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Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Gilbert – Escape from Drill

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The ’90s were an era of “attitude”, not just in video games, but in popular culture at large — and especially in children’s TV.

One largely forgotten attempt at an edgy mascot was Gilbert, the snot-encrusted alien who first appeared as part of the Saturday morning show Get Fresh, and subsequently found success in his own right.

Naturally, he also had his own video game that allowed you to take control of the dribbling snot monster himself as he attempted to track down the parts of his spaceship that his jealous countrymen had hidden from him. Clearly, the only solution is to play lots of arcade games!

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Shu on Wu – Warriors Orochi #38

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In this week’s Warriors Orochi mission, the various narratives cross paths as the Shu forces take on the Wu warriors who have been brought to heel by Orochi.

This conflict, which unfolded off-screen during the Wu campaign, sees the Shu people continuing their quest to track down the missing Liu Bei… only to find a bit of a surprise waiting for them at the conclusion of their mission.

It seems Zhao Yun is not to be reunited with his precious lord just yet… but there’s certainly never a dull moment in the lives of these brave fighters.

Videos

Atari A to Z: Laser Hawk

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Horizontally scrolling shooters are perhaps most commonly associated with the 16-bit Japanese consoles, but there were some great ones on offer on earlier home computers.

One such example was Laser Hawk from Red Rat Software, developed by Kiwi programmer Andrew Bradfield with graphics by Harvey Kong Tin. This was an enjoyable, speedy, helicopter-based horizontal scroller with a cheeky line in fanboy-baiting — the structures you had to destroy at the end of each level all bore an uncanny resemblance to rival, non-Atari computer manufacturers’ logos!

It’s a game that I greatly enjoyed revisiting, and was very pleasantly surprised to discover still plays rather well today. Give it a shot!

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

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Closing Out Year 2 – Atelier Rorona DX #14

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It’s time to wrap up the second year of Rorona’s adventures with the final preparations for the next Annual Festival!

Of course, New Game Plus Rorona got all the boring stuff done absolutely ages ago, vastly ahead of schedule as usual, so instead we take some time to continue exploring the Dark Woods and see what we can find.

There are plenty of mysteries still surrounding our current party members Tantris and Lionela, too… so perhaps we’ll get a little closer to some answers today!

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: F-15 Strike Eagle II

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When I was a kid, I really, REALLY got into military flight sims, particularly those from MicroProse.

One of my favourites was F-15 Strike Eagle II, a particularly accessible take on the 16-bit era jet fighter sim, and a game that I used to like to dress up to play. I’d wear a green bomber jacket, a backpack (to simulate both a parachute and a seat belt), a balaclava (to simulate a helmet, in the absence of anything like a cycle helmet or the like), sunglasses (goggles) and an “oxygen mask” crafted from a bit of paper, some duct tape and an old vacuum cleaner’s hose.

My parents and brother referred to it as “The Elephant”. I thought it was badass. Whether or not it actually enhanced my enjoyment of F-15 Strike Eagle II is probably debatable, but I do know that I still enjoy this game today!

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Ganbare So Ganbare – Warriors Orochi #37

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The Shu campaign in Warriors Orochi continues today with another side mission, this time featuring everyone’s favourite thief, Goemon.

Goemon has been doing what he does best: nicking stuff. So it’s up to the crack all-girl team of Zhurong, Yueying and Ginchiyo Tachibana to save the day… or at least all the stolen stuff, anyway.

And perhaps we can even recruit Goemon to our cause if we try hard enough… but you know what they say about setting a thief to catch a thief — I feel like our band of lovely ladies might be just a little too honest for their own good under these circumstances!

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Deep Water and Dark Forests – Atelier Rorona DX #13

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It’s time to check in on Rorona again! This time around, she has her hands not-so-full with preparing for the second Annual Festival of the game.

As always, the head start that the New Game Plus bonuses afforded us means we can get the assignment out of the way very quickly, which leaves plenty of time for a bit of exploration.

For today’s episode, we check out the underwater Lost City as well as the Dark Woods. And my cat “helps”.

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters

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Whew, now there’s a mouthful, eh? As you may have guessed from the title, this one- or two-player arcade romp — originally developed by Atari Games — channels the very best of 1950s B-movies into a fun and satisfying isometric blaster.

Sadly, the home ports lack the arcade version’s “Hall Effect” joystick, which allowed movement and aiming in sixteen directions instead of the usual eight — a precursor to our modern analogue sticks — but the ST version seen here still plays well with a nice joystick!

Just remember to turn off Sticky Keys in Windows if you’re emulating to, say, record a video… you need that Shift key quite a bit in this game! Oh well, you live and learn, huh…?

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Junglist Massive – Warriors Orochi #36

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In today’s Warriors Orochi mission, the Shu gang hit the jungle and encounter the formidable Meng Huo and his even scarier wife Zhu Rong.

Renowned strategist Sima Yi has been causing trouble for the barbarians, it seems, so Zhao Yun and company take the opportunity to forge a new alliance and demonstrate their own fighting potential.

Meng Huo isn’t so easily convinced, but thankfully his wife has a sensible head atop those broad, powerful shoulders…

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Lunar Lander

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I was extremely intimidated by Lunar Lander as a kid. Revisiting it today, I see that it’s not really anything to be scared by… but it still puts up a pretty stiff challenge, particularly on its harder levels!

Providing one of the earliest examples of a completely non-violent arcade game — and one with significant simulation-esque elements, at that — Lunar Lander is a game that would go on to influence a wide variety of other computer, console and arcade games. Primarily through that “turn and thrust” mechanic I tend to have such difficulty with!

Oh well. Let’s see if we can touch down safely at least once in my lifetime…

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