Tuesday, February 03, 2015

The Untouchables



I need a cold beer!

When I first started playing this game, I thought it was a damn fine platform/shooter with some pretty cool graphics that scroll across the screen very smoothly. The gameplay isn't easy, it's frantic and never lets up so is very challenging. But it's all downhill after this stage because the other levels feel rushed and I never did enjoy "shooting gallery" games outside of the arcades. The Untouchables might be showing off its diversity but sometimes enough is enough.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is the final level which I hoped would share some similarities with Alien Syndrome or Gauntlet. Sadly this wasn't the case and I think the developers are truly sadistic!! An irritating level. So, the first level is brilliant because it's all about killing people but, the other levels? Hmm, not so much.

I feel bad writing this as Ocean are gaming gods with quality Atari ST games within their library. Heck, I remember Ocean when they were called Spectrum Software, but every company made some stinkers, right?

A game of many genres doesn't work. In fact, it fails because it becomes a jack of all trades rather than a master. So, I would rate level one around 90% because it's great fun. However, as an overall rating, The Untouchables be around 60%

Cheats for the floppy game -
  1. Pause the game first with F10 key and then :
  2. Level 1 - type in BRIDGE ROLLS to begin level 2
  3. Level 2 - type in MAC N ALLEY to begin level 3
  4. Level 3 - type in KID ZAPPING to begin level 4
  5. Level 4 - type in A NIT IN TIME to begin level 5

Cheats for the hard drive game -
  1. Pause with F10
  2. then press N N (twice) to skip to the next level.


Yeah, I own this game!! :o)

Monday, January 19, 2015

The Curse Of Bolda


The Curse Of Bolda is a scrolling platformer by Ben Pritchard for FloppyShop's platinum range. Once again, Kevin is the star who's got five levels to explore. They're split into three segments, the first two are free-roaming worlds collecting jewels, shooting monsters and solving puzzles like locked doors and operating platforms. Tools can be collected and (using the function keys) can provide a variety of uses - like a jetpack!! The third stage is an automated arena where Kevin must manoeuver through the hazards until he reaches the scary rock demon, Bolda!

This is a fantastic platformer and you can now download the full registered version :)

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Menace


UPDATE: https://ataricrypt.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/menace.html

This isn't a review. I simply needed to vent about this awesome shoot 'em up which many Atari ST gamers appear to hate. I admit, Psygnosis isn't my favourite company and released more than a few lazy Amiga ports. Many include Menace which is something I strongly disagree with albeit with an odd yellow ship!!

Menace scrolls along perfectly with large sprites and colourful scenery accompanied by nice effects and gorgeous David Whittaker chiptunes. Controls are responsive and precise with gameplay that is fast, smooth and bucket loads of fun. This is an extremely addictive shooter with that "just one more go" appeal. Fantastic game!! /rant

Both floppy and hard drive versions are available at Klaz's Hideaway :-)

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Cybernoid - The Fighting Machine



All 8-Bit conversions suck!

Cybernoid is a shooter developed by a legend - someone who repeatably rocked the 8-bit world, Raffaele Cecco. Yep, I was a Spectrum owner and it seemed everyone was crazy about him back then and rightly so. However, there have been many games that had terribly dodgy 16-bit conversions so I was more than a little dubious upon loading Cybernoid.

The 16-bit conversion is by Tony Cooper and is thankfully amazing. Offering the same level of thrills as the original, its gameplay is smooth with comfortable controls that are responsive throughout each of the spruced-up screens. Yes, graphically, this is head and shoulders above the original with eye-popping colours and lovely animations. The sound effects are a joy, accompanied by a fantastic chiptune. And I really do mean fantastic!!

However, this is one tough cookie. No, it's an incredibly damn tough nut cookie and some screens are intense!! It will take most gamers many attempts to master its cruel personality. It's especially annoying when enemies can seem to fire their weapons through solid walls or objects. Stick with it because Cybernoid is actually awesome and ultra-addictive.

Crack the cunning learning curve and you've got yourself a wonderful and challenging shooter!

UPDATE: see the latest posting for Cybernoid which is now mapped :-)

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Obsession


As a kid, I never really understood the whole pinball thang - but that never stopped me from buying the latest version for the Atari STe back in the mid 90s - as an adult. Obsession was released in 1994 for the (wait for it) Atari STe by Unique Development Sweden. Yes, I said the Atari STe for once - rather than its older brother!

