Raiden

Grab a joystick!

It's been almost a year since I first mentioned news of Raiden under development for the Atari STe by none other than our favourite Frogger dude, Scott Clifford. Sadly, his commitments forced the project to be put on ice temporally... But, good news, he has now restarted it and is making good progress.

The initial work behind the scrolling, backgrounds, and sprites is all coming together. Also, the enemy sprite routines and placements are now being coded. Quite incredible for a one-man effort and it's a very exciting project to see in progress. I wish Scott well and cannot wait to see the next update (hurry up mate). Watch this space folks!

Okay, here is Scott's feature plan...

- Hardware scrolling is used for the entire screen - no status panel.
- DMA hardware for the playback of authentic arcade music.
- The Blitter will be utilised for the larger sprites.
- YM chip will be used for the sound effects.
- Support for the JagPad controller can be implemented.
- Please note that my video was recorded using emulation (better on my Atari STe)

Operation Garfield

Wolves are better than cats!

I've been browsing through the Floppyshop archives and I've stumbled upon a game called Operating Garfield which was (shock) inspired by Operation Wolf. Developed by Dave Brankin, it sparked my curiosity because of its support for the Atari STe as it utilises the Blitter for 8-way scrolling and the sprites and audio is played using the DMA. Basically, he was tired of the commercial gaming companies ignoring the enhanced computer!

Aliens are invading Earth but this time they've oddly disguised themselves as the fat lazy cat from the TV. Why do I hear you cry? Well, because they have watched our broadcasts and felt that we would forgive them if they were cute and cuddly invaders. Yep, the storyline is a stretch, and very silly, but whatever works, right?

The game takes place over a cityscape littered with invading Garfields who fire bucketloads of rockets!! Use the mouse to avoid or kill these whilst also looking for ammo caches, smart bombs, and even the England flag proudly flying. To help, there is a near-useless Defender-style map at the top/left of the screen - but I didn't care for this.

What lets the game down is the difficulty level which is extraordinarily high so rarely did I get the chance to fully appreciate the game before dying! I also thought the framerate should have been a lot better considering the hardware being used but most irritating of all was the T2 sample which grated after a while.

Of course, Operation Garfield isn't to be taken too seriously as it provides nothing more than a few minutes of stress-busting gun love! However, I fear the gameplay has little to offer other than a short, albeit gratifying, Garfield-killing spree.

- Dare you download -

GEM Desktop

When wallpapers weren't a standard...

DeskFX is a GEM utility that I thought was pretty cool and entertaining, if annoyingly flawed. It replaces three parts of our beautiful GEM desktop - the default font, a choice of wallpaper, and an animated mouse pointer. As you can see, above, the wallpaper feature only updates every 2/3 seconds which is a little lame compared to DeskPic. However, the new fonts are superb and (like a big kid) I just loved playing with various animated pointers!

It appears the author had an STFM and DeskFX worked fine on my computer in both resolutions. Sadly, I couldn't get it to work on my Atari STe in LOW resolution - only in medium which is probably better anyhow? Not in the sense of available colours but in terms of functionality, who uses low to work? Who still works on their ST? ;-)

I thought this was a nice utility to share and you'll find it on disk UTL-4410 over at Floppyshop.

 --> Wanna read about more cool warez? Then check out our "Software" group :)

Grap

Marko Latvanen, of AtariMania, kindly sent me a game developed by Tangram programmer, Mark Luthe, for the German magazine ST Magazin. Grap first appears as a Tempest clone but is actually a puzzler which I'm sure will appeal to the brainiacs? It was originally sold through the publication as a "budget" mail-order back in 1990 but hasn't been available since. I am very excited by this rare and fascinating find and I hope you enjoy playing it :-)

The only place you shall find Grap is on the excellent AtariMania website.

Computer Magazine Archive has more on ST Magazin (you'll need Google Translate)

Thinkers might wanna check out our "Puzzle" section right here on AtariCrypt :)

Falcon

It's very satisfying to finally complete a favourite collection of something we love and I have just managed to complete the Falcon trio. Sure, there are the limited and classic releases that bundle the lot but I've never been much impressed with many compilations as I've always wanted the original, individual, games. And now I finally have 'em!

