StickHead's Top Ten Atari ST Games #8: Oids

[AIRWLOF]

cool vid mate can do st coll vid..

[thejoyofsticks]

Ha ha! I was always disappointed by the phantom friction that slows the ship in Asteroids. I once read that it was added because the average Joe Schmoe struggled with the Newtonian physics in Computer Space. What do you know? Dumbing down started very early didn't it?

Whoops! It is definitely number 8. The story so far:

10 - Sensible Soccer

9 - Populous

8 - Oids

Thanks for pointing that out!

[JimPlaysGames]

Ooh Newtonian. This looks really cool. Reminds me of Gravity Force.

By the way, you seem to have labelled this as number 7 in the title and you said 8 in the video, I think.

[EgoShredder]

Very interesting video and a true classic ST game. Also someone is bound to ask what jaxi means, and it is a slang term for arse (UK), bottom or ass if you are American. I just Googled and found that jacksy is thought to be the original term; the fourth link down in the Google search was interesting.

[thejoyofsticks]

@EgoShredder Thanks for translating, Shredder! Maybe this could be a running theme, where you help non UK watchers to understand what it is I'm saying? I appreciate that my meaning is important enough to you to Google my slang. Cheers, buddy! :D

[pcvideogamer]

It's a remake of the arcade game Gravitar :) looks like it anyway

[thejoyofsticks]

@pcvideogamer I think I mention that in the video. Gravitar was seriously cool. I would have fell in love with it instantly if I'd have seen a cab as a kid.

[pcvideogamer]

@thejoyofsticks yes you did a minute later in the video :) I've played it, enjoyed the logo-zoom and vectors at the time.

[thejoyofsticks]

@pcvideogamer Yes, I was impressed by the title screen. The dot of the 'I' bounces! And you can see the reflection of it in the other letters! *swoon*.

[Gnomeslair]

A truly excellent game. EXCELLENT actually.

[thejoyofsticks]

@Gnomeslair Yes, the capitals ARE necessary. ;)

[bluetonic78]

It's like Asteroids meeting Lemmings whilst having a chinwag with Choplifter!

Brilliant choice and one that I wouldn't immediately have thought would be in a 'Top 10' but you clearly had your thinking cap on when compiling this list!

Doesn't the game come with a level editor too? Not sure of the extent of creativity you are given but either way it sounds promising. Looks like i'll have to set aside a few pennies for this one :)

[thejoyofsticks]

@bluetonic78 Asteroids + Lemmings + anything sounds like a game I want to play! I've never played Choplifter, though I've done some research and apparently it was an Apple II game before it was a coin-op which was then ported to home machines! There can't be many games sharing that development route!

The level editor is all you will need. In fact, it is possible to make all the actual levels in the game with it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was the tool that FTL used to design the levels.

[electricadventures]

A game that could potentially soak up a lot of time, thanks for the demo. Will have to look out for that one.

[thejoyofsticks]

@electricadventures Some of the later planetoids take an age to complete thanks to their difficulty, but still a blast even when it's kicking your arse!

[THOMASSU63]

I love this also. There is a port for Mac OSX if someone is interested. Just Google it.

[MoreDakka101]

nice. Kinda reminds me of a space version of choplifter. I like it!

[thejoyofsticks]

@MoreDakka101 A few people have mentioned Choplifter. I've never played it, so will have to have a go.

[MoreDakka101]

@thejoyofsticks really??? I thought choplifter was a classic. Don't know if it was available for the ST but if you can track it down for any system, I'd give it a go. Good fun in my books

[thejoyofsticks]

@MoreDakka101 I don't think there is an ST version, sadly. Which version would you recommend?

[SteveBenway]

Looks like a cross between Thrust and Choplifter. How cool.

When I get round to doing some ST vids (which won't be for ages yet), I'm gonna have to get hold of this :)

[thejoyofsticks]

@SteveBenway Ooh, I'll look forwards to those ST vids, Steve! Yes, you should get Oids, it really is a great game, and as it is not available for the Amiga, it becomes an ST 'killer app' by default.