Re: Most technically advanced IIGS games?

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

 colin_tokyo@hotmail.com wrote:

>Despite the IIGS's speed, there were some really awesome games
>available for it.
>
>-Task Force: Insane "NARC" clone with huge scrolling graphics, tons of
>dudes running around on screen, and a huge HELICOPTER that would fly in
>and toast you. I think this is the best arcade-style game on the IIGS,
>bar none.
>
>-Tunnels of Armageddon: I think this game consisted of a really fast
>box-drawing and color-cycling algorithm, but it was brutally fast and
>incredibly awesome, faking a 3D world pretty well.
>
>-Out of this World: Aaagh!!! Polygons on the IIGS! How is this
>possible? An incredible Amiga (SNES?) port. One of Burger Bill's
>finest.
>
>-Wolf3D: This had my jaw on the floor. TEXTURED POLYGONS ON THE IIGS?
>How was THIS possible? Sheppy and Burger do it again.
>
>What are some of your favorites? I'd like to dig some of these up.

    I'd add these to these to the list of "most technically advanced" (not
necessarily most memorable or fun, but several of them happen to fall
into that category no doubt). This is just off the top of my head...

- Zany Golf
Hands down the most creative and imaginative Apple IIGS game in terms of
music and animation. If you wanted one game to represent the uniqueness of
the "G" and "S" in the machine, I'd say this one was it. All these years
later I still love those musical scores! It did have very nice scrolling of
large playing fields, without stopping all the cool animated sprites.

- The Immortal
Used the same animation and music engine from Zany Golf. Also pretty
impressive for its time with nice large (smoothly) scrolling playfields,
animated sprites and an impressive music sound track.

- Rastan
An arcade-perfect port. Fast and smooth scrolling backgrounds, tons of spites
(large and small), lots of action without any slow downs. 

- Super Mario Bros
A freeware port done by Lucas Scharenbroich. Virtually identical to the
original Nintendo version. Fluid scrolling backgrounds, all the original
sprites and animation, even background music. Runs extremely well 
even on a stock 2.8 MHz system. Unfortunately not all levels were done.
Just feels so much like the 8-bit Nintendo it's eery.

- Sword of Sodan
By the same author of Task Force. Dual layer (foreground and background)
scrolling, huge sprites filling 2/3rds of the screen. Only a demo version
ever made it out, but there's a semi-playable beta version 3-4 people have.

- LemminGS
Brutal Deluxe's port of Lemmings. Plays just like the PC or Mac version
(scrolling entire screen without interrupting multiple animated sprites)
which in itself isn't the most technically impressive game, but the fact 
that it's running on the IIgs flawlessly IS.

- Mazer II
In the same genre of Wolfenstein 3D, only it's an RPG. Nice use of
real-time 3D using the the IIgs's unique fill-mode capability.

- Space Harrier
A semi-playable demo by the FTA. A lot of the special effects and
scrolling techniques from the arcade version are present (also worth
mention is FTA's "Blue Helmet" racing game, that used the same
engine, but also in an unfinished state).

- Space Ace
Not the greatest game, but the graphics and animation were fairly impressive
for their time. It was like watching clips from a cartoon on the computer
screen.

- Thexder
For it's time, very impressive scrolling and smooth animation. What really
impressed me is they pulled off such nice arcade-like graphics using the 
640x200 dithered mode!

- Defender of the World
An unfinished game/demo by David Ong-Tai-Wee. The graphics weren't very
polished but was a very fast-pased arcade style side shooter. Huge sprites
(put Spacefox to shame heh) and parallax scrolling(!) backgrounds.

- Arkanoid (both I and II)
Just thought I'd add them for being such near arcade-perfect ports, few that
there were for the Apple IIgs (arcade ports, let alone flawless ones).

- KABOOM!
Bomberman port by NinjaForce. This never got finished or released, but in
many ways it manages to go beyond Out of This World and Wolf 3D. It is
literally the first and ONLY IIgs game I've ever played that you could
honestly be told you're playing a Super Nintendo and be fooled. The 
animation is just incredibly fluid and fast, and with graphics that blow
away anything else. I hope it's one day finished...


Mitchell Spector