Falcon is a brilliant flight sim with awesome graphics and many interesting locations to fail its many missions! So here is my special 3x cover feature for our Box Art section. Why not take your own F-16 for a spin today?

LINKS

 - AtariMania features every Falcon release within their ST database :
     ~ Falcon
     ~ Mission Disk 1 Operation: Counterstrike
     ~ Mission Disk 2 Operation: Firefight
 - 8BitChip has done it again and adapted a Falcon bundle for hard drive installation.
 - Old Game Finder has the floppies for those poor souls without the original disks or a hard drive! :p

Harris Went Skiing

Horace?

Today we rewind the clocks all the way to 1982 for a skiing adventure with an odd 8-bit hero, Horace. Developed in STOS by a couple of brothers calling themselves OllySoft and released (I think) a whole decade after the ZX Spectrum original. However, for his Atari ST appearance, he didn't want to upset Psion so changed his name to Harris to avoid confusion!

Anyone old enough to remember the original will feel right at home with Harris who is once again looking to enjoy a skiing trip. However, it's not started off well... Harris finds himself in a pickle as he didn't bring along any skis so must hire replacements from the resort - who built their shop on the wrong side of a busy highway.

The Frogger part is way too easy in comparison to what I remember! Simply waiting for a large gap in the traffic allows Harris to run all the way across the road - in one go! The skiing part is great and with many obstacles to avoid. Once the skiing is finished, somebody robs your skis so you head back to the hire shop to repeat everything...

OllySoft has done a great job with Harris Went Skiing and playing "Horace" again has certainly brought back lots of warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia. The Atari ST game is simple and very silly so is highly recommended if you're bored.

Grab the download of Atari Legend and game like it's 1982!!

Hang on, don't go!! There are even more OllySoft games to play. But looking at these makes me think that the boys had serious issues or a belting sense of humour. I'll go with the latter. Take a peep at their other games...

Who Maimed Roger Rabbit

Imagine Operation Wolf but set in President Trump's backyard which is overrun by weak rabbits! Aka lefties. So grab your gun and let's fix this once and for all. A successful hit turns those rabbits into a bloody mess of gore which I'm sure animal lovers will really appreciate. Overall, it's a simple game but also quite enjoyable, if repetitive.

SubHunt

A pointless two-player game so rubbish alone and possibly rubbish anyhow. Well, I didn't like it whatsoever if I'm honest. However, it does feature a cool hidden easter egg and that's worth the download. Brilliant!!

 

Ayatollah Invaders

An endless supply of angry ayatollah chaps running down your screen - straight into the path of your tank. It's mind-numbingly boring after a few minutes but I gotta admit that those somersault deaths are fantastic.

Motorway Death

Perhaps it's time to lower the bar to the lowest of low extreme levels? Is that even possible? Okay, how about a game of hit and run! Yep, you heard me right. And, on this road, people appear glued down so drive into them and watch blood splatter as their bodies spin off into the air. It's really funny... well... for a few minutes!

Head Over Heels

Going back to my Your Sinclair days!

I stumbled upon Head Over Heels by pure chance today. It's been donkey's years since I played this on my old ZX Spectrum and seeing it again is a heartwarming reminder of my 8-bit days. However, I shockingly cannot remember completing this tough isometric adventure and I certainly don't ever recall playing the Atari ST version!

Head Over Heels is far more complex than it first appears, two characters who each have their own skillset solve the puzzles. It's superb to see this again after all these years and anyone that loves the "filmation" genre will surely be in heaven. The graphics are Spec-tacular with superb details and more colour than my old rubber Speccy could ever have dreamt of. A huge and intriguing adventure offering many sleepless nights!

AtariMania features this within the ST database including an interesting tidbit too! Download Head Over Heels from 8BitChip as this supports a trainer and hard drive installation. Also, here is an extremely interesting website for the ZX Spectrum version with maps, videos, and more which should prove helpful.

Nebulus

Pogo the frog? Oh boy, this is gonna suck

Nebulus was released in 1988 by one of my favourite gaming companies ever, Hewson. It features an armed frog with big eyes called Pogo. But he isn't too happy with the thought of eight large sea-based towers and decides they need climbing and blowing up! Essentially, this is a platformer with some interesting pseudo-3D mechanics that provide a pretty unique visual style within an ingenious design. This is class programming as you will soon discover...

