Saturday, May 19, 2018

Battle Command




If the tanks succeed, then victory follows

Late last year I planned to feature BattleZone but I couldn't get to grips with it no matter how much I tried. I found it sluggish with lethargic controls that didn't feel right. In fact, I hated it and came away quite upset by this deduction. However, I still had the urge to jump into a tank and kill something so how was I going to scratch that itch?

Of course, it can only be Ocean's very own Battle Command - which I've recently bought. The story goes that two factions are at war, and we are in control of a heavily armoured Mauler who must complete a variety of different missions that have us trawling the landscape looking for enemy tanks to shoot. And much more. But let's not kid ourselves and stop right there, because this is basically a BattleZone ripoff and proud of it.

Okay, before we begin, Battle Command is crammed with spinning 3D objects. Like this...





Let's take it for a test drive

First, the controls are absolutely superb so it was easy to control my tank using the mouse for acceleration, turning and firing. It's worth taking the time to arm your tank properly and I had a preference for heat-seeking missiles. Inside the game's box is a nifty reference card that details the extras like: the damage display, a detailed map, and the chance to view our tank from outside - this offers cool perspectives, if kinda pointless.

For those who love a challenge, there is a huge mission selection ranging from the starter through to more advanced tasks like protecting a bridge, accompanying a transport, and even recovering a U-Bomb! Before you begin, the briefing will detail the necessary information and weaponry options - whilst accompanied by more 3D animation. Don't let the thought of tough missions fool you, this is an arcade game through & through.

Unlike Battlezone, this game has a nice framerate which compliments the controls and game style. It's fun roaming the landscapes looking for enemies to kill. The difficulty is always challenging throughout the many assorted ranges of different missions so you're never likely to get bored. And, if you require even more of a challenge, then Battle Command will not disappoint as it features many strenuous missions to test your nerve.





Aesthetics

This has excellent 3D which reminds me of a cross between the obvious along with Mercenary, for some peculiar reason. I was hooked from the moment I saw each mission's 3D imagery swirling but seeing how our tank is dropped by an aeroplane clinches it!! The in-game framerate isn't exactly Resolution 101 but everything is smoother than Atari's effort and the enemy looks great up close. It's an understatement to say I admire the graphics!

Music is amazing on the title whilst the game begins to show off its 3D. Sound effects during gameplay aren't brilliant but certainly nothing like Starglider, for example. They do their job well enough to break the silence.



   



The CryptO'pinion?

Battle Command is a great tactical shoot 'em up but it's not perfect. What I didn't like was the immense size of the play area which feels like a slog for my little tank (and now I sound like Hubert Gruber!). This means opponents feel like they're a zillion miles away - not good for a 320x200 display to cope with. Also, making distant attacks would be impossible but for some suspect collision detection that actually balances things out rather well.

With the bad stuff out of the way, did I enjoy BattleZone... oops, sorry... Battle Command? I most certainly did because it's a stonker and I've enjoyed blasting everything in sight! Even the trees feel the wrath of my uncontrollable insanity. Battle Command is adventurous and bucket loads of fun with eloquent controls.

Overall, a brilliant 3D shooter and one of the best that I have in my collection. Get it downloaded (floppy or hard disk) and then jump inside your tank to kill everything in sight. You'll love every minute of it.



There's nothing quite like flaunting your Atari ST collection! :D

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Muzzy



Wait, come back!!

Muzzy was featured in ST Format (#58) and is a budget puzzler by Enigma Software Developments. It caught my eye because I liked the old skool visuals, plus it's something I've never actually played before. I believe it should be compatible with both the ST and STe (sadly, it crashes on my STFM but works dandy on the STe but YMMV - the download).

An intro kicks things off at the start accompanied by stereo music on the Atari STe. Playing my first game was quite confusing and I wasn't sure what to do but I soon learnt the game's crazy personality. The object is always the same: collect every gem before being whisked off to do it all over again on the next zany screen.

