Category Archives: Videos

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Saboteur

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Howard Scott Warshaw is a legendary name in video games — not always for the reasons he might have hoped, thanks to his involvement in the notorious E.T. for Atari 2600.

One of his games that never got released was Saboteur, an interesting multi-phase game that acted as something of a spin-off to Yars’ Revenge. The reason it never got released? Atari wanted to turn it into a game based on The A-Team, then got cold feet at the last minute, so it languished in obscurity until it was recovered for collections like Atari Flashback Classics.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Venus the Flytrap

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Gremlin Graphics were known for putting out great games, right from the 8-bit era up until their disappearance in 2003.

Venus the Flytrap was a great title from the 16-bit era, featuring an inventive take on arcade-style shoot ’em up gameplay combined with platforming. It looked great, too, even on the Atari ST — in fact, some people even prefer the ST version to the Amiga incarnation of this game, which is a rare occurrence!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Beach-Head

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Access Software’s Bruce Carver definitely had a “formula” — one that he successfully refined over the years.

It’s interesting to go back to Beach-Head, one of his earlier games, and see one of the first successful examples of the minigame-centric action strategy his games became known for. Plus it’s just a fun game in its own right, too!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Return to Haunted House

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One of the cool things about the classic gaming scene is that there are always people out there keen to try and built on old favourites.

Return to Haunted House, for example, not only acts as a follow-up to the classic Haunted House, but also builds on the delightful Adventure to provide a rather different experience for those looking for some spooky fun!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Ultima III – Exodus

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Today we take a look at one of the most influential, important games of all time: without Ultima III: Exodus, we might not have ever gotten the RPG genre in quite the form we know it today.

Of course, I’m sure there are plenty of other games out there that would have taken its place — and the Wizardry series was just as important in the grand scheme of things — but Ultima III: Exodus’ importance to the RPG genre in general cannot be understated. So it seems like a fine time to take on the Atari ST version, non?

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Videos

Atari A to Z: Atlantis

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An all-time classic of old-school Atari gaming, Imagic’s Atlantis is a simple but fun shoot ’em up in which death is inevitable — there’s a cheery thought for you!

Originally coming to prominence on Atari 2600, Atlantis was subsequently ported to a variety of other platforms, including Atari 8-bit. Gameplay-wise, the Atari 8-bit version isn’t all that different from the Atari 2600 original — it just looks a bit nicer.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: RealSports Volleyball

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This is it at last — the final RealSports game in Atari Flashback Classics! After this, we can move on to something else. (There are still a few more sports games ahead of us, mind you!)

In the grand scheme of things, RealSports Volleyball for Atari 2600 isn’t a bad game. It’s pretty simple and arguably a bit too ambitious for what the 2600 was really capable of, but once you get your head around how its mechanics work, there’s potential for some solid two-player fun here — or an occasional test of your skills against the computer.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Evercade A to Z, Videos

Evercade A to Z: Claymates

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Interplay put out a fair few “claymation” games in their time, of varying degrees of quality!

One that was on the slightly better end of things was Claymates, an inventive and enjoyable side-scrolling platformer with some interesting level design and some peculiar mechanics.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles

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Heroes in a half-shell! Turtle power! But only in a form friendly to the delicate eyes of the Great British Public, thank you very much, none of that “ninja” nonsense here.

Image Works’ Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles for Atari ST was a port of Konami’s NES game — and a title that made a fair few people mad when it first came out and wasn’t a port of Konami’s classic arcade game. Still, it’s an interesting title in its own right — even if the ST version perhaps isn’t the best way to experience it!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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short;Play, Videos

short;Play: Mighty Gunvolt Burst

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Inti Creates, as you’ll know if you’ve read my feature on them, read my many words on Gal*Gun Double Peace and Gal*Gun 2, and listened to our Inti-centric podcast episode, make fantastic games.

One of my favourite games of theirs that doesn’t have Gal*Gun in the title is Mighty Gunvolt Burst, a game which is essentially nothing but Inti Creates fanservice. Dripping with the “enhanced retro” aesthetic the team are such masters of, this is a challenging platform adventure with satisfying progression mechanics.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!