There are many games to choose from and UDS has made magnificent use of the computer's enhanced hardware. Hardware scrolling scrolls the entire screen at 50fps for an ultra-smooth feeling. Heck, it's even utilising overscan too! The audio is a blast thanks to the DMA stereo - so crank up the volume!! This game is FUN :D

It's loud, it's fun and it's one of the best "arcade" games I've ever played. Marvellous!!

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Turbo Cup



ROOAARRRRR!!!

Turbo Cup was released in 1988 by Loriciel and places us behind the wheel of a Porsche 944. First, we get to drive a practice run before moving up to the thrilling race events against computer-controlled competitors. The graphics are still great and, even though I'm no Porsche fan, I think it's one of the best-looking 16-Bit racers. Sound effects are equally nice with the roar of that engine which beats the YM buzz used in lesser titles.

What I love is the player's point of view because the perspective is quite unique and gives an illusion of a greater view. There are also some neat physics which prevent the race from being easy, so perhaps you should take the corners a little slower? It's no sim but it's still a tough cookie and one that will take a time to master.

Overall, Turbo Cup is a hard racer and will take many attempts before you've mastered the control mechanics. Stick with it and you've got yourself a great racer for a few hours of fun which looks and sounds great. Love it.

8BitChip has a hard drive installable version to download.
Old Games Finder has all the floppy disk images you could ever need.

Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Erik



Erik The Viking!

Erik is a kind and peaceful Viking who happens to keep himself to himself and bothers nobody. Unfortunately, that evil god Loki isn't too pleased about Erik choosing a pacifistic lifestyle over one of pillaging so he casts a spell and turns the world rotten. Erik must now travel to these infested lands and battle all kinds of sadistic evil before he can return home. Wow, the problems computer characters must face on a daily basis... It's just not fair, is it?

Atlantis Software released Erik back in 1992 and it's a vertically scrolling platformer that features dozens of levels spread over four worlds. Of course, each level contains a fair few baddies, cool traps and scary end-of-level bosses. The graphics are cute and cuddly with nice detail and super smooth scrolling with raspy samples for sounds.

Overall, this is a really simple platformer which is entertaining and challenging. Loads of fun!!




Floppy disks can be found over on AtariMania.
Klaz has a fantastic hard disk download!

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Black Tiger



Ohhh, yes!!!

Black Tiger is one of those games that I have loved since day one and today I got to play it once again after what feels like a lifetime ago! It's a good arcade conversion but sadly, my old joystick doesn't work well moving diagonally... So you will see lots of silly mistakes in my video recording. Honestly, it's the joystick!

This game is classic arcade fun - pick up that joystick and instantly you're having tons of fun leaping over the landscapes and pummelling monsters into oblivion. Each level not only looks superb but is really interesting to explore: I love the mechanics of clinging onto ledges to fire or leaping towards higher places in a dingy, creepy world. What a great adventure - arcade-style - and this is proving to be every bit as good as I remember.

However, I must say that the joystick controls are what impress me the most which is no easy task for the Atari one-button design. It is very responsive so therefore keeps the action going as fast as it should. The range of monsters is brilliant and what's better than powering up with ridiculous weapons to crush your enemy?

Graphically, this is a stunner and considering no STe hardware scrolling is (sigh) utilised, the old STf keeps up with the pace just fine. Sure, it's not as zippy as the arcade but it works, so I'm impressed with how good it moves considering what's going on. The sprites are ace - I love those wonky old skeletons the most. Overall, the design is something I adore because it works perfectly, so feels like a belting arcade experience.

Yep, this is pretty faithful to the original and I feel US Gold did us proud, especially considering they ignored the STe hardware... sigh... That would have been a huge deal with a little help from the Blitter. Still, as is, Black Tiger is fantastic and one of my favourite arcade conversions. This means it scores top marks from me!!

Grab the floppies via Old Games Finder or HDD by Klaz!

Leap your way through the labyrinth, killing anything and everything that moves. Perfect!!


Clinging onto anything sturdy helps you get to those areas other beers cannot reach!.

Oh no, skeleton monsters!!! They look awesome but it's best to KILL THEM!!


Hang on, there's a little old man here. Let's kill him... wait... no, maybe not?

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Atari STe demos

Awesome Atari STE demos!!

Circus BackSTage (link) (by BlaBLa, Cocoon & Sector One)
Appendix (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Cernit Trandafir (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Drone (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Massacre (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)
Strange roboTS (link) (by BlaBLa & Mandarine)
Summer Delights (link) (by Dead Hackers Society)


  

  

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Killing Spree



TLB made a game!

I always loved The Lost Boys, they started as England's answer to the Carebears! Their demos are outstanding and I still remember my jaw dropping to the floor when I saw Ooh Crikey Wot a Scorcher - a masterpiece!!