Of course, the difficulty constantly increases as does the variety of silly mechanics and vicious enemies who can kill you instantly. So fight back by blowing up these pesky critters using bombs. That is always going to be great!

The trusty joystick is used to control little Muzzy which is simple and easy but first feels overly sensitive. Stick with it because pushing against something, whilst pressing fire, will be the most complex action you will learn.

Visually, I doubt Muzzy will blow you away with its tiny sprites and meagre 8-Bit style. By ST standards, they suck. But since when have graphics ever made a game better? (Yes, I'm talking to you, Dragon's Lair). The audio is basic and it's disappointing that the DMA wasn't used for lots of jazzy sound effects. Having said that the old YM does an excellent job.

Muzzy is a strange game with many weird levels that make little sense - it's very different from what I expected. Attack each screen with a 'trial and error' to see what solution will work best. In my video recording, the last screen had me stumped but it was actually annoyingly obvious - but that's Muzzy for you!!

It looks peculiar, I know. But get it downloaded because it's great fun and something unexpectedly different.



Monday, May 14, 2018

ST Globe



By 1999 we will be living on the moon!

In a time long ago, when there were no search engines, we had to read something called a "book". If we wanted to chat with someone then that would mean leaving the house to meet up for a real conversation. Crazy times, right? Well, I've found something cool that takes us back to this early disconnected age that we loved.

ST Globe and was developed by Jean Pierre Cazes which you will find on the Page 6 website. I thought it was rather amusing but interesting and it definitely puts Encyclopædia Britannica to shame [ahem]. However, my daughter was having none of it and prefers to use Siri and Google. Sheesh, what's up with kids these days, uh?

Grab yourself ST Globe and pretend the Internet isn't real.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Capy




Crappy... Capy... Uh, what?

Capy is a spin on the Sokoban theme and was released in 1998 for the Atari Falcon by YesCREW. We are a shiny ball that desires refuge within an exit tile that is usually located on the other side of the screen. Initial levels are easy and break you in nicely but it soon gets very tough, so careful thought is required to execute the correct route.

Interestingly, there is also the option to create your own "worlds" using an Editor but read the docs before jumping in at the deep end. This is an interesting addition and I hope somebody picks up the gauntlet and has a bash.

Take a look at these screenshot animations to get a feel of what to expect...




Sokoban in space

The goal of any level is to guide your little black ball into a black hole exit. That may sound simple but it's not... Well, it is based on Sokoban so what did you expect an easy ride? Anyhow, there are often obstacles in your way, routes that need to be followed correctly, and even the risk of falling into the gaping deep space that stands between you and your exit. So, take a moment to think about how you're going to get to your target as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Each screen uses different tiles in a variety of alternative ways: for example, push tiles can be moved almost anywhere and can allow access to other places by fixing holes. Be careful not to push them into a useless part of the map in error, and also don't get yourself trapped! Look out for cracked tiles that disintegrate after one use, thus altering your potential route through. Sliders are fun and can transport you across the void very easily and Movable tiles have an arrow pointing in a one-way direction with which to travel. Don't forget to collect the goodies for extra points.

Wow, this game is a tough nut to crack with each screen requiring much logical thought and planning. In fact, my first stumbling block was on Level 6 which my old brain really did struggle to compute! This was mainly due to the time restriction (which isn't necessary) so spoils what should be a difficult puzzler played slowly. I asked Swe [Janez] if this could be removed and it wasn't long before it was removed as Capy got its first upgrade in 20 years. Which is fantastic!!

Okay, let's check out another animated screenshot from one of my games...





The CryptO'pinion?

I've had a blast playing Capy but sadly, there just aren't enough levels for me. Thankfully, there is an editor so perhaps I should pick up that gauntlet and take a stab at creating some of my own levels? Also, the timer was a problem for me that has (thankfully) been removed so I can now enjoy Capy to its full potential without rushing. Why rush a puzzler?

