Sometimes a game comes along that transports you back to the days of
your youth, experiencing the early days of gaming as they came along.
The CPC never got an official port of Atic Atac back in the Eighties,
which was always quite an annoyance to me because old Arnold could
have handled the game with ease.
Now we have it and it was well worth the wait. From the moment you
press Fire, you'll be transported to the early days of gaming, where
anything goes.
From the loading screen onward, you know you're in for a treat. This is
a full colour, full-speed game that uses the CPC's strengths to
excellent effect. Your character has fluid animation, excellent
colours and incredible responsiveness.
Your task is to collect the three parts of the key of ACG. Who is
ACG? The guy whose haunted mansion you're in. Why are you there? Who
knows - but you'd better find the key parts and get out before all
the monsters eat you, that's for sure.
The game is set over multiple rooms and multiple floors of the
mansion; each of which can contain food to replenish your health;
coloured keys to open locked foors of the same colour; monsters who
will bite your bum if you're not careful; and special monsters who need
special items to kill them. There are a variety of items in the mansion
to help you on your way, but some are simply red herrings so
this is a game that you're going to have to keep meticulous notes
on if you want to win.
There are three characters to choose from: knight, square and
wizard. Each of them can use different secret passages through
the maze-like mansion; which gives a lot of variety to how to
complete the game. It's a nice addition that adds re-playability
to the game, which is always welcome.
You can clearly tell that Atic Atac is a labour of love. The music,
the graphics, the gameplay are all here and enhanced for the CPC,
making this a stand-out classic that absolutely must be played.
Zoe
As a long-time fan of Ultimate's classic game, I have to say I
came into this review with some trepidation. I knew the ZX
Spectrum game well from back in the Eighties; and more
recently from playing it long into the night on my Xbox One.
Could this port really compete with that?
Yes. Absolutely. We all know that the Amstrad CPC can handle a
ZX Speccy port, or at least when it's in the right hands it
can. This isn't a simple RAM dump with some modifications to get
the game working well enough to ship out on cassette, it's an
enhancement. A special edition that retains the feel of the game
while making the most of the new hardware. Get it, play it, love
it.
Colin
I have to be honest, the Ultimate collection of games seemed to
have all passed me by back in the day and, while I know that all
well to look at and know how revered they all are, this was my
first time actually playing one.
Did I enjoy it? Yes! Very much so, and I couldn't help but feel
spoilt by the gorgeous enhancements that the CPC version has
over its C64 and Speccy counterparts. The Mode 1 graphics are
simply stunning and everything moves as smooth as you like.
Gameplay is frantic, thanks to the re-spawning enemies and doors
that constantly open and shut. A tough challenge for any gamer.
Great to see this classic finally finding its home on the CPC.
1st November 2021