All towers are cylindrical with several platforms dotted all around the outside and nifty tunnels which offer a great way to quickly access the opposite side - if the current route appears a dead end. The world certainly revolves around little Pogo because he remains at the centre of the screen with horizontal movements causing the screen to scroll in a "three-dimensional" circular motion. Thus turning the tower around into view, it's quite brilliant.

Sounds rather insane, right? But let's ignore that initial opinion to check out this colourful screenshot...

Talk about going the extra mile and NOT sticking to 16 colours! Absolutely superb.

Frogs love water, right?

Getting through any of the towers will never be easy thanks to a barrage of unusual nasties to either shoot or avoid - and one that flies by to conveniently get in your way. Access to the top will involve careful strategy because your route is broken thus forcing you to use opposite sides of the tower depending on where you are. Always consider the option of using these tunnels to quickly nip through, they might come in handy to avoid those flying obstacles!!

Nebulus may sound easy but, it's actually very challenging and a brisk time limit allows little room for error. Bumping into an enemy will drop you down to the previous ledge, which is fantastic because that doesn't necessarily mean a frustrating loss of life, nor will it impede your momentum as you pick yourself up to try that part of the tower all over again. However, if there isn't a ledge to land on, you might fall even further down thus requiring lots of hefty backtracking, which could prove too much if little time remains. Ohh, the pressure!!

Falling further still (and into the water) is strangely fatal for this froggy - the only frog ever to have existed who can't handle the deep waters. Yup, that means we lose a life! Also interesting is a bonus game is featured between the levels - this has Pogo travelling to his next tower via a nice horizontally-scrolling level. It's a shooter with lots of Psygnosis-busting smooth parallax scrolling! It should have been longer because I really enjoyed it a bunch.

Right then, you guessed it! Yep, it's time for another cool screenshot...

Another day and another tower to climb. Ahh, this one looks too easy, right?

16-Bit Sex Appeal!!

Throughout our adventure, the visuals are utterly tremendous. Nebulus is programmed by legend, John M Phillips, who also helped treat us to a lovely display of great artwork and ultra-smooth framerates. Not only that but he spared no idle cycles to burst the colour limit with a ton of extra shades for the backdrops. The end result is a game that puts others to shame. Isn't it incredible what the Atari ST could crank out - when programmed by somebody with talent and commitment?

The audio is equally impressive with gorgeous sound effects that are zesty and sharp totally suiting the gameplay styles. Also, a beautifully unique chiptune that I could leave running all day long... it's captivating. Totally enchanting audio.

This is how all 16-bit games should look and sound. And that was all in 1988 too. Wow!!

Okay, ignore my jerky capture because this part scrolls so smoothly. And is great fun!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Nebulus can feel daunting thanks to its hefty learning curve which is steeper than you might first expect. With lots of practice, I guarantee hours of addictive gaming because Nebulus is a real firecracker. I love how it integrates both arcade action and strategic thinking using a fascinating visual style. I think in many respects this game was ahead of its time.

Yes, it's pretty tough at first, but you will soon get the hang of this rather unique and wonderful shoot 'em up. In fact, I would personally rate it as an Atari ST classic thanks not only because of how it looks and sounds but the addictive gameplay. Enjoy this beautiful piece of JMP magic which is nothing less than an icon of the 16-bit era.

Floppies are available on Stonish

and 8BitChip has a hard drive version!

Donkey Island

Monkey Island?

All the way back in 1997, Ed Cleveland (aka Eddie Cat) spent many moons working on a comedy adventure called Donkey Island. However, the latter end of the 90s were bitterly cold days with most of us having sold up and moved onto the world of Mac/PC. Sadly, it appears he got little feedback from us all and thus, decided to call it a day. I'm gutted!!

Well, that's my take on what I read. Whatever happened, it's a shame because his talent and dedication were on the way to creating something rather special. Yep, it's disappointing but at least he released this final/beta version work. This was very kind of him and, as is, it's more-than-worth downloading and playing.

