Last Changed 9 Apr 1997
My first computer was an Atari 800 with 32K. From this I upgraded to a
130XE, selling the 800. The main reason behind this decision was
Gauntlet, which would not run on the 800. It was, however, a decision I
later regretted and have never been able to find another 800!
Astrochase
This game is one of the reasons why I was sad to lose my old Atari 800;
it does not work well on the XE. The game plot is that you have to
defend to Earth from an alien invasion. This comes in the form of
Megamines, which head from the outside of the playfield, to the center.
The mines are defended by various alien ships of varying properties (e.g.
Whether they shoot, or can pass through obstacles). At the edges of the
playfield are energy supplies and power-up points which make you
temporarily invincible. The drawback is that if you are at the edge, who
is defending Earth?
The general concept of the game is good, with the frantic gameplay
making sure you come back for more. Although this would be sufficient
for lasting play, there is an added incentive. Every few missions you
return to Earth (see screenshot). At first you are alone, then a few fans,
then a Rolls-Royce, then... There is always the burning question "who
will support me next?" If you know what comes after the dogs, let me know.
Eastern Front 
Eastern Front was probably my second favourite, after the superb
Gateway to Apshai. It was a war game, set in 1941. You played the
Germans, the computer the Russians, and it always won! For all its
complexity the game was easy to play, as Chris Crawford (the author)
believed that human engineering was paramount. In fact he even omitted
some features to ensure ease of use.
One of the feats it accomplished was using idle time to calculate its
moves. Thus the player and computer used the same thinking time. If
you moved fast, then it had to as well, but the computer never seemed
to suffer as much as I did.
The game incorporated many factors such as terrain, weather, morale,
different unit strengths and nationalities. Good tactics were essential
(perhaps that is why I never did particularly well). This is definitly one
worth trying if you do not already know it. It may seem to take a while
to get going, but playing a full game is the only way to enjoy it.
Firefleet
Firefleet, by English Software, is probably the best vertically scrolling
shoot-'em-up for the Atari 8-bit computer. It is colourful, action
packed and requires a great deal of dexterity. The major drawback is
the difficulty. From the start it is tough, from there it just becomes
harder and harder. This can make it seem too much effort, but give the
game time and you shall reap rewards.
As with many games of this era, there are no power-ups. Instead the
game maintains interest by ensuring that the caverns are you enemy. In
fact, there are no enemy ships at all! There are cannons which fire
horizontally, but these are often protected. There are also force-fields
which blink on and off. These require careful timing to pass. Unlike
Caverns of Mars, the manoeuvrability of the ship is perhaps the
greatest hazard. It is all to easy to glide into a wall as you navigate a
tight bend.
Gateway to Apshai
This is one of my favourite games for the 8-bit. It is a combination of
action and RPG. There are 8 levels, with 16 dungeons on each levels,
although you can only visit one dungeon per level. The levels are timed
so you have to be quick! Treasure is the measure of experience, with
certain items on each level you much get in order to advance in stature.
The first levels are easy, but there is a shift at level 6, where things
start getting very tough indeed. This game has it all, monsters, magic
and weapons. Its only drawback it the poor design of the cart, which
often slipped on the XE at the worst moment, crashing the machine. In
addition, the START, OPTION and SELECT buttons are used in the game.
This is fine on the 800, where they are big and chunky, but on the XE it
is too easy to hit RESET!!!
Hints
1. Start with Dungeon 1 as this gives you a short sword immediately.
Thereafter choose whichever you want.
2. When there is only a single wall, your sword can pass through it if
you position yourself carefully. Thus you can attack the monsters, but
they can't attack you.
3. On level three you often find Agility Amulets, Luck Charms and
Strength Stones. Use these to increase your characteristics up 9. They
won't work beyond, but keep a supply just in case. Weakness or Cursed
traps can reduce your strength or luck to 1, unless you use a Strength
Stone / Luck Charm immediately you could end up with fewer hit points
on the next level! So keep a supply.
4. There is little point in using Locate Trap on many of the levels, but
on level 3 it is essential, due to the profusion of Teleport Traps.
Similarly level three is a good time to use a map, as this will reveal
the location of Amulets, Charms and Stones. They are less common on
subsequent levels, so stock up now.
5. Keep paralyse and stun spells for use on higher levels. Try to use
them for mamba snakes and goblins. These aren't too hard to kill but are
so fast that unless stunned / paralyses are imposible to hit!
Jet Boot Jack
Jet Boot Jack, lacked the intesive gameplay of Gateway, but more than
made up for it with colourful graphics and an easy style which makes it
far more fun to play for laugh. On the higher levels it became far more
challenging, with more monsters to dodge, but fewer energy pods to
collect.
Joust
Joust was a duelling game, but with nothing so boring as knights on
horses. In Joust the duelists are mounted on flying ostriches! The
object is to collide with an opponent, when you are higher than them.
