Puzzle Games #24

Skweek a.k.a. Slider (1988)
By: Loriceils Genre: Puzzle Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Atari ST First Day Score: 40,710
Also Available For: PC Engine, Game Gear, Amiga, Amstrad CPC

I'm not sure why but I've long been intrigued by gonks. I've had many fine examples adorn my shelves or desks over the years, but I think when I played this game at my good friend Luke's house so many years ago it was the first time I had actually controlled the actions of one of the fuzzballs. The gonk in question fittingly stars in a puzzle game. I'm not sure why it's fitting, it just seems right. This rightness also extends to his name. I'm not sure I could've come up with a better name for a yellow gonk who waddles around tiled stages in a puzzle game if I tried. He's actually an alien, you may not be surprised to hear, from a place called Skweezland which has apparently been overrun by the minions of some flange called Pitark who has, for some reason, turned the lush pink countryside of Skweezland blue.

Computer Shmups #5

Silkworm (1988)
By: Tecmo / Virgin Genre: Shooting Players: 1-2  Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Featured Version: Atari ST  First Day Score: 74,500 (with a wonky control pad)
Also Available For: Arcade, NES, Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

Okay, so technically this one isn't really a computer shmup as it was actually an arcade game originally, and also appeared on console owing to an apparently-not-well-known NES conversion. However, in my experience it's far more well known, in the UK at least, for its home computer conversions, both 8-bit and 16-bit versions alike. I enjoyed a decent (if rather slow) version on my trusty Speccy but even then I couldn't help but cast the odd envious glance or two in the direction of the colourful Atari ST and Amiga versions fuelled by their 16-bit power. I guess I got distracted by other splendid games though, as when I finally had the chance to own/play one of them, I never got around to it, and to this day I've still not played it on either machine. Time for Red Parsley to rectify another oversight!

Early Driving Games #11

Vroom (1991)
By: Lankhor Genre: Driving Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Atari ST First Day Score: 12,370
Also Available For: Amiga

These days F1 games seem to be limited to whichever one has the official FIA license but in the 16-bit era they were much more common. This one was released by French developer, Lankhor, in 1991 for the ST and Amiga and looks much like many others that were around at the time - that is to say, decidedly average. For some reason, though, I had a sneaking suspicion it might actually surprise me, so, after a bit of hassle trying to find a version that actually worked, I spent some time finding out. There are Demonstration and Training options which are probably worth checking out quickly, but there are two main play modes - Arcade and Racing - to choose from on the rather limited menu screen, and it was the former I tried first.

Computer Shmups #3

Xenon (1988)
By: The Bitmap Brothers Genre: Shooting Players: 1 Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: Atari ST First Day Score: 62,310
Also Available For: Amiga, PC, Commodore 64, MSX, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum
Download For: Wii Virtual Console

The numerous home computers of the 80’s were never really known for the quality or quantity of their shmups but one that seemed to get a lot of press time was Xenon, the first game by legends-in-the-making, the Bitmap Brothers. It’s a vertical-scroller but one that's rather unlike most other efforts of the time. You play the part of Darrian, a Federation fighter pilot who intercepts a distress call from Captain Xod whose fleet has come under heavy attack by the wretched Xenites, a hostile race who had inundated the Federation almost overnight. As the closest ship to the fleet's position, Darrian is compelled to respond (though hardly enthusiastic about it) and heads for their last location which is the other side of four sectors crawling with pesky Xenite filth.

Gravity Games #4

Oids (1987)
By: Dan Hewitt / FTL Games Genre: Shooting Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Atari ST First Day Score: 152,311
Also Available For: Apple Mac

Quite a few of these gravity games not only require you to combat the natural attractive force of a given celestial body but also land your craft on their surface. This is often in order to save stranded workers or rescue hostages, but Oids must be the only one that asks you to actually kidnap them. Your targets are 'Oids' - android slaves created by the evil Biocretes, forced into servitude, and discarded when no longer needed. You, as a 'member of a compassionate race', were so 'moved and angered' by the mistreatment of these poor sentient clankers that you joined the intergalactic organisation known as SaveOids and vowed to devote your life to freeing the Oids from the yoke of Biocrete slavery. Apparently.

