ULTIMATE COPS - A new games compilation for the C64!

Greetings fellow Retronauts!

For this blog entry I will be focusing on a new game compilation for the C64 that is now almost ready for release.  ULTIMATE COPS will feature four complete COPS games by Alf Yngve - along with two bonus COPS games - one of which is a brand new release and one is a previously unreleased game.  Here's how this collection of games came about ...

They are the LAAAAW!

Back in the early 1990's Alf Yngve released a game for the C64 called COPS.  A slightly modified and improved version of the game (Cops V.2) followed soon after.   This game caught the attention of a lot of people with it's detailed and superbly animated sprites and nicely designed backgrounds.  After the release of Cops V.2, Alf was definitely 'one to watch' and he did not disappoint with his subsequent games that proved to be very popular and he was constatntly impressing gamers with his ability to think outside the confines of the SEUCK editor.

The original classic - now with a slick new front-end!

A sequel to COPS soon followed and continued the adventures of Mike 'Mad Dog' Mctavish and Singh 'Big Bang' Kapoor.  This time the Cops were taking a well earned vacation from all the crime in Euro-City - but crime never takes a holiday and soon our heroes found themselves battling villains at their holiday resort!  Holiday Cops features a slightly different graphical style to the original (including more nicely drawn locations) and some dangerous situations for the Cops including a tricky boat section!

Crime never takes a vacation - but fortunately,

neither do the COPS!

The third COPS game was produced at around the same time the first Jurassic Park movie was released.  In order to grab a slice of the dino-mania the movie generated at the time the game features a 'Dino-Land' section in the the game with assorted dinosaurs giving chase to the Cops!  Other locations include a bank vault and airport section.  This game was originally bundled with the Psytronik release of the Alf Yngve game Archetype and featured a new front added by the C64 demo crew Xentrix.

The previously unseen Cops III artwork - how much action in one pic?!

In 2012 Alf decided to produce his biggest and most ambitious COPS game yet.  COPS: The Final Chapter concludes the story of Mike 'Mad Dog' Mctavish and Singh 'Big Bang' Kapoor.  For the final part of the saga the Cops are brought out of retirement in order to rescue the kidnapped Pope (!) and take on a multitude of baddies along the way.  Alf really pulled out all the stops for this game which features separate (pseudo-interactive) intro and end sequences and some clever level designs including an amazing exploding bridge section!

Get to the CHOPPAH!

When Alf told me he was working on a fourth Cops game I thought it would be a nice idea to bundle all the Cops games together into one compilation - and that's when I came up with the idea for ULTIMATE COPS.  Rather than release the games in their original form the games have all been specially enhanced for this 2013 release.  The first two Cops games now feature brand-new front-end designs coded by Richard Bayliss with graphics by Steve 'STE'86' Day.  I decided to tackle the redesign for Cops III myself in order to move away from the (still impressive) demo-style front-end of the original release to a design that more closely matches the other games in the pack.

COPS III - Complete with new front-end and new soundtracks!  Rarr!

The artwork for the ULTIMATE COPS compilation is rather special - and there's a little story to how this came about.  A while ago I decided to digitally restore the cover of Zzap!64 issue 1 so I could hang a big print of the cover on my wall.  As part of this restoration process I managed to remove the text and Zzap! logo from the cover and painted in the missing sections on the picture underneath - which left a fully restored version of the Oliver Frey 'Elite' painting.  A few years later Oliver Frey and Roger Kean got to see my restored Elite picture and they were so impressed with my work they asked if they could sell it on www.oliverfreyart.com in return for a royalty payment.  Rather than receive royalties I asked if I could use an existing Oliver Frey design as the artwork for a Psytronik release - and they agreed!

I was working on ULTIMATE COPS at the time and while I was perusing the various designs on Oliver's site I spotted the painting he had created for Chase HQ II (featured as the cover for Zzap! 64 issue #68).  I figured this would be PERFECT for ULTIMATE COPS as the game begins with you in the back of a red car shooting at motorbikes - and there's a helicopter later in the game.  Oliver & Roger sent me a gorgeous hi-res print to work with and I set to work fitting the artwork into the Psytronik template.  The pressure was on to create a logo that would compliment the amazing artwork, but I was happy with the first design I came up with and that's the one I went with in the end.