And that "main menu" system used to access each demo screen? Impressive, to say the least? Hmm, but what would happen if it was adapted into a game? Would it be good enough? Why not take a look for yourself at Killing Spree because I think its potential was absolutely insane. Like an early Cybermorph... sigh... what might have been?

Finally, Demozoo features a massive page dedicated to The Lost Boys and their fantastic ST catalogue.


Saturday, November 15, 2014

ReadMe.txt



A little bit about me and my hiSTory :-)

I thought it might be "interesting" to provide some background information about myself for you folk living on the remote island of TOS. Okay, if you don't know it yet, my name is Steve and I have been an Atari ST nutter since Christmas 1988 when my great parents bought me my first ST, which was the 520 STfm. Great machine!

Of course, I had spent 1987/88 following the Atari ST scene from afar as Spectrum guy. This was a strange time for me enjoying what I had but also drooling over the ST's specs and gazing in wonder at their games in magazines. I couldn't believe how great ST games look in comparison and none seemed to have colour clash!!

I regard the Atari ST as my first real computer because it wasn't just a gaming machine. The ST is so much more thanks to its power and wonderful GUI which used a mouse!! My 520 ST helped me during my college years as I learnt boring skills like word processing, pixel art, a little programming, DTP, and even networking.

I owned this for about a year before upgrading to the new Atari STe. That was the day I finally got to hook up my speakers and listen to MOD tunes in stereo. I cannot remember which tracker I used back then but it wasn't much more than a player and wasn't too good. It certainly doesn't come close to what the STe is capable of and the software made since, like these jaw-dropping programs. Check out Sirius for example!!

Anyhow, when I started work, I could suddenly afford to venture deeper into Atari paradise and bought myself a brand new Mega 1 ST. Now, I had no real need for this cool "office" machine other than, I wanted one! However, I did dabble with DTP using Easy Text Professional which was an excellent application.

Later on into the 1990s, I bought a second-hand Falcon and TT from friends via Keith's Point BBS. Happy days with NeST, AtariNET for forums, email, downloads, etc. Anyhow, the Falcon was my main machine in the mid-90s for a couple of years which also meant I could finally play Doom without having to visit PC friends!!





My Mac Days

However, as the 90s evolved, I reached my Atari end. The Atari ST had already died and the Falcon thing never happened... So, sometime around 1996/7, I finally gave up and left only to buy myself an Apple Mac 7600/120. The following years were spent running certain Atari software using MagicMac but that lessened over time as I found better Mac programs. Yep, I was sucked deeper into the exciting world of Mac!

In the noughties, I started a website dedicated to third-party mods & single-player maps for all my favourite FPS games. I think I called it MegaTree (I was still a big Jet Set Willy fan!!). Anyhow, I did this because there was no support for the Mac gamer back then. Generally, we weren't able to play those fancy fps mods so I converted many and also wrote installation instructions and AppleScripts to launch the game with mod activated.

I had great fun doing this and I eventually began contacting developers of newer mods that featured compiled code. These mods wouldn't work at all. So I had to recompile the source code specifically for PPC Macs. Busy days back then, but I helped convert a LOT of mods to the Mac (BF1942, Doom 3, Q4, CoD, etc...)

It wasn't all work and no play, there was another game that became an addiction for many years, and I still play it today: Myth The Fallen Lords. I bet you were wondering why that image is at the top of this web page? It's one of my all-time favourite computer games, ever. This is an incredible game and something that kept me up until the early hours!! However, I'm too old now for all that malarkey as I need lots of sleep!!



My first Apple Mac was this beast, the Power Mac 7600/120.



Real Life Takes Over

Okay, so let's get to the bad stuff about me... Meeting the girl of my dreams, starting a family and getting a house meant that something had to give. Yup, those old Atari's in my attic were sold to pay the bills. Well, they were almost given away as nobody wanted old Atari computers back then. In fact, I remember lowering the price of my TT and giving away my STe as an included freebie. Nobody wanted it otherwise... How times have changed!!

I regret selling up and still periodically look for a Falcon/TT on eBay. But the prices are ludicrously high so, unless I win the lottery, I'll sadly never own either machine again. Well, now I feel depressed... sigh...

Okay, let's fast forward to 2013 when something silly happened - I begin to take an interest in Atari ST games, demos and was even downloading old programs again. A spark ignited inside - I was suddenly back on the Atari ST wagon and pretty soon I was making videos for my YouTube channel. I even started to write reviews embedded into the description and it was these that eventually got moved over to a blogger website. And... here we are :-)



I was going to make another naff logo but this is far better!



