Category Archives: Videos

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Alcatraz

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It’s back to “A” again for the Atari ST series, and it’s another technically impressive title from Infogrames.

Alcatraz is the sequel to Hostages (or The Embassy Mission as it’s known in some territories on some platforms) and is very much a game built around two-player cooperative gameplay. So much so, in fact, that they didn’t really bother to make a proper single-player mode — when playing solo you have to take control of both “players” yourself!

It’s a cool-looking, atmospheric game… but if you’re going to give it a go for yourself I strongly recommend bringing a friend!

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Just a Quickie – Warriors Orochi #58

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It’s nice when things go your way for once, isn’t it?

In the first instance of that happening for quite some time in this Warriors Orochi playthrough, Cao Pi, Nene and Xiahou Dun all find it remarkably straightforward to struggle their way through Nan Zhong and deal another significant blow to Orochi’s forces.

It’s nice when you get a clear, quick, simple, decisive victory like this, as it’s good motivation to keep going! And there’s not long to go until we are well and truly done, once and for all! We’re coming for you, Orochi… again!

Videos

Atari A to Z: Gateway to Apshai

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Role-playing games have been part of home computing — and indeed mainframe computing — pretty much from the very beginning.

The fact that there’s considerable crossover between “nerds who like computers” and “nerds who enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons” certainly helps, of course. But adapting a tabletop, social experience for solo home computer play carries its own challenges… and its own possibilities.

Gateway to Apshai is what happens when you blend the conventions of arcade games with those of tabletop roleplaying. And the result is an incredibly addictive, compelling game that I still love, love, love playing today.

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: Aquaventure

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One of the most interesting things about retro platforms like the Atari 2600 is that they still play host to tons of undiscovered treasures just waiting to be explored, decades later.

Many of these treasures — usually in the form of unreleased or prototype games — have been unearthed and shared with the world through the Atari Flashback Classics collection. And a great example of just that is Aquaventure, a game about diving beneath the waves in search of hidden booty.

This game was seemingly complete and ready to release, so one can only guess at why it never ended up on store shelves!

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: Ruler of the Skies – Final Fantasy I #13

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The Warriors of Light are done Down South, so now it’s time to head Oop North. There’s just one problem: how to get there!

The northern continent has an alarming lack of places to dock a ship, so they’re clearly not expecting any visitors any time soon. And apparently canoeing across the ocean is out of the question, so what could the answer be?

Take to the skies, of course! After all, we have everything we need to do just that, right…?

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Zynaps

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Welcome back to the last letter of the alphabet! We’ve made it around another cycle.

This time around, we’re taking a look at Zynaps from Hewson, a company who built a reputation for mechanically and technically solid games in the 8-bit era, but who sometimes struggled to adapt to the changing — sometimes fickle — desires of the 16-bit home computer market.

Zynaps is a good — if monstrously difficult — shoot ’em up, but many argued at the time of its original release that it would have been best left in the 8-bit era. What do you think?

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Daddy Dearest – Warriors Orochi #57

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Cao Cao, father of Cao Pi and Warriors series fixture, has been conspicuously absent for much of Warriors Orochi.

Okay, we’ve sort of seen him a few times when Da Ji has been up to her illusory tricks at various junctures, but the man himself has been nowhere to be seen… and strongly implied to have died before the events of the game even got underway.

You can’t keep a good Cao down, however, as Cao Pi and friends discover while attempting to take Mount Tennou for themselves as their campaign against Orochi continues to escalate.

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Fantastic Voyage

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Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE–

Better get used to that sound! It’s Fantastic Voyage, an extremely timely 1982 release from Sirius Software that adapts the 1966 movie (or possibly Isaac Asimov’s novelisation) about injecting tiny submarines into scientists to blast health problems from within.

It’s actually a very enjoyable shooter — albeit one that isn’t going to blow your mind with its visuals, being barely distinct from its Atari 2600 counterpart. It plays well, though… and you’ll be hearing that beep-beep-beep in your sleep!

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: Air-Sea Battle

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An all-time classic of the Atari 2600’s library is launch title Air-Sea Battle, a simplistic but enjoyable fixed shooter with a variety of different ways to play.

Air-Sea Battle is an excellent example of what you could expect from early 2600 titles that promised “27 video games” or similar. Those “27” video games would be a lot of variations on the same theme — but there’d sometimes be some surprising and enjoyable differences between them!

Air-Sea Battle shines as a two-player game, even today, but it’s still an enjoyable high score-chaser solo. Which is your favourite of the 27 variations?

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: Mt. Gulg and the Big Rooms of Nothing – Final Fantasy I #12

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In today’s episode of Final Fantasy, the Warriors of Light finally get back on track and delve into the fiery depths of Mt. Gulg.

Marilith, one of the Four Fiends, is waiting for them far beneath the surface, but first they have lots of exploring to do. And the floor is literally lava. It’s a good job they packed plenty of potions, but you’d think they’d have brought more sensible shoes for such an excursion.

Of course, before they even get to Marilith, they have to face one of their biggest challenges yet: the seemingly endless Big Rooms of Nothing!