Donkey Island is a graphical adventure that is quite different from what I was first expecting. Think of something vaguely similar in style and content to Lure Of The Temptress or a Sierra On-Line game and you get the idea. But with a comical twist: we are Fred, a geek who loves playing games on his Atari ST. So he's a smashing lad and life is obviously TOS-taSTic!

However, that changed when he found out that Donkey Island, a game he has been eagerly awaiting, had been cancelled. Fred is crushed and cannot accept the news so he powers off the little green desktop computer and begins exploring his hometown to find out why it was cancelled. (Sigh, a feeling not new to ST gamers in the 90s!)

That's depressing, isn't it? Well, let's check out a screenshot to cheer us all up...

The cartoon design works really well and some drawings are superb!

He looks familiar O_o

Fred is controlled using the cursor keys which is very simple and effective. The keypad is used to interact with your surroundings and characters - who are incredibly entertaining and interesting, to say the least. It's now that I feel even sadder that this game wasn't finished because the style and sense of humour gone into making Donkey Island is quite beautiful. Although incomplete, there is a large town to explore with some cute surprises to discover.

In its current form, this is pretty much a broken adventure game but one we can still fully play. Getting around Fred's town is a cinch and we have all the abilities to investigate this horrifying gaming incident. Roam, explore, and never forget to chat with the locals. They're nothing like you are expecting and their humour is often superb!

Although unfinished, full exploration is possible and many characters are available to knock up a conversation with. Some rooms are complete whilst others are in an unfinished state. Yet, they are still available for us to rummage through, which is brilliant. I'm so happy this "beta" was released yet, at the same time, I am gutted. What a game this almost was!

Yep, we will never know what may have been. Here is one of the unfinished locations...

Sadly, some areas of the game will never be finished but at least they're left in for us to play.

Aesthetics

Each location is depicted using a cartoon style similar to a comic book which Fred walks through in a rather crude but functional fashion. The artwork isn't exactly brilliant but the amateurish quality works wonders and the characters are superb. I love the way we communicate with others and our surroundings which is quite unique in style.

The sound effects are good but what I really love is the technique used for speech - it reminds me of Charlie Brown's teacher. Come on, tell me you can't hear that too? Well, I think it's superb :)

So, visually and sonically superb so here is another screenshot. My daughter says he looks like me...

Exploration is always the key to success and there are lots of (hidden) locations.

The CryptO'pinion?

Donkey Island had incredible potential and I imagine it would have ended up being a hugely fascinating adventure. It still is of course, albeit unfinished. I've enjoyed playing what is potentially a killer product that offers a different approach to the genre whilst being thoroughly entertaining with a wonderful sense of humour, strange locations and the silliest characters.

Trust me, this is a hidden gem and something truly brilliant. I wholeheartedly recommend you play this!!

DOWNLOAD

Motor Massacre

Mad Max with choppy graphics?

Motor Massacre was released by Gremlin Graphics and feels like a wicked blend of a number of my favourite games. The action takes place in a grim post-apocalyptic future where each city is suffering from the devastation of war and resembles a Mad Max movie! All food stores were destroyed in the holocaust so people were starving until Doctor A. Noid came up with a substitute called "SLU" to help the waning populous. This all sounds great, right?

Why are these masterminds almost always qualified doctors? Anyhow, it was all a trick because SLU tastes like poo and turns people into zombies! So it's up to you to rescue the city from its psychotic drivers, explore buildings, and then battle in a demolition derby event to ultimately find the doctor and end this misery. See, it's basically Mad Max in game form :)

Pandy's Pork Palace sounds a lot better than it actually is!

It's Carmageddon out there!

Yes, this is more than one single game: the cities are explored from the comfort of an ATV - top/down similar to Chicago 90 but when inside buildings, it changes to something like Time Bandit or Gauntlet.

Driving around the city is tremendous fun because you are completely free to roam the streets and that also means blasting at anyone who might get in your way. All other drivers are out for blood and want you dead by any means and their road rage antics are vicious - so defend yourself using the cannon fitted to your vehicle.

Use this to blast the suckers into oblivion but also watch out for hazards such as oil spills and explosives carelessly left lying in the road. Do note the gun turrets which line many streets and are annoyingly highly accurate.

It's demolition derby time when we can shove other cars into dark oblivion.

Explore and have fun!

