Falksi
Arcane
I've decided to knock a website up for the laugh so I can present this stuff with a bit more flair, include some porn, tunes and shit, and generally fuck about learning how to make a website (only ever done one before years ago, so need a refresh). The missus is planning on going into business for herself in a few years, so I'm essentially re-learning the ropes so I can knock one up for her when she's ready.
But you're right, let's drop some more in there. And boy do we have a game today......
Atomic Runner/Chelnov - Megadrive
Deathtarians. They'll have you. If ever you're gonna name a race of alien beings anything, "Deatharians" is the way to go. There' s no fucking about with that name, you know they're not here to make peace and sip Pims by the beach. They're here to wipe out your planet and piss all over your corpse. A huge 16-bit gaming fan I knew called Robs was big into this game, and used to spunk loads over it. I liked it, I owned it, but my memory of the game is fairly sparse, so it can't have been that could......could it?
Yes, yes it could. This is without doubt a prime example of a game which I've thoroughly enjoyed returning to, and appreciate more as an adult than as a kid. It's just a fantastically formulated game which oozes brilliance from start to finish. It's not without it's flaws, but out of all the games so far this has to be one of the most more-ish which I've played, and I can't get enough of it.
Gameplay-wise the screen constantly scrolls like it would in a standard side-scrolling SHMUP, but instead of being able to direct yourself in an 8-way free-form fashion like you can the spaceships found in the likes of R-Type, Gradius and Thunderforce, you are instead bound to an action-platformer set of moves not too dissimilar to what you would find in games such as Shinobi and Ghouls N Ghosts. It may sound like a step backwards, but it's really not as it allows for some superbly rhythmic gameplay. This unique style really makes it stand out against a lot of other SMHUPS, and when you get into a full free flowing rhythm with it then it becomes an absolute joy to play. Slinging boomerangs around in various directions whilst somersaulting over enemies and bouncing on the heads of a few along the way, all whilst in constant motion, is something which never gets old.
Now the control scheme is a slightly double edged sword, with far more good than bad definitely, but it's not all a bed of vaginas. The inability to control your jump height more accurately can grate, and initially I also missed the ability to shoot vertically and to the lower diagonal areas too. You get used to both, but years of playing games like Contra had it feeling counter intuitive to me to start with, so don't be surprised if it's a bit off-putting when initially playing as you'll need to get the hang of it properly to get though the rather lush stages.
And yes there is some absolutely spunktacular stage and enemy design here, both in terms of how they play and how they look. Vibrant, thematically intriguing backdrops rich in unique flavour layer the game from start to finish, and the mix of cultures they include - from Egyptian, to alien, to Mayan, to space-age etc. - are all fantastic to look at. The arcade original was cool, but how they've embellished it for the Megadrive here is simply stunning. Although that said sometimes they are so impressive, and a little bit gaudy, that occasionally it's easy to lose enemy fire amongst the richness of the backdrops. But that is a fairly rare occurrence. And impressive visuals mean little if the levels themselves played crap, but there's a real purposeful layout for each stage and you can tell that the devs really put their heart & nackers into this.
And what Atomic Runner also does very well is manage to find a brilliant balance between prompting your reactions and requiring memorization for success. You can get by and have a blast just playing "on-twitch", but you certainly won't complete the game unless you get some of the patterns down either. The way they've blended both aspects together is great.
There's also some fun weapons with some nice variety, and they get the power-up balance spot on in this game too. The standard weapon still packs enough punch to ensure minor enemies can be dealt with easily enough, but there's plenty of power ups thrown at you for the bigger ones. One curious feature, is that if you die a handful of times in the same spot, the game drops a super-power up which powers you up fully straight away to help assist you progress. That may sound overkill, but because you die from one hit it's a good thing as it keeps the game about thriving & buzzing, as opposed to survival and playing your way through it attritionally having to recover all the time. It helps beginners stay in the game, whilst taking the piss out of people who think they are experts too. Well placed checkpoints help in that respect as well and also mean that you keep your buzz going for longer even after dying.
And I haven't even mention the music & FX. Yep, again they're fucking brilliant. They've mixed space-alien vibes superbly with all the themes that run throughout the game, and whilst none of the tunes are gonna find their way on to your Walkman like say a Catslevania tunes would, they are perfect for the game itself and another element which makes the whole experience so rich.
When Atomic Runner gets annoying is when you play the sections which are not only tough but fairly tightly scripted too. There's not many of them, but a few small bits have to be played pretty perfectly to progress, and can get a bit tedious repeating the same section over and over to try and make that one, almost perfect run, required to succeed. The sections where there's more freedom to maneuver, and thus more choice in how you approach said part, are definitely more fun. It's a game where, when I came to a sticking point, I'd sometimes be stuck there for a LONG time, and the brick walls felt like big brick walls. But like most of these brick walls they become easy with enough plays, and because of the "drop-on" checkpoints which respawn you very close to where you died, I still couldn't put it down and was still having fun even when hitting them. And, as I mention earlier, it can be a bit tricky to actually get into because of the control system and initially limp feel to it, so bare that in mind when first playing.
Atomic Runner is not only a very unique and well crafted game, but it's also drips with quality and is addictive as hell. I really can't believe how much I enjoyed going back to it, and I still can't get enough of it as I try miserably to 1cc the hard difficulty level. It's fucking belting.
Arcade Version
Now the arcade version is still great, as it's essentially the Megadrive version with much worse graphics. There are a few other slight differences such as in the range of the weapons, but nothing really major apart from one thing, and that's slowdown. It's not common, it doesn't stick around for long, but it was so weird playing an arcade game which looked worse AND slowed down more than it's console counter-part. They also shrunk Chelnov a tiny bit on the Megadrive to give you a bit more screen space, and that is noticeably better on the console too.
But the arcade version still contains all the fundamentals which make the game such a good blast and, despite being the inferior version overall, is still worth playing as the thematic changes give the game a different spin and are worth seeing in themselves.
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