The AtariCrypt

For those interested, I have tried to make AtariCrypt a fun place for the community because I was sick and tired of the Atari ST being snubbed by "retro gaming" websites. The ST is a great machine and deserves better than biased comparison videos or being overshadowed and ignored in favour of other machines like the Spectrum or Amiga. Well, I hope you enjoy visiting this website and digging through our archives that span several years.

AtariCrypt has changed and moulded into a neat place on the net, even if I say so myself. Use the search tool to see how much content there is. Wow, that sounds bigheaded, right? Well, I've even gone further a helped to dig out lost games like Bombaman and Whitewater Madness. Heck, I even made a couple of slideshows!

All this with the help and friendship of some incredible ST nutters. People that I would never have known without being an ST nutter myself. Marko is always there for assistance, I think he knows more about the ST than anyone! Peter, what an amazing programmer/musician and a true Manic Miner. But the CPC sucks, sorry mate!!!


Did anyone realise that I actually appeared in the ZombieCrypt slideshow?? ;-)



OI, Wake up!!!

I hope this 'readme' file didn't bore you all too much? Before I go, I think it is fantastic to know that the Atari ST scene is so alive in the 21st century. I'm also blown away by everyone that visits my website: a homage to the best 16-bit computer on the planet. Greetings to all Atari ST nutters wherever you are - don't forget to say hello!

. . . . . . . stay Atari ST/e . . . . . . . . it's time to WRRRAAAAAAAAAP!!!!  :-)

Monday, November 10, 2014

H-Mec II


H Mec II carries on from where the first game nicely Jon and Sally Garry and appears to be a version of Pac-Man for the Atari STe. However, it's very different thanks to the monster AI which makes this more of a game of chase. The graphics are excellent and make use of the hardware scrolling, Blitter, and all those extra colours. Music is by a whole host of famous people like Tao, Big Alec, Count Zero and more. Timeless and utterly stunning tunes.

I could say that this is one of the better PacMan games out there but it's not. Sure, H-Mec 2 looks like PacMan and there are pills to nosh, but it actually plays differently when being chased around a maze by angry monsters. It's more like Lode Runner and pretty darn addictive too. You will love every second of this - it's a cracker!!

So waste no more idle time and get this downloaded from Atari Mania right now!

Friday, October 31, 2014

War Zone



War Zone is Core's attempt to take on the Commando genre by releasing a frantic shoot 'em up Rambo would be proud of. Sadly, it doesn't quite work because of its extreme difficulty - it's just too darn easy to die thanks to poor design and mechanics. This is one of those moments when something looks and sounds better than it actually is.

Sadly, what we have is nothing more than an average shooter which is disappointing because it looked great from the screenshots I saw before playing. The problem is that horrendous difficulty level and I'm sure nobody tested this before releasing it, which is a shame. So I'd stick with the likes of Fernandez Must Die, Ikari Warriors, and Commando.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Starball



It's all flippers and balls!

I've always liked Pinball but I doubt you'd ever call me an addict of the game. Something about spending cash just to bounce a ball around a jazzy glass box never really grabbed my attention for very long... But, the ST seemed to receive a number of Pinball games and some were possibly better than the real thing? Perhaps that's because I'm tight with money or I just love to see how much the Atari ST/e could impress me!

Starball is different from the competition because it was made by a couple of Lancashire lads who probably had desires to become bedroom millionaires. Now, I doubt that ever happened as many ST gamers had given up following the homebrew scene by 1994, which is a shame because this is blummin' brilliant.

I love Starball, it's not got the polish of a certain commercial offering, which is understandable. But it's still got its own style and oozes its own brand of character with such different tables. The graphics and sounds are gorgeous and everything scrolls down your SC1224 fast. Okay, I'm a little unsure about the physics behind all the glam because sometimes things don't seem to go as expected, but it's shareware so I must give it a break.

If you love Pinball, this is worth downloading and I'm sure you'll love it to bits. Too think £5 was the asking price back then - shockingly good value. What a superb "PD" game and possibly one of the Atari ST's best.

  
I love the dark tones and each table is different from what I expected with many cool fx.

  
Check out these awesome graphics and whoever expected to see those guys in pinball?!!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

AtariCrypt website


Hello to each and every Atari ST gamer! I've decided to start a website to help promote the fun I'm having making videos of games, demos, musicdisks and other crazy stuff - like Utopos!! This is fun reliving the 80s/90s so I decided to start a blog - because it's free. Yeah, I'm a cheapskate but, let's see what happens with AtariCrypt...