Category Archives: Videos

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: I, Ball

Leave a comment

Telecomsoft, a division of British phone provider British Telecom, was a pretty prolific software publisher throughout the 8- and 16-bit home computer eras.

The brand was split into several parts: “Firebird” released big-name, high-profile games designed to have broad appeal; “Rainbird” released games intended for more mature audiences such as adventures, strategy games and simulations; and “Silverbird” provided budget-price experiences, usually in the form of arcade-style games.

One title released on the latter label was I, Ball, a game which was particularly well-received on the 8-bit home computers for its Rob Hubbard soundtrack; sadly, this is absent from the Atari ST version, but it’s still a solid — if monstrously difficult — shoot ’em up with some entertaining sampled sounds to enjoy!

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Videos, Warriors All-Stars, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: The Mysterious Book – Warriors All-Stars #6

1 Comment

Rio’s back in the leading role today as we take on a series of new challenges, culminating in the recruitment of Plachta from Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book.

Today’s missions provide a good example of how Warriors All-Stars’ quick, snappy pace and structure give it a markedly different feel from Warriors Orochi. Rather than long, drawn-out battles all the time, you can enjoy plenty of smaller-scale challenges to acquire specific goodies for your team, then take on more substantial missions when you want to advance the plot or unlock new characters.

I’m really enjoying this game so far… and there’s a lot of game to explore here, so I think we’re going to be here a while!

Videos

Atari A to Z: Orc Attack

Leave a comment

Orcs used to be a popular, even clichéd, fantasy foe to encounter in both video and tabletop games, but I feel like their prevalence has declined somewhat over the years — perhaps in a concerted effort for modern fantasy to move away from Tolkien.

Fear not, though, because this 1983 release from Thorn EMI Video has absolutely hundreds of the little buggers just waiting to make your life an absolute misery — climbing up ladders, shooting arrows directly into your eye, chipping away at your wall and pulling your head clean off. What’s a humble guard to do?

Fight back, of course! Preferably by hurling heavy objects and boiling oil, but as a last resort there’s always the option of a bit of slicing and dicing…

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Basketball

Leave a comment

Sports games have always been a staple of video gaming. In fact, in the earliest days of the medium, they were a good source of basic rules and mechanics for designers to rely on.

Basketball for Atari 2600 was a noteworthy example of one of these early sports games for being an early title that didn’t require two human players. In fact, the single-player mode even claimed to offer an adaptive difficulty of sorts, with the computer player supposedly playing “better” if the scores were closer.

In practice, this mostly equates to the computer player running the wrong direction if he’s winning too much, but it was 1978… give them a bit of credit!

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: This Might Take a While – Final Fantasy I #21

1 Comment

Two more Soul of Chaos dungeons to go, plus the Labyrinth of Time… and then we’re done! With the first game. Out of lots.

Yes, the Final Fantasy Marathon is going to take quite a while to get through at this rate, and, hell, the dungeon we start today is going to take two full episodes to get through… but I’m having a good time and I hope you are too.

Today we delve into the Lifespring Grotto, a 20-floor dungeon full of mazes, Final Fantasy V references and assorted weirdness. Watch out for that Atomos, he’s got quite a mouth on ‘im…

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Hard Drivin’

2 Comments

We’ve got it pretty good these days. Even if we haven’t quite mastered true photorealism as yet, we’re getting pretty close, and a lot of game developers have really figured out what is and isn’t fun for the player.

Back in Hard Drivin’s day, though, all sorts of things were still new, exciting and unproven. 3D polygonal graphics, analogue controls, simulation-style handling… all of these things still had to be figured out properly. But Atari Games had a good old crack at it, and actually came out with a decent — if somewhat limited — driving experience.

And, moreover, we actually got a fairly authentic port to Atari ST, too — albeit without all the fancy specialist hardware of the arcade version. But, again, it was a more than valiant effort…

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Videos, Warriors All-Stars, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Her Name is Rio – Warriors All-Stars #5

2 Comments

Arnice takes a back seat this time around as Rio decides to lead the party into battle.

We do our best to fulfil some of Kasumi’s unreasonable demands before moving on to face Laegrinna, star of Deception IV: Blood Ties. She does not want to go down without a rather sneaky fight, but surely the invincible Girl Power team of Rio, Arnice, Christophorous, Kasumi and Honoka will prevail, non?

Warriors All-Stars is, so far, doing a very good job of paying homage to its incredibly diverse source material through a combination of its playable characters, stages, music and overall game design. We’re in this for the long haul, I think!

Videos

Atari A to Z: Neptune’s Daughters

Leave a comment

Splish-splash, I was taking a bath, and then suddenly I was beset with crabs. Crabs, crabs everywhere.

In Neptune’s Daughters from English Software, you take on the role of Aquaman as he strives to rescue the eponymous young ladies from the slimy clutches of a mean ol’ sea serpent. Along the way, he’ll encounter poisonous sucker plants, oxygenated amoebae, an amorous octopus and the most dangerous walls on the planet. Can he survive the perils that lie beneath the waves?

There’s a glimpse of pixellated boob in it for you if you’re victorious. Don’t get too excited, though. It seems those daughters just aren’t that into you. Maybe it’s the gills…

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Basic Math

Leave a comment

You know how much people judge a new gaming system by its launch lineup these days? Well, the Atari 2600 had a game called Basic Math among its initial titles. It is exactly what it sounds like. Be grateful for what you get today!

To be fair, we’re talking about the late ’70s here, where interactive entertainment you could connect to your TV was still new, exciting and a little scary to some people — so the prospect of having something educational to use on the system was probably quite appealing to concerned parents of the era.

It’s just a shame they really took that “Basic” part of the title to heart perhaps a little too much…

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Fires of Hell – Final Fantasy I #20

1 Comment

We’re well into the endgame of the PSP incarnation of Final Fantasy now; today we delve into the second of four “Soul of Chaos” dungeons.

Hellfire Chasm features 10 floors arranged in a random order, with a choice of two Final Fantasy IV bosses to fight on both the 5th and 10th. In order to fill out your Bestiary completely, you’ll need to run the dungeon at least twice to smack ’em all down.

Bring plenty of supplies; today’s a long trip, but we’re just getting started!