Oli Frey artwork on a Psytronik release!  Awesome!!

To round off the compilation brand new bitmap loading screens have been produced for the games.  Carl 'Mase' Mason has done a superb job with the new loading screens for Holiday Cops, Cops III and Cops:The Final Chapter - which is a stunning conversion of the Oli Frey cover artwork.

ULTIMATE COPS will be released on C64 tape, disk and as a DELUXE download in June 2013.

Thanks for reading, and remember, WINNERS DON'T DO DRUGS! (Er, unless you are Charlie Sheen).


Kenz / www.psytronik.net

SEUDS 2 scoops a SIZZLER!

Greetings fellow Retroids,

After the last rather lengthy and somewhat ranty blog entry (!) I'll keep it short and sweet this time. I was recently more than a little chuffed to see that the Shoot 'Em Up Destruction 2 managed to scoop a sizzler in issue 99 of Retro Gamer magazine.

The sizzling SEUDS 2 review (clicky the piccy to embiggen)

I was particularly pleased about this as a lot of work went into the compilation and everyone involved went the extra mile to make this an extra special C64 release. It's also great to see Alf Yngve's work getting the recognition it deserves. To celebrate the new-found Sizzlerdom all future copies of the game will be shipped will now proudly adorn the Sizzler stamp on the cover.

The SEUDS 2 box - now with the RG stamp of approval!

If you haven't snapped up a copy of SEUDS 2 yet then head on over to the BZ RetroStore and treat yourself to some retro fun for the Commodore 64. As a little bonus, everyone who orders SEUDS 2 will also receive a free download link for the original SEUDS compilation too. Bonus!

And that's almost yer lot now. Tune in next time for an update on one of the BIG Psytronik releases for 2012 - SOULLESS (and a sneaky peek at the gorgeous packaging!)

Thanks for reading!

Kenz / www.psytronik.net

SEUDS STRIKES BACK!

Greetings Psytronikeers!

For a while now I've had the idea of doing another SEUDS (Shoot 'Em Up Destruction Set) compilation for Psytronik and now at long last SEUDS 2 is fast becoming a reality! This is thanks to the ever productive Alf Yngve who not only still has some great unreleased SEUCK games tucked away but is also still churning them out to this day, ably assisted by Richard 'TND' Bayliss, who is doing sterling work adding new front-end presentation to each game along with power-ups, extra graphical effects and fantastic music etc. Lets take a closer look at the four games I have chosen for SEUDS 2.

Super Tau Zeta

"By Your Command!"

This is a recent Alf Yngve production that was originally produced for the Sideways SEUCK competition organised by Richard Bayliss. In this game you control a mini-fleet of ships doing battle in space and on alien planets. Alf has incorporated some very clever effects into this game including a cool space-warp effect, a black hole encounter, asteroid field, parallax scrolling when you are on the alien planets and much more!

Flying over a lovely alien vista in Super Tau-Zeta

Super Tau Zeta has been specially enhanced and now features a snazzy new front-end, superb soundtracks (the in-game tune is a real belter!) and weapon power-ups that have been added by Richard Bayliss and a stunning bitmap loading screen has been produced for the game by Steve 'STE'86' Day (inspired by a certain popular 80s sci-fi show).

Bloodwheels

How much action can I cram into one loading screen? Answer: All of it!

This game was part of the original 1994 Psytronik release line-up but is now being dusted off after 17 years for release as part of the SEUDS 2 compilation. The game is an exciting driving-shooter where you (and an optional player 2) battle your way through various locations in an army vehicle blasting enemy tanks, planes, helicopters and soldiers etc. The game features some very nicely detailed tiny sprites (the enemy soldiers are particularly ee-wee!) destructible background objects (you can level houses!) and there's blasting action aplenty to be had.


Once again Richard Bayliss has coded an eye-catching front-end the game and has added new effects to the game itself including multi-sprite explosions for when you blast those pesky bosses and animated water effects. Richard has also delivered some suitably thumping tunes for you to blast along to (the in-game tune has a nice Matt Gray flavour to it). For the loading screen I decided to transfer the original artwork for this game (drawn by Alf) onto the C64 and have drawn the screen in a similar style to the one I did for the SEUDS 1 game Silverfish (I.E. Lots of explodey action!)