There are three colours of opponents; red (easy), grey and blue (hard).
As you progress through wave upon wave of opponents, the various
platforms disappear, subtly changing the tactics needed to suceed.
Flying to close to the lava at the bottom of the screen at later levels
could even cause the Lava Troll to reach out and grab you as a snack!
Waiting too long to dispatch your foes would result in the appearance of
a fearsome Pterodactyl which was hard to kill.
To add to Joust's already superior gameplay was the two player option.
A twist was added in that along with standard waves where each
person just did there own thing were Gladiator Waves, where the first
person to kill the other player scored 3000points. Similarly there were
friendly waves where, if both players survived both would receive the
bonus points. This meant that sometimes you were dear allies,
sometimes fierce foes. This is definitely a classic.
Hints
1. Fly just above the top generator. Then by dropping you can kill the
enemy as they emerge. Alternatively just sit on it, forcing them to use
the lower generators. You still have the height advantage, but there will
be more to hunt.
2. To build up points when you need an extra life, kill most of the birds,
but leave an egg or two. Hover over this, then drop slightly. You will kill
the new bird, and leave an extra egg. If you try this too many times, the
pterodactyl might appear. In this case get the egg and then take your
time to kill it. It is far easier when there are no birds to distract you,
and the 1000points are worth it.
3. Learn to cruise by just tapping the fire button occasionally. Never
use autofire!!!
Jungle Hunt
Jungle Hunt was one of the later games.it went for variety rather than
depth of play. The first part involved jumping from one swinging vine to
another. This was comparatively straightforwards until the later levels
when monkeys would also be climbing the vines. Should you touch one
you would fall off.
The second phase was swimming through crocodile infested waters.
Avoiding the crocodiles was easy, except you could only hold your
breath for a short time. To confound things further there were patches
of mud which rose from the river bottom. If one of these caught you,
you were imprisoned until it hit the surface, but a crocodile would
probably take care of you first.
The third phase involved jumping under and over large and small
boulders whilst running up a hill. In my view this was the hardest
section of all.
The fourth and final phase was rescuing your lady love from above a
cauldron. To do this you had to jump over two cannibals and jump to
your girlfriend, whilst avoiding the spears and the boiling water.
All in all an entertaining game with a lot of variety packed into just
16k
Pole Position
Pole Position certainly has a position in gaming history, as the first
true computerised 1st person perspective racing game. Many, many have
followed since, but as ever the polish seems to reduce the gameplay
somewhat. The graphics of the original were blocky, but friendly. The
impression of speed was well implemented on what we would now
consider to be slow machines.
Hints
1. Change from lo- to hi- gear at around 80mph.
2. Move by gently tapping the joystick left or right, rather than pushing.
This prevents over-stearing.
3. Don't be afraid to use the break, it is better than crashing.
4. Before the sharpest bend, there is a green sign-post on the left, be
prepared to go over the grass near this one.
Zaxxon
Zaxxon is an excellent arcade shoot-'em-up. In it you pilot a ship
through Space Fortresses to find and destroy the Zaxxon robot. The
fortresses have force-fields and walls which must be avoided, as well
as gun turrets and missile silos. The most hazardous part is definitely
locating the narrow gap between the walls and force-fields, especially
as this gap narrows at later levels.
Zaxxon was available in two formats. In 16k (tape) version the silos did
not fire missiles, and the combat in space was straight forwards. The
enemy ships flew towards you, and you had to shoot them down. In the
32k version the silos fired missiles and the enemy shps took evasive
action in space.
Hints
1. Try to shoot as many of the planes in the space fortress. Even though
these are parked, they still come off the total Enemy Plane (EP) count.
This leaves fewer to deal with in space.
2. Use your shots to determine your height when trying to navigate
between force-fields and walls. Move from the top down. Once your
shots pass unhindered, tap the joystick once more (gently) and you
should pass through with ease.
I have written a range of simple utilities for the Atari 8-bit computers.
These are available to download in the form of an enhanced density disc
image. This disc image contains a number of files including:
REDEF.PRG - A Character Redefinition Utility for GR.0.
DISPLAY.PRG - A Character Redefinition Utility for Antic Mode 4.
UTIL - A Machine Code Utility for redefining characters and using
Player/Missile Graphics
DLIST.PRG - A utility for creating custom Display Lists.
DISBAS.PRG - A BASIC Disassembler with many features.
DISASSEM.PRG - A Machine Code Disassembler, more primative than
DISBAS.PRG
TAPE.PRG - A utility for organising your video tapes.
Games
Archer II is a simple game I wrote in BASIC. This disc contains the
files needed to run it. I make it available more as an example of
programming (with poor structure) than as pure entertainment.
If you have any queries feel free to contact me at marcusphillips
@geocities.com.
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