Llmasoft: The Jeff Minter Story Review (Switch)

 

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

Akka Arrh Review (Switch)

Atari has been treating us to some great reworkings and collections based on its back catalogue for its 50^th anniversary celebrations. The latest is this resurrected arcade game which has been revived and then handed over to the legendary Jeff Minter to give it a modern reworking. We love Jeff Minter, we love arcade games and we love the fact this has been given the usual weird Minter twist.

For those not aware of Minters work you are most likely to have come across it on modern platforms with the Tempest franchise. Tempest 4000 is out on various platforms and the recent Atari collection has Tempest 2000 on it as well. Minter always looks to merge surreal visuals, music and addictive gameplay to create games that could only have come from his mind. And so it proves yet again here.

There are certainly elements of Tempest in Akka Arrh. You are blasting shapes and racking up points while surreal visuals and sounds float around in their glory. Unlike Tempest, this is viewed from a top down perspective. You have a turret set up in the middle of any number of different shapes as enemies swarm towards you from all sides. The aim is to drop a bomb which then explodes any enemies that it touches. These enemies then explode as well causing continual chain reactions. The goal is to use as few bombs as possible to clear the level and rack up a huge score.

This is only the beginning though. As well as bombs you can also fire bullets. These are limited but don’t reset your score when fired. Certain enemies can also only be hit with bullets. If an enemy makes it to your turret they will drop down to your core and try to steal your pods which effectively act as your lives. You can dive down there though where a second turret awaits to blast any intruders.

It all starts out very simply but by the time you hit level eight and above the range of enemies to contend with expands to a point your brain will be trying to analyse how to deal with a whole host of different threats all at the same time. And just because you have ten or more pods going into a level doesn’t mean you have any chance of getting out alive without a serious amount of skill and sharp reflexes.

Overall, Akka Arrh is another example of the surreal fun that Minter can bring. It’s not quite as polished as Tempest but this is a remarkable update of the original arcade game and it holds up well on the Switch. It’s undoubtedly weird but there is a consistent logic and pattern recognition. When you get in the zone you’ll fly through a chunk of levels smashing your previous scores and there’s certainly nothing else out there like it.

Overall 8/10

Tempest 4000 Review (Switch)

Jeff Minter has been creating unique games for years now, but his most loved creation was for the commercial failure that was the Atari Jaguar. Tempest 2000 proved so popular that even now people hunt out the Jaguar just to play it. It’s easily one of the best games ever made and Minter revisited the formula later via Space Giraffe in 2007 and then again with TxK in2015. Now we have another version of the game for the Switch and it’s been more than worth the wait (it’s basically TxK for console under a new name due to all sorts of weird legal issues which we won’t get into).

As ever, the game is presented in a smooth vector style with your ship moving around the top of a shape and monsters landing and approaching from the bottom. The aim is to stop them reaching the top by blasting them away. When they reach the top of the shape, they begin to move along it and try and grab you. Quick players can duck underneath the enemies as they rotate or blast them off quickly.

As the game progresses the number of enemy types increase far more than in other Tempest games. You may start with the monsters that simply head up and roll across the top of the screen but there are soon enemies that shoot back at you or electrify parts of the vector shape. Things start getting even more crazy as soon as level 10 with giant exploding balls setting off fireworks effects that both look spectacular and dazzle the player in equal measure.  

To help you along the way are a host of power ups which can dramatically change your style of play. Along with more powerful lasers the most useful are the jump and Ai Drone. The jump allows you to leap away from the rim of the level and over creatures moving along the top. The Ai Drone acts as an assistant and will roll along the rim blasting away at enemies. It can even save you if one of the monsters reaches you and begins to drag you away. Our favourite powerup though is one which effectively turns you into a battering ram for a short period time. This allows you to skim across the top and knock off all the monsters that have made that far.

As well as the increased creature types the levels also do some new things. Some continually rotate around while others bend and split meaning that different routes around the shapes open or close as the level progresses. These levels take the simple Tempest formula and create something more intense. This is where the game really shines, and they act to raise an already excellent game to whole new levels.

