Atic Atac
Ultimate - 1983
Generation: 3
Machine: ZX Spectrum
Genre: Character Shooter
The quickest and easiest way of describing AticAtac is MENTAL, that's too cheap and easy to sit as a review but remember that word always when reading this because it applies more than any other.
After choosing one of three characters you are thrown into a maze of a house with 5 floors, and with about 40 rooms per floor that adds up to a lot of exploring, if you get the chance that is; you see things just keep flying at you, and really fast too! And the doors keep opening and shutting themselves! And you keep falling through trapdoors! This game is a nightmare on a mammoth scale. Your objective is just to get out of there but you need to find all the bits of the front door key first. OK so to be blunt you are just running around, shooting things but saying that is to forget what I said right at the start - MENTAL. The speed is MENTAL, the maze of a house is MENTAL, and your energy bar being carcass that is gradually eaten away is MENTAL. Oh and you have to really think to figure out the maze and the puzzles so it involves intense MENTAL activity too, so maybe that one word was enough after all.
Jakey 10 May '04
Emulator
SPIN - The best Spectrum emulator out there although you'll find a whole bunch more at World of Spectrum. Unfortunately Ultimate became Rare who are still going strong and are rather protective over their old games. All of this means that you cannot download Atic Atac from World of Spectrum so you’ll either have to use your own Atic Atac tape or play the retro remake mentioned below.
Links
World of Spectrum's Atic Atac page - An incredible resource, all the detail you could need.
Retro Remakes' Atic Atac - A highly polished Windows remake of the game.
If you like Atic Atac, try:
Chrono Trigger
Quite simply the best traditional RPG ever. More...
Gauntlet
Gauntlet was one of Atari's greatest hits, even managing to succeed during the drop in demand for arcade games that occurred in the mid 80s. More...
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Gameboy's Zelda instalment is an immense adventure on a tiny cartridge. More...