2,000 Kung Fu Maniacs:
The Way Of The Exploding Fish

The other 1,995 Kung-Fu Maniacs are right behind you!

The sequel to 1,000 Kung-Fu Maniacs continues after your epic battle in Blapsville in the first game and once again features the ongoing adventures of the Master of Awesome! This time our hero is tasked with a dangerous quest to find the sacred scrolls that have been stolen by some nefarious Ninjas - and, also, to buy some pickled herring (as you do).


In the game you must battle assorted adversaries in various unusual locations - like on-stage at the "Lord of the Bland" concert (featuring a familiar-looking river-dancing baddie!), at the International Arms Fair, a corrupt art gallery and even at the "Happy Moose Megamart!" Various weapon power-ups can be collected during the game including shuriken, nunchucks, a deadly knife, a garden gnome (?!) and, best of all, the way of the exploding fish!

Once again Richard Bayliss has added extra enhancements to this game including a new front-end, funky Oriental soundtracks, the weapon power-ups I mentioned above and he has even coded a special end-sequence for the game! For the loading screen I decided to make up for the fact that I didn't have the time to contribute any pixels to the first game - so for the sequel I pixelled an eye-catching loader pic featuring Ninjas - cos Ninjas are COOL!

Trojahn

The fourth game in the SEUDS 2 pack is another Alf Yngve classic that has been stomping around for approximately the last 5,000 years (well, since the early 1990s!) The game features the titular Trojahn hero on a mission to rescue his beloved Elena who has been kidnapped by an evil Minotaur. The game uses an interesting arcade style vertical screen with all the action being viewed on the left half of the screen. The right half of the screen is used for occasional interlude screens showing the plight of Elena and her cries for help in comic-book style.


Ste'86 has provided the stunning loading screen for the game, Richard Bayliss will be producing the music and coding the front-end - which will feature additional graphics by little old me!

The Shoot 'Em Up Destruction Set 2 will be released for the C64 on tape, disk and as a digital download by Psytronik Software later this year (exact release date to be confirmed). For more details head on over to www.psytronik.net ...

Thanks for reading!

Kenz / www.psytronik.net (29/07/11)

Massive May Releases!

Greetings gamers!

It looks like May is going to be a busy month for Psytronik as there's a selection of MASSIVE titles lined up for release!! Here's some previews of the new game artwork to whet your appetites.

First up is Creatures 2 from Apex Computer Productions! One of the slickest (or should that be 'sickest!' hehe) C64 releases of all-time. Due to the nightmare tape multiload this release will be DISK ONLY and will be available in deluxe and budget disk flavours. The excellent artwork was produced by Trev 'Smila' Storey (which I reckon is even better than the original game artwork - ooo! controversial!)


I'm also very pleased to announce that Psytronik Software will soon be releasing a special C64 disk version of the legendary C64 shoot 'em up - ARMALYTE! Side 1 of the disk will contain the COMPETITION EDITION of Armalyte which was produced by Cyberdyne Systems. This special version of the game allows you to start on any level, alter the enemy bullet speed and you can even sit back and admire the scenery in a special DEMO mode. Side 2 of the disk will contain the loading picture, two Walker's Warbles music demos, some rare Armalyte game previews and an early demo of the unreleased Armalyte 2. The superb artwork was once again crafted by Smila (based on the original game artwork).


The long-awaited disk release of Joe Gunn will also be available very soon. This will be a joint Psytronik & Protovision release of the Gold Edition of the game. The disk will contain both the English and German versions of the game along with a new demo of the stunning forthcoming Psytronik release Knight 'n' Grail (which I will be talking about in more detail in a blog entry soon). The splendid box cover art was produced by ... you guessed it! Smila!