There are three different modes available in the game but they more or less boil down to the same thing. The Pure mode has you start from level one and go as far as you can before dying. The Classic mode lets you start from any level you have reached with your score and lives intact. This means if you lose two or three lives on a certain stage you can return to them and try and get through with more lives or a higher score. The final mode is Survival. This is like classic, but no extra lives are given throughout the game. All the modes have online scoreboards, but it can be difficult to see where you rank against your friends due to some strange decisions with how information is displayed.

Tempest 4000 represents a game perfect for the Switch. All the neon and music work in tandem with the fast gameplay to create a game perfect for the Switch screen on the go or when docked. This is a game that gets its hooks into you early and just won’t let you go. It’s a full-on adrenaline ride filled with clever touches and the odd moment of quirky humour and exactly the sort of thing we want for the Switch.

Overall 8/10

TxK Review (Playstation Vita)

WE SUPPORT JEFF MINTER

Jeff Minter has been creating unique games for years now but his most loved creation was for the commercial failure that was the Atari Jaguar. Tempest 2000 proved so popular that even now people hunt out the Jaguar just to play it. It’s easily one of the best games ever made and Minter revisited the formula later via Space Giraffe in 2007. Now we have the third version of the game for the Playstation Vita and it’s been more than worth the wait.

The game is presented in a smooth vector style with your ship moving around the top of a shape and monsters landing and approaching from the bottom. The aim is to stop them reaching the top by blasting them away. When they reach the top of the shape they begin to move along it and try and grab you. Quick players can duck underneath the enemies as they rotate or blast them off quickly.

As the game progresses the amount of enemy types increase far more than in other Tempest games. You may start with the monsters that simply head up and roll across the top of the screen but there are soon enemies that shoot back at you or electrify parts of the vector shape. By level thirty you’ll need super reflexes and skills to survive and things get delightfully chaotic.

To help you along the way are a host of power ups which can dramatically change your style of play. Along with more powerful lasers the most useful are the jump and Ai Drone. The jump allows you to leap away from the rim of the level and over creatures moving along the top. You can shoot when you jump but anything you hit will not increase your score. This means players are faced with the risk/reward scenario of shooting things from a safe distance or upping their score. The Ai Drone acts as an assistant and will roll along the rim blasting away at enemies. It can even save you if one of the monsters reaches you and begins to drag you away.

Another twist to the normal shooter genre is the use of the smart bomb. In contrast to most shooters, using the smart bomb actually doubles the points you receive from destroyed enemies. This allows players to frantically dodge enemies until they fill the screen and then blast them for maximum points. It’s a satisfying action and watching the electro bomb work its way down the shape blasting everything is a great sight.

As well as the increased creature types the levels also do some new things. Some continually rotate around while others bend and split meaning that different routes around the shapes open or close as the level progresses. These levels take the simple Tempest formula and create something more intense. This is where the game really shines and they act to raise an already excellent game to whole new levels.

There are three different modes available in the game but they more or less boil down to the same thing. The Pure mode has you start from level one and go as far as you can before dying. The Classic mode lets you start from any level you have reached with your score and lives intact. This means if you lose two or three lives on a certain stage you can return to them and try and get through with more lives or a higher score. The final mode is Survival. This is like classic but no extra lives are given throughout the game. All the modes have online scoreboards but it can be difficult to see where you rank against your friends due to some strange decisions with how information is displayed.

TxK represents a game perfect for the Playstation Vita. All the neon and music work perfectly with the fast gameplay to create a game perfect for the Vita’s screen and perfect to be played on the go. It’s typical of Minter to take a system and perfectly craft a game around its strengths. This is a game that gets its hooks into you early and just won’t let you go. It’s a full on adrenaline ride filled with clever touches and the odd moment of quirky humour and exactly the sort of thing we want for the Vita.

Overall 9/10