An interesting "mechanic" is how your vehicle's appearance alters the more damage it endures, so I'm grateful the holocaust didn't destroy the repair shops which also offer a wide range of other services like fuel, weapons, and ammo. The mechanic working here scares me, but I like his T-shirt! There are some more places and these offer a good opportunity to collect goods like weapons and health, so look out for their location using the road markings (Pandy's Pork Palace is available right from the start and contains a handy ATV upgrade).

You soon discover that these various places are thriving with ghouls and other creatures lurking in the shadows. Nowhere is safe, but you're armed with a pistol so shoot first and ask questions later! Keep searching these areas and you should find an arena pass to the demolition derby. This event is pure Carmageddon and nothing beats pushing your opponents into a chasm! Success here, grants you access to the next city.

The mechanic is freaky. It's almost on a Chucky level here... (shudder)

Aesthetics?

Visually, this is a basic affair with crudely-drawn graphics and jerky scrolling to boot. However, I must admit being mightily impressed with the animation of the running men which reminded me of Impossible Mission.

Sadly, the sound effects are probably worse than the visuals. Truly terrible.

However, we need him because the roads in the future are just terrible.

The CryptO'pinion?

Motor Massacre has been a nice surprise. Sure, it's about as glam as a dog turd but I enjoyed the mix of arcade-style action with levels of adventure lurking below the surface. Also, being able to enter buildings adds that extra dynamic which I loved - and there's always something stupid waiting for you! So don't take it seriously and have fun.

I have enjoyed zipping around the city looking for my next victim. It's crude but fantastic and really enjoyable!!

Mel Gibson wannabes can download the floppies
Tear up the roads like Mad Max!

Lure Of The Temptress

I wanted to kick off the new year with something special and that means more cool BoxArt for one of my favourite Atari ST games, Lure Of The Temptress. I reviewed this last spring, it remains one of my most popular posts and for good reason. So, click that link!! Downloads are available for either floppy disks or, best of all, your hard disk.

Outrun New Year Demo

Goodbye in STyle

I'm going to end 2016 with a brand new release by a good friend of mine - Bionic Nerd - aka Peter Jørgensen. It is the Outrun New Year Music Demo which has just been released so I've recorded a little sample from each track as a teaser for you all. Clickety click to grab this cool music disk right now and enjoy it. :-) Here is a little background by Peter:

"Hi all, I made this little new year music demo because I always loved the music from outrun and I always felt that we Atari ST guys were cheated on. Firstly, there was a track missing. Secondly, it kept shifting between the two other tune every time one would die. Lastly, I do not think that David Whittaker did his best. The music files are YMT format running at 300hz and the reason the program file is so big. In the new year I will make a new sound format, still as fast, but be taking less space but you will need a 2mb Atari to run this. Thanks to everyone for listening and I hope you like this? Thanks, Peter."

Droid

Out-of-date!

Update article here: Droid Special Edition

Droid is a platform shooter for the Atari ST by M.P. Lord about a robot who needs to escape from within fortified catacombs. It's a simple idea that looks (umm) familiar and it was a very popular public-domain game that had a sequel released in 1994. Sadly, neither made use of the enhanced hardware inside the Atari STe...

Well, rolling on in Jamie Hamshere (aka junosix) who has begun working on an upgrade designed to use the hardware scrolling, Blitter and DMA Audio. The results are outstanding and there's an early beta available to download. As a WIP, this is starting to look amazing and I cannot wait to see future updates!! Watch this space...

Update October 2020

  * WooHoo!! A brand new beta is available to download!
  * Jamie has also posted a new video on his YouTube channel.

SantaFly

It's got to that time of year when I post something Christmassy! Here we have SantaFly by the awesome Reservoir Gods and regular readers will remember its sister game. Yes, SantaFly is every bit as frustratingly addictive but with a peculiar Christmassy theme. It's great fun and I advise you clickety click and download it.

Thank you to everyone who visited AtariCrypt throughout the year and I wish you all a Merry Christmas †

Luke 2:11
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Jetpac

Not the Speccy again?

I love it when you find something new - at least new to me. After decades of using an Atari ST, today I stumble upon something I've never heard of before - an emulator called Artemis. It's a Z80/ZX Spectrum emulator by Ralf Hemsing and features numerous options for the technically minded - and seems to perform very well indeed.

