Steve Crow‘s classic ZX Spectrum game, Starquake, was converted to the Atari 8-bit by Nick Strange for publisher Bubble Bus Software in 1985.
Category Archives: Atari 8-bit
Ace of Aces, Atari 8-bit
Ace of Aces is a WWII-based air combat action game developed by Canada-based Artech Digital Entertainment and published by US Gold in the UK and Accolade in the USA. It first came out on the Commodore 64 in 1986 and was later released for other systems, including for the Atari 8-bit machines in 1987. The Atari version was developed by another Canadian company called Distinctive Software.
Gauntlet, Atari 8-Bit
Developed by Gremlin Graphics and published by US Gold in 1987, this Atari 8-bit conversion of the classic Gauntlet arcade game plays okay and doesn’t look too bad, even if it does lack colour and seems a little sluggish.
The Great American Cross Country Road Race, Atari 8-bit
This simple but playable road racing game was written by Alex DeMeo for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and was first published by Activision in 1985.
Continue reading The Great American Cross Country Road Race, Atari 8-bit
Panther, Atari 8-bit
This Mastertronic Atari 8-bit budget release from 1987 feels like a budget game – and I don’t mean that as a compliment. It feels like an unfinished, un-polished game.
Panther is an isometric shoot ’em up in the style of Zaxxon, but with very little going on in the game itself.
Zybex, Atari 8-bit
Zybex is a 1988 shoot ’em up from British developer/publisher Zeppelin Games. It’s a horizontally-scrolling progressive weapons blaster with a main character that looks a bit like the jetpack guy from Dropzone.
Pentagram, Atari 8-Bit
Created by Jose Pereira, Miker, and Mariuszw in 2016, this Atari -8-bit homebrew conversion of Ultimate‘s Pentagram is not a bad effort overall. It seems to run slightly faster than the ZX Spectrum original, although it’s probably fair to say that it also inherits its shortcomings.
Gunfright, Atari 8-Bit
One of the better Atari 8-bit homebrew Ultimate conversions, Gunfright was ported by Mariusz, Jose Pereira, Emkay and Saul Cross in 2017. It plays pretty much the same as the ZX Spectrum original and looks similar to the Commodore 64 homebrew release of 2017. In fact there may be a connection between them since one of the people who worked on the C64 port also worked on this.
Knight Lore, Atari 8-Bit
This conversion of the classic Knight Lore was ported to the 8-bit Atari by Krzysztof Dudek, Mario Krix, and Michal Radecki in 2008. And it’s another somewhat disappointing conversion, to be honest.
What I find frustrating about these homebrew conversions is how the programmers sometimes decide to change things to the detriment to the game, and don’t seem to realise that their choices are bad…
Lunar Jetman, Atari 8-Bit
An Atari 8-bit homebrew conversion of Ultimate‘s classic Spectrum shooter, Lunar Jetman, made by Fandal and Irgendwer in 2014, that is even more frustrating to play than the original…
The King of Grabs 