Capy is an odd spin on the Sokoban genre but it works. I'm sure its cunning levels will have you all stumped for decades! This is no boring or predictable conversion that's been done a million times already. Capy is fresh and very addictive using a beautiful presentation. The levels are fascinatingly cruel to solve and I love it - and I'm not a Sokoban fan O_o

You will love this fantastic puzzler and I hope it gets converted to run on STs in high resolution, soon!

Capy has humble requirements: a stock Falcon with a VGA display @ 640x480 / 16 colours.
My download contains the original along with the newly updated "Crypt" version - greetings to Janez!! :)



One day I'll get to see this screen for myself. One day...

Wednesday, May 09, 2018

Galactic Conqueror



STress relief!!

Sometimes I need to keep my life simple and take time out to just enjoy blowing stuff up. So, here is Galactic Conqueror published in 1988 by Titus. This is a personal favourite of mine because it grants stress-busting, wanton violence without any hassle. Yep, no life-sucking storyline just shoot everything and enjoy the pointless destruction!

And that's as complex as it gets - pick up that joystick to mindlessly destroy everything in your path. It's basically a wicked mash of Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom, Afterburner and Thunder Blade. Okay, I admit that it's not perfect but it's still fantastic fun and that's what matters the most. Highly recommended especially after a "great day" at work (yes, sarcasm!!).

I plan to post more pointless video recordings of games I play to blast away my stress of the rat race!

Download this awesome space shooter now!

Monday, May 07, 2018

Automation


Forget Elvira and Maria Whittaker because this is the sexiest screen your Atari ST will display!! :@)

Saturday, May 05, 2018

Rumbo


Rumbo is a flick-screen platformer developed in STOS by Pete Halloran and isn't too dissimilar to Rick Dangerous with more than its fair share of <cough> similarities. The story is simple, our girl has been kidnapped by something hideous so it's time we dressed like Rambo and tool-up to begin our valiant rescue mission.

After watching a short, but superb, intro of our girl being kidnapped the game begins inside the underground in caves - a place that only Rick Dangerous himself would normally enjoy exploring. Within here are many rooms with a variety of tricks and traps - but many predictable ones like spikes to leap over. Also, there are some cruel ones like strange creature who appears out of thin air without any warning. I hate him!

The first end of level boss is a giant bat but don't fret too much because it just moves up and down. It's lame and probably should have been left out, if I'm honest. But Rumbo has come prepared for all these monsters and bosses and is loaded with more than enough ammunition, which is something I love about the game.

When level two begins it's pretty much more of the same, but with different graphics! However, there appears to be a bug that prevented me from completing the final(?) room: hitting a switch did nothing that I could see. Thus I found myself stuck with no way to venture on which is a huge shame because I was really enjoying Rumbo until that moment. I'm now wondering if I've missed something stupidly obvious in the previous rooms?

Graphics are quite average joe but do their job even if entering a new room draws at ST Basic speeds. Sound effects are made up of a few fuzzy samples but they're good and I especially liked those howel of death. Also, Rumbo's tippy-tappy walk reminded this old gamer of Chuckie Egg 2 (ZX Spectrum version). I know I'm being daft, but I loved it and it also broke the near-silence due to the lacking in-game music. Which is a shame?

Overall, I have really enjoyed Rumbo which I've found to be balanced and fun to play. Sadly, there's that bug on level two but maybe it was me? I tried it twice and each time I got stuck... Ignoring that, Rumbo offers platform fans to be an avenging squirrel in a Ricky D world. This is cool so grab your bandana and download the floppy disk!

Thursday, May 03, 2018

PC Ditto



Ugh, I hate Winblows PCs!!

I thought I'd have a quick play with PC-Ditto, an old emulator by Avant-Garde Systems. Now, please do note that I've never owned a PC in my life but I remember tinkering with the one (and only) Amstrad PC our college had in 1987. So, I figured this would be a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Well, who knows...

Okay, a stock Atari ST is more than capable of running this emulator and many DOS programs will run fine. However, you should probably forget it for games. I used my own Mega STe which barely had the horsepower to handle many titles. So, in my video recording, Hatari is running a 16Mhz to simulate the real machine on my desk.

