Tag Archives: Atari A to Z

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Atari A to Z: Warhawk

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The shoot ’em up is a genre of gaming with a long and proud history. While the best shoot ’em ups tend to be associated with arcades and consoles, home computers played host to some right crackers too.

One such example is Firebird’s Warhawk, a vertically scrolling shooter with big, chunky sprites and smooth, slick gameplay. It’s an immensely satisfying but challenging shooter — and one that still holds up really well today.

Plus the Rob Hubbard soundtrack on the title screen is absolutely iconic… but hang on, doesn’t it sound a bit familiar…?

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

Videos

Atari A to Z: Viro-Mania

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One fun thing about type-in listings from back in the 8-bit home computer era is that they often provided free versions of classic games for you to enjoy on your system of choice.

Okay, they “cost” time and effort to actually type the damn things in… but when you were done you had a freely redistributable program that you could share with your friends and enjoy whenever you saw fit.

This week’s Atari 8-bit game is an example of a Turbo BASIC XL type-in game from ZONG Magazine — and it’s a pretty shameless clone of a Nintendo classic puzzler.

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

Videos

Atari A to Z: The Upper Reaches of Apshai

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Today we delve once again into the Temple of Apshai Trilogy as we attempt to unravel the mystery of what on Earth is going on in the innkeeper’s back garden.

Yes, it’s time for The Upper Reaches of Apshai, the second part of the trilogy and a title that was originally released as an expansion pack for the first version of Temple of Apshai. Sporting a rather more light-hearted feel — mostly thanks to the excellent, witty writing in the companion Book of Apshai, intended to be carried alongside you as you play — The Upper Reaches of Apshai makes use of familiar mechanics to tell a distinctly unfamiliar emergent narrative.

There’s still a hell of a lot to like about this game, it seems — and it says something that I’ve been continuing my adventures off-camera ever since I started playing!

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

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Mission Elevator

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Mission Elevator for Atari ST is a game I rather fondly remember; it was, I’m pretty sure, one of the first games I played on that system.

Somewhat criticised on its original release for its superficial resemblance to Taito’s Elevator Action, Mission Elevator is actually a rather interesting arcade adventure that casts you in the role of Agent Trevor (yes, really) as he attempts to dispose of a bomb that is hidden somewhere in a rather tall hotel with an incredibly inconvenient network of elevators.

The game distinguishes itself from Taito’s classic with its strong degree of interactivity and variety of amusing little touches — and still plays pretty well today. Don’t go in expecting an easy mission, though; those enemy agents mean business!

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

Videos

Atari A to Z: Scooter

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We tend to think of the idea of established, recognisable “star developers” in gaming as something of a recent thing, but back in the ’80s there were a bunch of programmers who became pretty well-known, for better or worse!

One such developer was Frank Cohen, a prolific game maker who was quite noteworthy for the fact that his games had a certain amount of “consistency” to them. This was partly due to his fondness for reusing assets such as sprites, but they also had quite a distinctive “feel” to them.

One of Cohen’s more enjoyable games for me personally was Scooter,  a game that initially appears to be little more than an oblique perspective take on Pac-Man, but which gradually reveals itself to have a variety of interesting things going on.

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

Videos

Atari A to Z: Rally Speedway

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Today’s game is a well-regarded top-down racer from back in the day: it’s John Anderson’s Rally Speedway.

Rally Speedway became well-known for its high-speed, smooth scrolling gameplay — and perhaps more significantly, for its strong amount of customisation. Not only could you tweak the game’s performance and difficulty to your liking, you could even make your own tracks for you and your friends to take on.

How well does it hold up next to more modern attempts to do something similar, though? Let’s find out!

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

Videos

Atari A to Z: Q*Bert

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What does Q*Bert say when he loses a life? That’s a question that’s plagued gamers for many years now… and part of the fun is that everyone’s answer will probably be a little different.

Q*Bert originated in the arcades, but it had a number of ports to 8-bit computer platforms — some better than others. The Atari 8-bit version by Parker Brothers actually ended up being pretty true to the arcade original — albeit lacking a couple of features to squeeze the experience into the limited space a ROM cartridge provided.

It may take a bit of getting used to if you’re not used to isometric controls, but once you get that part nailed there are many hours of addictive fun to be had with Q*Bert and his friends.

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

Announcements, Community

Around the Network

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Christmas is once again creeping up on us, but thankfully thanks to the magic of online shopping, I’m already done with buying presents.

That, of course, means plenty of time for enjoying a variety of wonderful games, and celebrating many of the delightful experiences I’ve had over the last year. That is the thinking behind The MoeGamer 2019 Awards, the third year in which I’ve thought up a variety of “alternative awards” (in collaboration with the community) to celebrate the things I’ve played and/or covered in the last year.

And, because I wanted to both play it and write about it, we’re interspersing the awards with a look at Pokémon Sword and Shield. Lots to be getting on with, so let’s check out what you might have missed this week.

Continue reading Around the Network →

MoeGamer Awards 2019

The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The Atari Anime Award

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The MoeGamer Awards are a series of “alternative” awards I’ve devised in collaboration with the community to celebrate the sorts of things that never get celebrated in end-of-year roundups! Find out more here — and feel free to leave a suggestion on that post if you have any good ideas!

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This year’s first award is exactly the sort of peculiar thing I was after, courtesy of regular and longstanding reader Viscera/@Zwifu.

Viscera wants to know the Atari game I want to be remade with cute anime girls the most. Preferably something that has been covered in one of my Atari A to Z videos.

That’s a hell of a category to start with! I’m going to have to think hard about this one…

And the winner is…

Continue reading The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The Atari Anime Award →

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Black Jack

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I’ve never been especially good at gambling. Largely because I don’t do it a lot.

Experimenting with simulated gambling doesn’t fill me with a ton of confidence, you see, because games like this are an excellent way to see that, inevitably, if you keep going you’ll end up with nothing more often than not.

Here’s Black Jack, a launch title for the Atari 2600, and a game which Video Magazine gave a perfect 10 out of 10 rating in 1979.

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