Got an XEGS? Then you need these TEMPEST XTREEM
RESCUE ON FRACTALUS
XENOPHOBE
Q Released in 2007 by Atlantis Games this homebrew release
Q One of the first games
Q This 1987 Bally/Midway coin-op has always been a favourite
is without doubt one of the most impressive games for the machine. A conversion of the Jaguar game Tempest 2000, it even features a POKEY version of the iconic soundtrack! That is not all though; there is also digitised speech, an AI droid and 64 levels of intense action. Available on cartridge, there is also a free demo version of the game.
to be released by the now sadly defunct LucasArts, this title was revolutionary at the time for its use of fractals to display its pseudo-3D graphics. You fly a ship over an alien landscape trying to rescue the pilots from their crashed ships, but you need to watch out as you are not the only one out there! Atari itself repackaged the 1984 disk version onto a cartridge especially for the XE series.
of ours. Based on the film Aliens, you control a marine on a mission to rid a series of space stations of their alien presence. Developed by Blue Sky Software, this superb XE version of the game went unreleased back in the day due to the declining Atari 8-bit market. Thankfully a fully complete prototype version was discovered and released on cartridge.
SPACE HARRIER
ROBOTRON 2084
STAR RAIDERS II
Q When Chris Hutt released this homebrew version of Sega’s
Q Although strictly not an Atari XE release, this conversion
classic Space Harrier in 2011 he seemingly achieved the impossible. Cramming the 1985 super-scaler coin-op into what is essentially 1979 hardware is nothing short of incredible. He managed to include every stage, including the bonus levels that are missing from most home ports, as well as all the music, speech and even the legendary scaling effects! This conversion puts Elite’s 8-bit ports to shame.
of Eugene Jarvis’s sublime arcade game could be found on store shelves with a big “Also plays on XE systems” sticker on it in the late Eighties as Atari tried to clear its old inventory. A hugely impressive home translation, it is also one of the few that can be played with two joysticks. There is even a special holder available that you can slot two CX-40 joysticks into to replicate the original control panel.
Q The original Star Raiders has often been called the A8’s killer app, a game that really made people stand up and take notice. This sequel originally started life as a game based on the classic movie The Last Starfighter. After the film bombed in theatres, Atari let the licence expire, made some minor changes and released the game as a Star Raiders sequel instead. Although later converted to the Spectrum, C64 and Amstrad, the XE version is still the best of the bunch.
80 | RETRO GAMER