Pah, DOS for gaming or home computer. Terrible idea but, read on...



I had little luck with Castle Wolfenstein (a bad copy?) but Serpentine ran pretty well.



How did it go with this DOS malarkey?
Surprisingly, I did have some success as you can see in the video which shows me booting DOS 3.3 and then loading a selection of rubbish games. The first is Serpentine, which was definitely the best of the bad bunch and I enjoyed eating the other slo-mo snakes. I then rebooted to try something called David's Kong. Ugh, this is absolutely laughable so please don't waste your time!

Next up was Bird-Brain which didn't seem to work very well because the keys specified on the main menu didn't work for me. Instead, I suffered rapid beeping sound which was rather annoying!! So yet another reboot was called for so I could try Castle Wolfenstein. Ohh, I had such high hopes for this game but alas it didn't appear to run properly and then oddly got itself caught in a loop?


I then loaded Space Commanders which slowed my Mega STe down to the speed of a Casio calculator for some insane reason. In the video recording, I could cheat by hitting CMD X to speed up Hatari but that didn't really help too much. No loss anyhow because this is a ludicrously bad shoot 'em up!!


I was now beginning to lose the will to live and only had one game left: Buck Rogers Planet Of Zoom which is one of my favourite ZX Spectrum games. Sadly, it wasn't (umm) too playable due to slow speeds but I managed a couple of minutes before PC-Ditto disappointly froze for some reason!


Oh boy, how did the PC win the computer war? The worst Kong and Invaders I've ever played!!



The CryptO'pinion?

This was fun and I enjoyed (temporarily) turning my ST into an Intel paperweight. Games will generally require more CPU grunt but I doubt anyone would abandon the ST's archive for any of these horrendous DOS equivalents? Of course, not being a hardware product meant overall performance was sluggish, even on my Mega STe.

PC Ditto did a grand job at running DOS and many programs and other utilities. However, I wouldn't bother using this for games - unless I had something beefy like a TT or Falcon. Overall, this is a pretty good product depending on your needs. But I'll stick with my Atari ST... so that just leaves one last thing to do: del *.*  😇

You can find PC-Ditto on the great AtariMania or using Old Games Finder. You'll also need the operating system and DOS 3.3 is downloadable from Atari-Forum thanks to Jake/Depression. I found many compatible DOS games on lots of websites - I really liked My Abandonware. Enjoy yourself!

Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Commando



Elite did it again!

I remember trying to conquer this arcade shooter on my ZX Spectrum long before I became an ST nutter. However, no matter how much I loved it, I always sucked because it was so difficult. Thankfully, I've improved with age because I've finally beaten the first stage with those tricky soldiers. It's small victories like this that keep me going!

Unsurprisingly, our conversion has more glam in comparison to that visually-gory Speccy game. I also think we received an authentic conversion with responsive controls, gorgeous smooth scrolling and everything is zany and as spritely as it should be. The one-joystick/button method to control works well compared to the original arcade controls.

Commando is something I love and hate with equal measure, so it's a good job this old skool shooter is so infuriatingly addictive. Highly recommended - if you've got a couple of hours spare to master the learning curve!!

Grab a BB Gun before daring to download Commando for floppy or hard disk.

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Fred



Let's get medieval

Okay, I think it's time we posted more pixel art and today, we have Ubi Soft's Sir Fred (aka Fred) which is a scrolling platformer with beautiful visuals by Jean-Marc Torroella and Jerome Guerry. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that this contains some of the most unique styles with stunning attention to detail using a colourful, yet eerie, palette. The sprites are wonderful and nicely animated - even those rude ones who stick out their tongues!!

The intro is fantastic - our fearless knight is tragically zapped into a midget by an angry dwarf. Shocked by this, he shakes his fists at his foe but, they cannot help themselves and burst out laughing. Then, adding salt into Fred's wounds is a little gnome who completes Fred's ridicule. This is what I call a brilliant opening intro.

Why can't all games get this much love and respect? Kudos to Jean and Jerome!