Feel free to tinker with the configuration but the overall performance -as is- is more than acceptable on the stock ST. That's actually a relief because Artemis doesn't work properly on faster computers plus there is no support for colour, meaning your game is in black and white. Even more peculiar is that we only have one game - Jetpac

The game comes in a format I've not heard of before --> .PRO

Can anyone help to find out more information or perhaps more games in .PRO format?

Playing Jetpac is never a bad thing and even though it's not as good as the real machine (or indeed the Speccy emulator) it is great to find something new. So, Artemis comes with no documentation, lacks colour support, and doesn't work properly with computers other than the stock 8MHz Atari ST/e. I loved finding this from deep inside the ST archives!

Download: Floppyshop disk "UTL-3025"

Unheart

Unheart is something that I've been meaning to feature for far too long. It's actually pretty new and was only released in 2014 at Silly Venture by Masters of Electric City. It's based on the original PC game, Heartlight which happily mixes Sokoban with a dollop of Boulder Dash to produce a riveting and refreshing brain-teasing challenge.

In fact, Boulder Dash fans should look elsewhere because this is actually a Sokoban game and a brilliant take on that idea too. We are a dwarf who enjoys digging his way through caves looking for love hearts. Watch out for falling rocks that might block your path or worse, a head-crushing blow. You might even come upon a bomb as you crawl through the soft soil but be careful, because these will detonate when impacting something hard, like a wall or rock. Heck, there are even balloons that will float upwards potentially pushing whatever gets in their way...

Don't worry if you get stuck, hit ESC will humorously explode our dwarf so we can restart. Also, a level-skip function is used to bypass those brain-destroying levels with the option of coming back later (yeah right). The difficulty remains a constant throughout - high - with cunning map designs causing the most intense problems!

The graphics are simple yet superbly detailed using a gorgeous C64-like palette. The status bar is displayed using overscan, which is always going to be a great thing for obvious reasons. The chip music is on another level. It is breathtaking and perfectly suits the gameplay - I just wish there was more.

Unheart is so much fun and pushes you to think differently than you would imagine. Its difficulty remains a constant throughout - high - with cunning map designs causing the most intense problems to overcome. Thankfully, with unlimited retries - and the ability to skip troublesome levels - you aren't distracted and will keep on coming back for more. Unheart is challenging, distinctively brilliant and one of the beST puzzlers on the Atari ST.

- SCREENSHOTS & DOWNLOAD -

Some levels look so simple yet they are not. Perhaps well-placed explosions will help here?


I spent ages on this level and yet it is so easy to complete!! Sometimes physics helps a bunch.

Another level that appears so simple - and is - but that didn't stop me from pulling out my hair!!

I can imagine Boulder Dash fans loving the first level, but not so much the others!

Grab the download from Demozoo and Silly Venture!

Anduril

Wilf is back

Anduril is a high-resolution PD game by Markus Dheus from 1986 and features us as a flying hero. Like the ZX Spectrum game, Kokotoni Wilf, is also a flick-screen platformer with many cunning rooms to explore. Unfortunately, unlike Kokotoni Wilf, our hero cannot walk nor even touch the landscape scenery as that results in an instant loss of life. Thankfully, he can fly like a flappy bird using simple controls: use the SHIFT key to fly with H + J turning you left/right.

I imagine Anduril is beginning to sound rather easy? You couldn't be more wrong and anyone that loves a challenge will certainly get it. The first couple of screens are easy but it isn't too long before the game's true sadistic nature is exposed. Most of the map is made up of tight spaces with which to guide our hero. If that wasn't tough enough, once gravity is factored in, Anduril becomes a distressing adventure for all but the patient player.

The graphics are crisp and detailed but I noticed collision detection, which often worked in my favour so I shouldn't complain. Sadly, sounds are almost void with only a low-volume spot effect for an item pickup. However, I can live with the quirks if gameplay measures up and (after mastering its vicious learning curve) it does but it will take some practice.

Download Anduril from AtariMania and this program will help those without a high-res monitor.

  
The ZX Spectrum version of Kokotoni Wilf vs Anduril is displayed in the crisp Atari ST monochrome.

