic - and regulars will remember I featured the game within our Pixel Art section because of its intro/boss stages and outstanding artwork. The in-game multilayer parallax scrolling is legendary and proves the power of the Atari ST in the hands of a decent programmer.
Aesthetically, this game makes our port of Shadow Of The Beast look like Pong!!
The audio is on par with the visuals and a great title tune along with funny in-game sampled sounds - I love the horrific screaming in the intro!! However, I can't help but be disappointed Empire didn't make use of the Atari STe. Even so, we have sampled effects and smooth parallax scrolling. Eat that Psygnosis!
I only hope they didn't concentrate on the aesthetics too much? Let's see another screenshot...
A goblin riding a snail is not the quickest way to get about lol
The CryptO'pinion?
Deathbringer appears to have it all but I've not yet mentioned how this Conan wannabe actually plays. Surely running and hacking at slimeball enemies is guaranteed fun? Well, it should be but this is where disappointment rears its ugly head thanks to the unresponsive controls. The mirror opposite of what a game like this needs. It's the last thing you need during the heat of battle when dexterity and agility matters!
For example, press fire/up for an overhead swing which actions a split-second later. Other niggles exist like when Karn and a baddie are standing too close - so are unable to hit each other. How weird!
Deathbringer's strong points are its beautiful graphics and sound effects. I would also include its vast variety of interesting monsters too - I don't think I have ever seen a goblin on a sleigh before! Sadly, I'm left wondering if anyone at Empire actually bothered to play this game before releasing it. Probably not, which is oddly peculiar. With a little tweak to the control system, this would have been a show stopper!!
Ultimately, a good game but the laggy controls ruin what might have been tremendous...
Only one move will kill these skeletons but I don't care because it's fun!
I needed a game that compensated for the horror I just suffered playing Platform Capers). So, Dave Munsie has rushed to my rescue with his adaption of the 8-Bit classic, Berzerk. However, I admit I had my fingers crossed when first loading - hoping it didn't suck compared to the great 2600/5200 games!!
We are the wobbly stickman intruder running through randomly generated rooms killing robots. Interestingly, these robot guys are a mixed bunch - some dumb enough to fry themselves on the electrified walls, whilst others are amazingly accurate shooters. Try to kill them and collect the bonus reward otherwise, you're called a chicken!! Otto is fearless and only too eager to rear his smiley mug and chase you across the screen.
Some (those under 40) might scoff at the boring blocky graphics. I appreciate they aren't spruced up to ST standards but that would have ruined the authenticity. Also, I treasure the speech synthesis which is spot-on perfect and makes me grin like the Cheshire Cat. "Chicken, fight like a robot" -this is fantasticl!!
Berzerk is one of the best 8-bit conversions I have ever played. An easy 10/10 from me!!
What an easy decision it was to award this game with the AtariCrypt SMASH accolade.
Platform Capers was released in 1992 by Kay Downes for Budgie UK and has obvious 8-bit roots I'm instantly attracted to. Aesthetically, I feel it's a cross between Clod Hopper, Jumping Jack and Donkey Kong with adorable authentic graphics and sound effects. These transport me back to the early 80s when I was a kid sitting in my cold room in front of an old portable TV waiting for my Speccy to finish loading from tape.
The objective is simple, collect the keys on each level before exiting through the doorway. However, there is a myriad of frustratingly cunning enemies we need to avoid. Touch one and a life is lost as we go tumbling down the screen like a fat plumber. It's brilliant and classically old-school gameplay. However, it's very hard...
I believe there are 7 levels but I dare anyone to complete this game without resorting to a cheat!! At best, I have reach level 4. However, I more often than not, will struggle to complete level 3, if I'm honest. On bad days, I can struggle to beat level 2 and usually end up throwing the joystick down in temper!
Superbly programmed but the design is far too difficult. I love & hate Platform Capers in equal measure.
I was bored and converted a picture I found on the internet to 16 colours using Imagecopy 4. I figured it would make a great wallpaper background so I booted up Deskpic - which is on ST Format cover disk #60.
That's my rock and roll lifestyle. Yep. Anyhow, that's enough for today. STay Atari.