Now come on, who would have ever expected rude gnomes to be our enemy?


Hang on, these are armed. They might be little but they're evil little b4s@£@s!


A garden centre platformer?

We begin life as a miniature warrior in a spooky forest who battles cute garden gnomes. There are other beasts lurking in the woods and castle grounds like skeletons, snakes, headless axemen and ghosts. Everything wants you dead, so kill them with your arrows - these will even reach the baddies off-screen which is kinda cool.

Fred is a nimble chap with the ability to walk, leap and roll his way through his quest but the controls often got me into trouble. Turning around reminded me of Black Lamp feeling quite restrictive and lethargic. This cumbersome method of turning around spoils the gameplay somewhat because our ability to react is hampered by its speed.

What is it with developers back in the day, didn't they play their own games? Or is it just me being grumpy?



I absolutely love the details and the murky palette which is perfect for the creepy scenario.


Check out that headless axeman and the gnome's facial details are truly astounding.


Perspective platforming

Interestingly, we have multiple platform layers used to climb steps or bypass obstacles like rocks or trees. This is used to present a more 3D or realistic feel to our ability to travel. Sadly, it feels weird at first when you happen to be higher/lower or behind an object. It's a 3D effect that isn't really needed and only complicates exploration.

Battling the foe requires that both parties are on the same level. That's quite fiddly and didn't work well when being attacked from all sides. Energy levels are indicated by three apples and, once they're gone, you're dead as a dodo. These don't last long but, your death produces a hilarious effect as our hero drops his sword in agony!

I honestly don't think there's a more humorously graphically unique and fascinating game.



Those darn gnomes are a pest even the rude ones lol


Oh no, is that a skeleton or a zombie? Whatever it is, I should run away!


The CryptO'pinion?

Fred is a good game but it's simply far too difficult thanks to the fudgy controls and having to fiddle with the vertical perspective of your character. That ultimately spoils what might have been a cracking platformer. Also, more checkpoints are needed to prevent you from restarting from the beginning - extremely annoying.

Overall, I felt Fred had huge potential but somehow fell short of the mark, which is ironic, uh? It's good, but it looks a lot better than it plays, but I'm proud to feature it in our Pixel Art section. If you fancy helping out Fred in this beautiful 16-bit adventure then pick up a sword and boot up this floppy disk or run this hard disk program.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Portal To Xenithor




Another STosser!

Portal To Xenithor is a brand new flick-screen platformer currently under development by Michael Keenleyside. The adventure begins with us having survived a crash landing on a monster-infested moon colony. Our job is to kill the nasties and search for a replacement spaceship before piloting it through to a victorious escape.

It's early days, but the storyline and map designs are nicely taking shape with end-of-level cutscenes also planned to be used as the adventure unfolds. The visual style is dark and moody and soon to be enhanced by eerie music. Michael is about six months into his project and is making nice progress with the possibility of using another engine for other parts of the game. And these will use the hardware scrolling and DMA Audio of the Atari STe.

Michael is nuts about STOS Game Creator and wishes to pay homage to Francois Lionet so all development will be done using this and Missing Link/Maestro. The estimated requirements are a 4MB Atari ST with support for hard disk installation. Personally, I'm reminded of Stryx and Baal so cannot wait to see this completed!


Update: Michael has started a STOS Coders group with Francois Lionet






Sunday, April 22, 2018

Zaptastic



Crazy gaming time!

When I first loaded up Zaptastic, I immediately assumed a cheap Robotron ripoff but it's actually based on an old Jeff Minter game called Ancipital. Lee Burrows not only coded this conversion but did all the graphics and sounds and runs on both models of ST but was for the Atari STe because it uses the Blitter for the sprites and DMA for all the crazy effects. Sadly, I couldn't get it to work on my STFM without getting two nasty bombs popping up!

We're in control of a Dolph Lundgren dude with spiky hair and cool shades who must frantically clear 64 rooms infested by an incredible array of nasties. He gets around using the screen's four sides and can escape the hoard by leaping across to the opposite side - but be careful because your shield won't last forever! Firing is constant and in the direction last used but can be temporally frozen by holding down the fire button <cough> Llamatron.

