Games I'm really looking forward to covering
Bloodwych
Bloodwych is a game I never played on the original ST and have still yet to find time for on an emulator, but it's one that absolutely fascinates me, in part because I loved Dungeon Master and so more of the same is fine by me (hence loving Legend Of Grimrock in more recent times). That it adds a 2-player mode (alas there's no chance of persuading my wife to join me on this one) and lets you talk to the monsters makes it that little bit more exciting. I can't wait to try it out.
Xenon 2
Quite simply one of the all-time great home computer shooters, a game from developers who made some of my favourite games over the years, the legendary Bitmap Brothers. The music alone makes it revolutionary on the ST, let's hope it delivers.
Stunt Car Racer
Geoff Crammond is a god of racing games. His F1 racing games were what directly led to my current sim-racing addiction that has led to my man-cave containing a wheel, pedals, triple monitors and VR rig. Stunt Car Racer was one of his quirkier titles however, and I want to see Geoff off the leash.
Future Wars
I loved Operation Stealth up until the stupid maze bit, and Cruise For A Corpse was similarly brilliant albeit the plot fell apart at the end. Another World was fantastic though Flashback wasn't my bag. I want to see where it started for Delphine.
Chase HQ
Beverley Hills Cop and Black Tiger
Both, in hindsight, are clearly terrible games, but they appeared in the first ST Format I bought and looked so exciting. I need to find out just how bad they are!
Midwinter 1 and 2
I adored Midwinter 2 but never got to play Midwinter 1. I'd love to know how it changed between those two releases.
Rainbow Islands and Pipemania
I didn't buy issue 9. My first issue was issue 8, and my next was issue 10, so I missed a month with Midwinter 1, Rainbow Islands, Pipemania, and even the really quite odd E-motion.
Dragon's Breath
Breed dragons and send them out into the world to capture villages. The game had amazing graphics and I desperately wanted it as a kid though I suspect the magic system would have eventually driven me up the wall.
Ivanhoe
One of the best-looking side-scrollers on the ST - I can't wait to have a crack at it.
Italia 1990 (Codemasters)
The worst football game ever made. I can't wait to truly describe its awfulness. This in an issue with the legendary Player Manager (Kick Off with a management game strapped to it - I was addicted as a kid), Resolution 101 and Theme Park Mystery. There's a lot in that issue that I want to have a crack at.
F-19 Stealth Fighter
This game was an absolute masterpiece - I played hours and hours of it, racking up so many kills (and being shot down myself pretty frequently too). It allowed me to live out the Top Gun dream in a sleek modern invisible-to-radar jet that may have handled like a brick but was brilliant fun to fly, with difficulty and complexity just the right side of the arcade/sim divide.
Sim City
Quite simply one of the greatest games ever made and one I still return to today.
The Toyottes
As a kid I was desperate to have a go at it - the cute little mice doing their thing in a platform caper that looked enormous fun.
Damocles
Another game I poured hours and hours into. A truly British work of genius from the wonderful Paul Woakes. Honestly, the man was a god of old-school gaming and created a whole solar system that, despite featuring no actual people, felt utterly alive, full of mystery and wonder.
Back To The Future 2, Kick Off 2, Antago and Murder
Issue 14 was strong. Ok so BTTF2 isn't a great game but it's part of something bigger - Back To The Future was a huge part of my childhood, one of the greatest film series of all time. Kick Off 2 was the best football game for so long until Sensi came out, while Antago is an intriguing little puzzler I was desperate to get but could never acquire and Murder looked so exciting, a murder mystery with thousands of different murders to investigate (in all probability a procedurally-generated nightmare of boredom but who knows).
Cadaver, Operation Stealth, Leisure Suit Larry 3, Rick Dangerous 2
Issue 15 was the ST really getting into its stride with the Bitmap Brothers wonderful Cadaver, a game that stands out from their usual work. Delphine brought their brand of point and click with Operation Stealth (a Bond game by any other name - and named as such in some territories). Leisure Suit Larry 3 appealed to the horny little bastard that I was at 10 and Rick Dangerous 2 was one of the best platformers seen on the ST.