Pung

Pung is an old Atari STe game which has been released after years of lurking in software purgatory. It's obviously based upon the 1972 classic and currently stands at v0.30 which means it suffers a few bugs that might lead to those infamous bombs across your screen. Just reset and keep on playing! I'm glad this got a release as we have enjoyed playing it over the weekend - it's different with a few neat ideas and I recommend you take a look. Let me know what you think...

* Demozoo website has a download with all the credits and more.

* I nabbed the MOD music file off Demozoo and made a recording. Love it!

Potsworth & Co

Another platformer? Yawn, let's check it out...

Potsworth & Co is a cutesy platformer developed by Ben Walshaw for Hi-Tec Software (1992) and is based on a Hanna-Barbera cartoon (which I'd never heard of). I've just learnt that Potsworth is a dog who happens to have a group of kiddy mates - The Midnight Patrol. The story is, someone has stolen a sleep potion and then broken it up throughout five worlds so, it's up to the kids to return it to a Grand Dozer. Whatever that is!!

We are different members of the Midnight Patrol depending on the level and each has different mechanics for powers and abilities. For example, in the first, we are a girl who looks stroppy and she begins underground in a place Rick Dangerous would love. It appears our heroine only has to open her mouth to kill most of her foes.

Sounds weird? You betcha! But I think you're gonna love it. Read on...

Each level is different and uses the other characters, who come with their own skillset.

Developers who care!

Potsworth & Co offers gaming styles similar to Doodlebug or Magic Boy but, don't let the comical visuals trick you, this game is not easy and is actually challenging. Each world features many hazards and, of course, a wide range of baddies who aimlessly walk back and forth doing their best to make life troublesome. There are also puzzles but these won't have you stumped, it's more like moving a block onto a switch panel (or a teddy bear!).

Actually, this isn't an easy-to-pick-up-and-play platformer, if I'm being honest. I think it has a testing learning curve thanks to a difficulty level famous throughout the 8 and 16-bit era. Personally, I think a lot more lives should have been given by default and there are some parts of the later levels that are quite irritating. But all this is solved by having more lives or (cough) a trainer which means you're then able to enjoy this game fully.

The controls are a joy and very responsive so exploring is a breeze without any sluggishness. When you finally move onto a new level, the game changes your character which is quite the twist. I especially liked the third world where we play as a dog in a candy land which is bursting with cool mechanics and is positively brilliant fun to explore.

No lame port here but there are... walking guns in a Ricky Dangerous world!

Model looks!

The visuals are stunning. Absolutely stunning and it certainly proves what a developer can do when they care about their product. This looks the business alright and feels quite console-y with fantastic environments, awesome sprites, and bundles of colour throughout each and every level. The scrolling is both fast and fluent which means we're being treated, rather than enduring a jerky lame Amiga port. Amazing, just amazing.

Sadly, the audio is the mirror opposite of those lovely pixels and appears to be nothing more than an afterthought. There are only a few spot sound effects and, even worse, no background chiptune which would have been perfect. Oh, and don't even ask about a title theme. That is absolutely terrible and should be skipped - quickly!!

Why is that? So much effort was spent on the visuals and gameplay yet little on the audio...

Another new level and another different character to master.

The CryptO'pinion?

Overall, this is superb and provides a fantastic venture through several interesting worlds. Each is a vibrant and fascinating experience in its own right and, not only that but a testament to the power of the Atari ST when in the hands of a talented programmer. Prepare thyself for a game that is as challenging as it is beautiful.

This is one of the best 16-bit platformers I've played. I have loved every second with The Midnight Patrol so, if I can pass on a piece of advice, it would be this: Don't be a knob and download this fantastic game right now. There ya go.

Downloads for floppy disk & hard drive.

MonoPack

The most exciting screenshot ever!

MonoPack was released by Shrimp of NewCore and allows the Atari ST (w/ colour display) to run in the high-resolution mode without the need for the correct monitor. Yes, there are already programs that do this but I think this is better because it saves itself onto the boot sector of a floppy disk. This means a fast way to activate. Plus it supports the Blitter coprocessor for faster rendering. Yup, this is an excellent utility!

Clickety-Click to download MonoPack and let me know what you think in the comments below.