Visually, things are quite amateur but it works great with lots of silly sprites filling up the screen. The audio is insane thanks to the DMA coprocessor pushing out funky samples to keep everything very loud and exciting. Overall, this is one incredibly addictive and psychedelic shoot 'em up and I loved every zany minute of it!!

Zaptastic can be downloaded of ST Format (disk #81)




Friday, April 06, 2018

Half-Life II Slideshow



Half-Life 2 for Atari ST!

Well, no it isn't but this is the next best thing I think. Well, no it isn't lol. However, you guys might like this if appreciate slideshows of digitised pixel art? I hope so! After last year's mega-hit, ZombieCrypt [yes, sarcasm!], I have made another slideshow. Of course, this time for the incredible Half-Life II games using the engine created by my friend Peter Jørgensen. I've added a superb chiptune by TAO called Line of Fire, which I think suits this production just perfectly.

Each picture is a screenshot from my own gameplay - I then converted each one to Degas format using Imagecopy 4. The entire process took me about six months to compile so I hope you enjoy my lame release? [download]

If you wanna see more of my various Atari ST creations then there's a link on the right and also back there  👈


- A Few Sample Images -








Sadly, a couple didn't make the cut as I ran out of floppy disk space... Doh!

Monday, April 02, 2018

Enhanced Games



New game updates!

Everyone knows that Peter Putnik has adapted hundreds of games for hard disk installation. These often include extras like bug fixes, TOS compatibility, 4MB patching, and so on. However, some are also super-charged with cool coding that utilises the Blitter coprocessor and other hidden chips lurking inside the Atari STe.

I thought it would be nice to offer a brief round-up of these enhanced games as a compilation here on AtariCrypt. Oids and Uridium are particularly impressive as both updates improve tremendously upon their original counterparts. I also enjoyed playing my own music during a game of Xenon 2 (read the docs and convert music from your library). There's something here for everyone and I hope you find this useful. Let me know what you think!




Let's play...

Okay, let's take a look at some of these enhanced games that you can download and play right now...

 Xenon II - updated for the Atari STe and features DMA streamed music. Turn up the volume!
 Cannon Fodder - enhance this lame port with your chosen DMA streamed music.
 Prince Of Persia - allow the DMA hardware lurking inside the Atari STe to replay the game's sounds.

  


Did you enjoy that? Well, here are three enhanced FTL games that are nicely improved...

 Dungeon Master - far cleaner samples are heard thanks to the DMA hardware within the Atari STe.
 Chaos Strikes Back - Again, the DMA hardware allows cleaner sample playback for this awesome sequel.
 Oids - the potential for double framerates deliver a smoother experience when rescuing the stickmen.

  


Right, let's take a peek at three more which aren't exactly favoured well by the average ST gamer...

 Jinks - this jerky game is weird but at least it now uses the smoother STe scrolling [original disks still required]
 Menace - I cannot thank Peter enough for replacing that horrendous yellow ship with a white one!
 Uridium - Blitter-boost that sluggish ship and add DMA-streamed background music while you're at it!

  


Now let's take a little run-around with these three you might never have expected to boot up...

 Giana Sisters - this Zamuel_a enhanced game now also comes with optional DMA streamed music!!
 Hard 'n' Heavy - gone is that embarrassing flip-screen gameplay, all thanks to cool Blitter programming.
 Road Runner - Improved and also Blitterized for faster scrolling - but it's still a rubbish game (sorry!)

  


Okay, let's end in style! Here are two ST classics and (wait for it) a PC classic too! Ooh, nice...

 Goldrunner - Some might not like this, but I love hitting the F3 key to disable that fuzzy speech!
 Gauntlet - this sluggish hack 'n slash arcade game gets big improvements but still needs extra CPU grunt.
 Wolfenstein 3D - Ray's jaw-dropping FPS now has bugs removed with decent save game support.