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I want to try and review this game without being to harsh as to be fair this is somebody’s very first effort at coding the Jaguar and its free. I just really wish that he either hadn’t released it or worked on it more before he did and I am not even going to start on the stupid name. I think the title has already given away the genre but I will tell you that it’s of the horizontal persuasion but viewed from above. You simply move your ship around as the screen scrolls left to right shooting down the enemies and avoiding the basic scenery. The first problem is the jerky movement of your ship that makes it impossible to avoid cheap deaths. Secondly it’s at first unclear that the blocks you have to avoid are not background as the enemies move over them fine. And last of all we have the absolutely atrocious graphics and annoying sound. The game looks and sounds 8-bit at best and you can’t help but think it was all done in MS paint. I sincerely hope that Dr. Typo puts in a bit more work before releasing his next game to the masses.

This game was originally written as a demo to show to Atari and secured Sinister a development contract, sadly nothing ever came of this due to Atari’s demise and the game was never finished. Slam Racer is an overhead racer much like another Jaguar game Powerdrive Rally. This proto consists of just one track to race around but it is playable. Unfortunately is also full of bugs too. The AI for the other racers is abysmal as they randomly crash into stuff and move all over the place. The scrolling is also flawed as it updates the screen in chunks and looks awful. All this aside its clear that with A LOT of work this could have actually turned into a very good game so its shame that all we have to show of it is a pretty poor demo. Slam Racer can be downloaded and burned yourself for free so if you really want to punish yourself go right ahead!

There is a bit of a story behind this game that I should probably explain before I continue. Core Design were one of the first people to sign up to make Jaguar CD games and this was their first project for the machine that was set to be followed by the now legendary Tomb Raider. It’s a reinvention of the Sega Mega CD game of the same name that was one of the first games to show that machines power. However, although this game was finished, it was never released. Core Design has since refused an official release several times but the game is out there if you know where to look. Soul Star is a 3D perspective space shooter viewed from the 3rd person. There are missions where you fly though space its self, ones where you skim over the surface of planets and ones that take place inside even bigger ships than yours! There are a vast array of enemies that try to stop you as well as obstacles that can’t be blown up that must be avoided. There is also the usual array of power-ups that can be grabbed to beef up your arsenal. Your ship has a shield that acts like an energy bar, when its depleted you can take a couple of hits and then you lose a life. Like any good space shooter you also have to encounter and of course defeat several end of level bosses and these guys are real tough! The Jaguar has a lot of space shooters of this type but none that use this kind of graphics style. Being on CD it also has stunning soundtrack and the usual array of cheesy FMV sequences. It’s a great game with some great gameplay and the only real downside is that some may find it a little bit hard. I hope one day that the legal complications are sorted out and this game gets an official release as it certainly deserves it.

The original Space Ace was an arcade game produced by Don Bluth Studios and released by Cinematronics. It was unveiled in October 1983, just four months after its more famous sibling Dragon's Lair. Much like its predecessor it featured animated film quality visuals played direct from a laserdisc. The gameplay is also incredibly similar and requires the player to simply move the joystick or press the fire button at key moments during the action. Having already appeared on several formats Space Ace was never really done any justice until the age of the 32-bit machines and CD technology. This is mostly due to its reliance on streamed video to supply the graphics and digital sound. Really the Jaguar version should be the best given the machines quick loading, cinepack FMV capabilities and surround sound. How wrong a man can be, the Jaguar version is bloody awful! Not because it doesn’t look fantastic, because it does. Not because it doesn’t sound excellent, because it does. And most certainly not because it has every scene included from the laser disc original. It’s because it is completely and utterly unplayable. I honestly have no idea just how Readysoft mucked this up so much. Its like they put everything together and just didn’t bother to check if it worked. The timing on almost every scene is totally out. Sometimes you have to press the button / joypad early, sometimes late and very (and I mean very) occasionally at the right time! I can’t even recommend this title to the most ardent of fans of the original game. You are much better off picking up Dragon’s Lair or the infinitely better Braindead 13 if you are into these FMV style adventures.

This was the first project by Reboot to get a full release and was available as a limited edition in a professional box complete with instruction manual as well as the usual free download. Long time Jaguar community member Tyrant also made a special controller for the game that was first seen and given away as a competition prize at the Jagfest UK event in 2009. The original Superfly was public domain game for the ST and has appeared on a variety of other platforms under different names. All you have to do is guide your flying character through a series of different caverns. By pressing a button your hero will rise and by leaving it he will sink. If you hit the top, bottom or any scenery then you die and will have to try again. There are also stars that can be collected for a bonus. It’s kind of like a horizontally scrolling shoot ‘em up without any of the shooting or any of the fun. The flamboyant graphics and funky sound don’t do enough here to hide what is in essence a very dull game.