Maze Games #8

Puffy's Saga (1988)
By: Claude Sablatou / Ubisoft Genre: Maze / Shooting Players: 1-2 Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: Atari ST First Day Score: 15,580
Also Available For: Amiga, PC, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

Is that Puffy's house or where his saga lies?

As any keen gamer will tell you, there are several ways to spark our interest in new releases, and one way that publishers try to do just that is with adverts. In my favourite gaming era, these often took the form of one page ads in magazines, and one that always caught my eye was for Puffy's Saga. It featured a very appealing Pac-Man-like yellow guy trapped in a labyrinth filled with treasure but scary monsters as well. I like maze games and I also like appealing characters so I was immediately compelled to try and help Puffy out with his Saga, but then, for reasons that remain mysterious to me, I didn't, and over the ensuing years the game passed out of all knowledge. Until I remembered it a couple of weeks ago...

Early Driving Games #7

Test Drive (1987)
By: Accolade Genre: Driving Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Atari ST First Day Score: 7,460
Also Available For: Amiga, PC, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Apple II

There are a few games you could credit with the surge in popularity of racing games on home systems during the 90's but the one that sticks in my mind most is probably The Need For Speed on the 3DO. Not only was this unexpected release fantastic but it was also quite realistic. The many, many sequels that followed it soon went down the manic, arcadey route rather than continuing the approach of the original and this is also true of most of the similar games that starting appearing. Amongst my favourite of these were the Test Drive games on the PlayStation. The series had undergone a 'reboot' around this time (purely coincidental, I'm sure) but the first games in the series actually had a lot more in common with the original NFS.

Random Game I've Never Heard Of #4

Harricana (1990)
By: Loriciel Genre: Driving Players: 1 Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: Atari ST
Also Available For: Amiga, Amstrad CPC

See - even the title screen is in French...

The games I've taken a look at with the 'Random Game' feature so far have all been fairly obscure but there's not really any good reason why I shouldn't have heard of any of them. This latest selection, however, is quite a rarity for me as it's actually a French game. There's nothing wrong with that in itself, of course - I've played some cracking French games in my time such as Purple Saturn Day and Flashback to name just two - but Harricana was not only made by our croissant-loving neighbours but is apparently aimed at them as well. Or to be more specific, it seems to be aimed at French-Canadians, for the game is one of the rarest of all racing games - a snowmobile racing game! The existence of so few games of this type compared to pretty much every other kind of racing game made it an intriguing title to explore. To start with...

Computer Platform Games #2

Switchblade (1989)
By: Core Design / Gremlin  Genre: Platform/Fighting  Players: 1  Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: Atari ST  First Day Score: 9,240
Also Available For: Amiga, PC, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

Whether you love or hate Rick Dangerous, there´s no question that it was a memorable game. Anyone wanting more of the same would have to wait for its sequel which would arrive a year later, but released the same year as Rick's first adventure was this game. It's similar in looks and gameplay so it comes as so surprise to find that the same team was responsible for both games, but the setting has changed. This latter effort takes place ten thousand years in the future rather than the recent past, and it appears to be an anime-influenced future 'cyber world' called Thraxx where the Undercity is now ruled by the evil Havoc who has shattered the Fireblade and filled the city with his minions.

Computer Platform Games #1

Rick Dangerous (1989)
By: Core Design / Firebird  Genre: Platform  Players: 1  Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: Atari ST  First Day Score: 8,760
Also Available For: Amiga, PC, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

There's not too many games I've played on Atari's most popular home computer but one that I did play is Rick Dangerous, so what better way to kick off my coverage of the great ST! It's notable for being the first release from Core Design, who would later create the Tomb Raider series of course, but for their debut release they took inspiration from the Indiana Jones films. Their own hero is a British agent and is clearly based on Dr Jones, at least aesthetically. He comes complete with fedora and six-shooter (although no whip, oddly), but it remains to be seen how extensive his archaeology skills are. Indeed, it's a game that pretty much everyone has an opinion of, and not necessarily a good one either.