4th November 2010
Want to know about the latest 8-bit entertainment software? Read on and all shall be revealed...
Retro Mart: Impossible Mission?
With all of the quality software released for the Oric-1 at Atmos recently, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the quirky-but-futuristic looking 8-bits were multi-million selling computers during the 1980s. Thankfully; it's not sales and popularity driving the recent spate of games, but a small group of talented coders and games developers from the Defence Force group.
The latest production is a remake of the Commodore 64 classic Impossible Mission, released in 1984 by Epyx Software. It has the same title as the original and is currently available for Atmos machines only, though this may change in the near future. Jonathan Bristow (the man behind the Oric conversions of Pulsoids and Storm Lord) developed this version, and there are some notable differences, as this (like Storm Lord) isn't a perfect port.
To remind you of the plot, the malevolent and mad professor Elvin Atombender is seeking world domination again, and it's down to you to infiltrate his well-protected secret hideout and search for the pieces of a punch-card. This will allow you to access his central control room and will put a stop to his evil quest. But, as always, it's a little more complicated than that, because each of the rooms in the prof's vast, under-ground complex is guarded by armed robots, which must be avoided at all costs.
Everything you require is available from https://defence-force.org/, where you'll find all the releases from the five-star Oric group released this year.
Return Of The Cadet
Paul Jenkinson has released the follow-up to his popular Sinclair ZX Spectrum 2D platform game Kyd Cadet with the imaginatively named Kyd Cadet II. It sees our hero, Kyd, escape from the abandoned mining planet in his last mission only to pursue his original task of rescuing the important intergalactic dignitary Pobbleflu.
In his quest for help with this most important of jobs, Kyd has only limited intelligence and information as to the whereabouts of the eminent Pobbleflu, so it's up to you to guide him through the game's locations to find the kidnapped being. Security on the planet is extremely tight, and all entrances and exits have been sealed, so there are keys to find first as you guide our hero to success. The emulator image, along with instructions and a handy map (should you need it) is archived on the World of Spectrum (www.worldofspectrum.org) archive at tinyurl.com/KydCadet2. While you're there, take time to enjoy the website, particularly its friendly forums and handy list of available tools and emulators.
Robitic Shooter
Atari XE/XL users have a new horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up to play, thanks to the work of Zdenek Eisenhammer and Radek Sterba. This sees you in control of a rather nifty robot called Robix whose task it is to exterminate and/or avoid swarms of nasty flies and other airborne insects across an increasingly challenging terrain. In fact, this game is a cooperative release and may be played by two people.
With crisp, though minimalist, and fast-moving graphics, this is a fun, interesting and solid, though hardly original, game, easily worth at least fifteen minutes of your time.
It may be downloaded from atari.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=173, where you'll also find a lot of other entertainment titles listed.
Right, that's it for another week. While I'm busy reading my primer on 6502 programming, I'll be back with more in seven days. If you'd like to comment on anything that has appeared in this column over the past months, or you have something to say about retro computing or gaming, then please e-mail me at shaun@micromart.co.uk.