The second game to be released by Steve “Gorf” Scavone, Surrounded!, is a simple one-screen shooter that uses 3D polygon graphics. Surrounded actually reminded me of a Tiger Electronics LCD game I had as a kid, the gameplay is near enough identical in fact, I really wish I could remember the name of it (if you have it please let me know!). You control a little space station in the middle of the screen and you are being attacked from every angle by enemy ships. Using a combination of the joypad and all 3 buttons you must blast them before they blast you. One shot from an enemy ship and you loose a life, hey who said it was easy! As the levels go on the action gets faster paced and even more frantic. From time to time the evil Demon will come and really give you a hard time. The 3D graphics are quite nice but I found them to be a bit too small, it would be nice if you could zoom them in. It’s also quite impressive that this game runs at a solid 60 frames per second without ever dropping making it incredibly smooth. In the sound department there are some nice old school effects to accompany the action too but not a lot else. To be honest though this is all a game of this type needs although some speech would have been cool. As a game given away for free this isn’t bad at all, but don’t expect it to be one that will hold your interest for very long. You may find that you come back to it from time to time though for a quick blast.

The Quest was RGC and Jagware coder Matmook's entry into the speed-coding competition part of the Atari Connexion in France in 2013. This demo game was planned to have 6 different levels that followed the map of the RGC newsletter. However, the programmer ran out of time and was sadly unable to complete it. He suggested that he would come back to it and finish it at a later date but so far there has been no signs of this happening. The idea of the game is guide our hero through the land trying to find his lost friends. You control a big head must rescue the other big heads from each level and lead them away from danger. Each stage is made up of the standard platforms and ladders, along with a few hazards, and you must simply touch each of your friends (not in a funny way!) in order to get them to follow you. Graphically the game is actually quite nice, I really like the style they used and it’s all presented really well too. But apart from that there is not much else to talk about. The game only has a few levels as it stands that can be finished quite quickly. This is a real shame as the game shows a lot of potential, I really do hope that Matmook picks it up again and finishes it because the Jaguar really lacks decent platform style games. As it stands this is a good demo despite the lack of content and I can’t really be too harsh on the score (despite the lack of levels) because of this. Download it from the Yaronet forum and give it a try for yourself.

This the second homebrew game by French Jaguar and Falcon coder Dr. Typo and I must start off by just saying WOW! This is such a vast leap in quality from his first release for the system and one of the most impressive homebrew games I have seen for the system. Tube is essentially a racing game that at first is very reminiscent of Atari’s classic STUN Runner, the Gameplay however is quite different. The idea is to race your craft through a series of tunnels trying to stay on the track and to do it in as short a time as possible. As the levels get harder various things are added to the track. Some are there to help you like the speed boosts and ramps to jump sections while others are there to take you out like the lava and pits. The game is incredibly fast and you will need to act quickly in order to complete the harder levels. The graphics here are also excellent and it’s a really good use of the hardware. Now the few minor flaws, it does REALLY need music. A thumping techno style soundtrack would take this game up a level or two and it could also do with more tracks and a 2-player mode. But that said it’s still one of the best homebrew games for the Jaguar and if Dr. Typo ever decides to add more to this game or do an improved sequel I can see it getting a very high rating from me indeed.

Before we had all had a chance to take it in the first edition Dr. Typo came back with a second edition that features improved graphics and music by Marcus Losbjer as well as new unlockable levels, thus fixing the small things wrong with the original Tube. The original Tube allowed you to play all the levels from the start but this new improved version requires you to unlock them as you play. Once a level is done, however, you can still replay it as many times as you like in order to try and beat your best times. The graphics here excellent and represent a really good use of the hardware. The first version of Tube felt rather lacking without a kick ass techno soundtrack during the game and thanks to Marcus Losbjer this has now been rectified. The in-game music really helps add to the experience and intensity of the whole thing no end. Overall this is a really polished product that is more than worthy of a full release with a representative price tag. If you do decide to do a 3rd edition Dr. Typo (if you are reading this!) please add a split screen 2-player mode and then we will have one of the best games released for the Jaguar CD commercial or homebrew!