When Digital Eclipse first announced its plan to release interactive
documentaries it seemed like an interesting prospect. The first release in the
series looked at Karateka and one of the main issues we had was the lack of
games included. We are glad to see that isn’t the case this time around and we
can’t think of a better company to look at for this kind of release.
Jeff Minter already has a presence on the Switch due to
Atari’s recent strategy of utilising its back catalogue to release new games.
Tempest 4000 and Akka Arrh are both examples of Minters work, and we’d recommend
both if you get with the psychedelic style on display here.
The documentary elements of this are exhaustive. Spanning from
1981 to 1994, there are numerous videos, spec documents, pictures, concept art
and inputs from Minter himself. It’s all arranged into four separate timelines
and easy to move through. The interviews with Minter are a particular highlight
with him always coming across with great insight and in an entertaining way.
All these elements combined will give you an excellent
understanding of how everything came together through this period. The few games
not playable on the collection through these periods are also lightly touched
upon but it would have been nice to have a bit more about some of them even if
they aren’t available to play.
There are a lot of games here though, and they cross many
classic systems from Atari 8-bit, C64, Vic-20 to the Atari St and Atari Jaguar.
Multiple versions of each game are also present so in terms of what is here its
exhaustive. A lot of the games are also great. If you are into retro games and if
you’ve not played Grid Runner or Attack of the Mutant Camels, then you are in
for a treat. It’s nice to have some of the games that weren’t as well received
as well so you can get a full overview if Minter’s back catalogue. Just get
ready for a lot of weirdness and Llamas.
There’s a visually enhanced exclusive version of Gridrunner included as well which is based on the C64 version
of the game. This will be one of the main reasons for fans to pick up the
collection and plays as crazily as the original. This coupled with the fact Tempest
2000 is here gives you more than enough to play even if you can’t get on with
some of the earlier games.
Tempest 2000 itself brings up a slight issue though. People who
are likely to buy this will no doubt also be interested in the Atari 50
collection. Tempest 2000 is also on that and this potentially takes away one of
the main reason to get this. Having the Gridrunner upgrade here along with some
of Jeff’s over classics is awesome, but we felt it could have done with at
least one more big exclusive. Something super obscure like Tempest 3000 would
have made this utterly essential, no matter how difficult it may have been to
get working properly.
It's difficult with collections like this not to look to
omissions even when there is such a sizable chunk of Minters back catalogue
here to play. The biggest omission is of course the fact that the documentary
stops at 1994. This means all of Minters later games aren’t included which is a
real shame. Adding a Space Giraffe or later releases of Grid Runner would have
really rounded the collection off perfectly. There’s also a lack of certain
licensed games such as Defender 2000 on the Jaguar. But there is a lot of stuff
here, so we are being picky.
Overall, This collection does an excellent job of getting
across the work of Minter and it’s a joy to dive into and explore. Omissions
aside, you’ve got one of the best games ever in Tempest 2000, and a great
upgrade to Gridrunner backed with some excellent retro classics. The archive
materials are flawless, and we can’t think of anyone more worthy than Minter to
have been given this sort of treatment. Essential for retro gaming fans, but it
still could have been even more.
Overall 8/10
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