Another release that has been taking up a lot of my spare time recently is The Last Amazon Trilogy. I've been busy working on the bitmap loading screens for all The Last Amazon games and the good news is the loading screens for the Last Amazon Intro + Last Amazon 1 & 2 are now complete. All I need to do is produce a loading screen for The Last Amazon Special Edition and then my work for that release is done. The games themselves are all very nearly complete apart from Last Amazon 2 which is still being worked on at the moment. Here's a sneaky pic at the disk box which features superb cover artwork by Alf Yngve:


And that's not all! As well as the fine releases mentioned above there's a couple of exciting new releases in the works - including a special version of a brand-new C64 title and the first ever Psytronik Software PC release! But I can't tell you any more about those just yet ... Keep an eye on this blog for a special feature on the forthcoming C64 epic Knight 'n' Grail (along with a mouthwatering selection of new screenshots) + all the very latest Psytronik Software nooz.

Thanks for reading!

Kenz / www.psytronik.com

The Last Amazon

Hiya retro chums!

Now that Creatures is finally sorted and has been added to the BZ retro store (disk version now available, tape version coming soon!) it means I can move onto the next Psytronik project - which will be The Last Amazon! And there have been some very interesting things happening with this release recently.

Firstly, some back-story about the game. The Last Amazon game was originally produced back in 1993 by Alf Yngve for the Psytronik label. The game came with a cool intro sequence (complete with a stunning Matt Gray-esque tune composed by Tonka) and even a sequel game - called (unsuprisingly), The Last Amazon 2. Unfortunately, all the planned enhancements for the game didn't happen at the time and in the end the unfinished game was given away on the Commodore Zone covermount. It was a shame the game wasn't properly released as I really loved the two Last Amazon games - Alf had done a superb job creating the jungle setting for the first game (along with a more urbanised setting for the sequel) and he also created some stunning artwork for both the Last Amazon games featuring a very eye-catching heroine (who I always thought who I thought could be the "Lara Croft for C64 fans"). Here's a pic of the superb colour artwork Alf produced for the first Last Amazon game (which is available as a yummy poster or on a trendy T-Shirt from Alfs very own CheeseyCake Shop - pluggity plug!)


And so that was that was the end of The Last Amazon we thought ... But then in 2008 Psytronik Software was reborn!! The unreleased Last Amazon games have now been dusted off and I'm very happy to announce that the games will feature special power-ups installed by Shaun Coleman - who did a great job enhancing his own SEUCK game Laser Hawk.





Shaun has already added weapon power-ups to the first Last Amazon game. The screenshots below show how the weaponry progresses from a fairly weedy gun, to a shotgun, machine gun, right up to a laser blaster! That should give those baddies what for!

The Last Amazon starts her adventre with a weedy pistol.

Pa-bam! Eat shotgun shells you jeep-driving mutha!

Dagga-dagga-dagga! Die! Oh, there's nobody left to kill here!

Pcheoww! Zzap! The Last Amazon unleashes LASER-DEATH!

And there will also be some new graphical effects in the game including an animated river! Check out the piccy below:





Alf also found some more Last Amazon promo artwork he produced way back in 1990 and I was so impressed with the picture I decided to use it as the main cover art for the new Psytronik release of the game. Here's an early preview of the tape inlay cover:-



And that's not all! In the past couple of weeks Alf has been dabbling with Jon Wells' Sideways SEUCK editor. I sent Alf the sprites and background graphics from the first Last Amazon game and guess what he went and did ... ? He has created a brand new sideways scrolling Special Edition version of The Last Amazon game! That means there are now THREE Last Amazon titles which means I can release THE LAST AMAZON TRILOGY!

I was so excited to see the new sideways scrolling Last Amazon game that it inspired me to start work on the graphics for the front-end of the game. The front-ends for all the Last Amazon games will be produced by Richard Bayliss (he of Sub Hunter fame). Richard has also produced some great music for the games (done once again in Matt Gray style). Here's a very early preview of the front-end for the brand-new sideways-scrolling Last Amazon Special Edition!


I'm a big fan of the original System 3 releases for the C64 and the logo for the game was inspired by the System 3 game Tusker (in fact, I "borrowed" a couple of elements from the Tusker graphics - omm!) I absolutely loved the music Matt Gray produced for Tusker - which is why I'm really pleased the game music has been done in a similar style (both Tonka and Richard Bayliss have done a superb job with the music). I'm really looking forward to seeing the final version of this release even though there's still quite a lot of work still to be done on them.

The Last Amazon Trilogy will be available on tape and disk for the Commodore 64 later this year (exact release date TBC).