Mean Streets and BSS Jane Seymour
Issue 16 brought two wonderfully exciting-looking point-and-click murder mysteries I was desperate to play, but alas never got the chance to.
James Pond, Rock Star Ate My Hamster, Shadow Of The Beast, Turrican
Issue 17 with its 50 reviews saw 3 fantastic platformers (I had James Pond and Shadow Of The Beast - both looked amazing - and played the demo of Turrican to death) and Rock Star which is one of those weird little games that I just need to play.
9 Lives, Golden Axe, Speedball 2, Toyota Celica GT Rally
Only 34 reviews in issue 18 but they were good ones. 9 Lives looked amazing, at the time it seemed almost cartoon quality, a platformer starring a cat. Golden Axe and Speedball 2 I'm sure you're familiar with and Toyota Celica GT Rally from Gremlin (makers of the Lotus games) was brilliant - another game I spent far too long on as a kid.
Prince Of Persia
The first motion-captured platform game and one of those groundbreaking moments where something new and exciting comes along.
Powermonger
For me, the best of the 3 games Bullfrog released for 16 bit computers built on the Populous engine.
Wrath Of The Demon
Readysoft finally realised that the Dragon's Lair/Space Ace no-gameplay approach wasn't going to work and made a Shadow Of The Beast copy with amazing graphics.
Gods
More Bitmap Brother genius, though I think one of their weaker offerings. I played the demo a lot but looking back there are many weaknesses.
Elvira Mistress Of The Dark
Tits.
Killing Cloud
An intriguing 3D game set in a dystopian future.
Moonshine Racers
Because it was such a break from the likes of Outrun in some ways, while completely ripping it off.
Secret Of Monkey Island
The start of a legend. If you don't know it, get off this page.
Lemmings
Another absolute legend. Again, if you don't know it, get off this page.
Supercars 2
The most fun top-down racer with weapons ever made.
Hill Street Blues
Weird cop management game that intrigued me as a kid. I never got to play it.
Crime Does Not Pay
Such an intriguing game, I wanted it so much as a kid but never found the money.
Champion Of The Raj
Such an odd batshit-insane collection of minigames including hunting tigers...
F-15 Strike Eagle
I'd love to know how Microprose advanced the F-19 formula.
Maupiti Island
It looked such an intriguing adventure game.
Mega Lo Mania
Do you want to be on my team?
Lotus 1, 2 and 3
Because I love racing games.
Populous 2
You've seen my review of the first, now see my review of the best.
Mercenary 3
The brilliant sequel to Damocles, it reused a lot of assets and was quite late in arriving and thus never achieved the commercial success required, but it was a fabulous game.
Another World
We all know this one.
Knightmare
The game of the greatest kids TV show ever made. Sidestep to the left.
Microprose F1 GP
The game that set me on the path to sim racing and eventually throwing real race cars around British F1 tracks.
Parasol Stars
One of the great platformers, released late in the ST's life.
Wizkid
One of Sensible Software's weirdest outings.
Sensible Soccer
Finally, a successor to Kick Off 2.
Premier Manager
The less nerdy alternative to Championship Manager from Gremlin. I loved it.
No Second Prize
Super-fast vector 3D racing sim.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Microprose got enormously ambitious with this one, I can't say it worked entirely but it was an intriguing idea for a flight sim.
Chaos Engine
Another Bitmap Brothers classic.
Lemmings 2
A perfect lesson in how adding to a game can make it less good. The original is a classic, the sequel is good but just doesn't quite hit the spot.
Legends Of Valour
The first 3D texture-mapped game on the ST - a source of huge excitement for me at the time.
Zool
Amiga owners were so smug but we finally got it on our platform.
Frontier - Elite 2
Probably the last truly massive release for the Atari ST - in many ways a fitting way to go out.
Goal
Dino Dini created Kick Off, had a bust up with Anco and went to Virgin to make Goal. A fantastic game but sadly it didn't quite usurp Sensible Soccer.