Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story | Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC

Last edited by jawa_ on Thu Mar 14, 2024 9:02 am, edited 10 times in total.

Title Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
Developer Digital Eclipse
Publisher Digital Eclipse
Platform Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC
Release 13 March 2024

Digital Edlipse wrote:Play 42 of the weirdest, trippiest, sheepiest games ever created! Enter the mind of Jeff Minter, the legendary creator of Attack of the Mutant Camels, Gridrunner, and Tempest 2000, in this interactive documentary from Digital Eclipse, the latest in the Gold Master Series. #MinterIsComing in 2024!

Push Square wrote:The games included are:

Sinclair ZX81
3D3D
Centipede

Commodore VIC-20
Abductor
Andes Attack
Deflex V
Gridrunner
Hellgate
Laser Zone
Matrix: Gridrunner 2
Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time
Ratman

Commodore 64
Ancipital
Attack of the Mutant Camels
Batalyx
Gridrunner
Hellgate
Hover Bovver
Iridis Alpha
Laser Zone
Mama Llama
Matrix: Gridrunner 2
Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time
Psychedelia
Revenge of the Mutant Camels
Revenge of the Mutant Camels II
Rox 64
Sheep In Space
Voidrunner
Sinclair Spectrum
City Bomb
Headbangers Heaven
Rox III
Superdeflex

Atari 8-bit
Attack of the Mutant Camels
Colourspace
Gridrunner
Hover Bovver
Turboflex

Konix Multi-System
Attack of the Mutant Camels '89

Atari ST
Llamatron: 2112
Revenge of the Mutant Camels
Super Gridrunner

Atari Jaguar
Tempest 2000

Reimagined
Gridrunner Remastered

> Official game website - click

- - - - - - - - - -

The forty-two games sounds to be a comprehensive collection of Minter's work. It even includes the demo of the Attack of the Mutant Camels '89 title, made for the unreleased Konix Multi-System! Naturally, some of these titles are very old and very basic - made for early 8-bit home computers - but, for Minter and Llamasoft fans, there will be many games that bring a smile to your face. And there is the legendary Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jaguar!

This is undoubtedly a niche collection but I am so excited to see this set launching for modern systems. Some of the first video games that I played at home were Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time, Matrix and GridRunner on the Vic-20 :wub:

.

The only kicker is that - at the moment - it appears that the collection won't be launching on PlayStation?!?

I remember these games, especially Attack of the Mutant Camels.

Vermilion wrote:I remember these games, especially Attack of the Mutant Camels.

Yeah, I can't quite believe that this collection is coming! I'm totally up for it but also very surprised that - at the moment - it seems that there won't be a PlayStation version. I hope that this is a comms error or that it will be arriving soon after the collection for other systems.

In the meantime, I shall pick up the Switch version!

Oh... and I'm wondering if this could just be a digital release. I really hope that a physical version appears; and for the UK market, not just a US-focused Limited Run release or something.

Oh yes! I am 100% in on this :datass:

ITSMILNER wrote:Oh yes! I am 100% in on this

It is pretty exciting , isn't it?

Thing is, plenty of the games are very old and I kind of anticipate playing them for around one minute. But - but! - there is enough there to have some fun with and I expect that the documentation and historic stuff will be a big part of the experience.

jawa_ wrote:The only kicker is that - at the moment - it appears that the collection won't be launching on PlayStation?!?

Interestingly enough Tempest X3 (which I think was a rejigged 2000) was initially awarded 10/10 in Official PlayStation Magazine but went to print as a 9.

The only thing I have ever played of his was the bundled music software with Xbox 360.

KK wrote:
jawa_ wrote:The only kicker is that - at the moment - it appears that the collection won't be launching on PlayStation?!?

Interestingly enough Tempest X3 (which I think was a rejigged 2000) was initially awarded 10/10 in Official PlayStation Magazine but went to print as a 9.

The only thing I have ever played of his was the bundled music software with Xbox 360.

I never knew that OPM rated Tempest X3 so highly, KK. Alas, this PlayStation title isn't included in the collection! I do have a copy myself; it came in one of those "double CD" cases that some PS1 games had.

Oh, and I think that Psychedelia, Minter's early graphics "light show" software, is included.

jawa_ wrote:
ITSMILNER wrote:Oh yes! I am 100% in on this

It is pretty exciting , isn't it?

Thing is, plenty of the games are very old and I kind of anticipate playing them for around one minute. But - but! - there is enough there to have some fun with and I expect that the documentation and historic stuff will be a big part of the experience.

I just love the way they are making these as interactive documentaries, being able to read about the history of the games and then try them out is a fantastic idea! Like you say, I’ll likely play each for a couple of minutes but I’ll go through a pivotal piece of UK games development.

The collection is being reported as coming to "all major formats" and is mentioned in the news section of Push Square... but no PlayStation logo appears on Digital Eclipse's game website. Hopefully it will be launching on PS4/PS5!

I used to love Attack of the Mutant Camels.

I don't know if I'll play this. There's a big danger of destroying childhood memories.

Created a new topic for this before realising Jawa had beaten me to it with a far better effort :fp:

VERY excited for this, loved Minter Games as a child, and he is such a wholesome chap.

Matrix, Hover Bovver and Attack of the Mutant Camels was a massive part of my childhood.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Created a new topic for this before realising Jawa had beaten me to it with a far better effort ...

Oh! Sorry, kaz-san!

I'm looking forward to this, too... albeit I really hope there is a standard physical release. Tbh some of the games are likely to be a bit too old and basic to play for longer than a few minutes, but I imagine that I'd still hugely enjoy Metagalactic Llamas, Attack/Revenge, Matrix, GridRunner, Llamatron (from my brief Atari ST years!) and Tempest 2000.

I spoke of Tempest 3K (PS1) in a previous post but I'd forgotten that was not actually made by Minter.

...oh, and I would have liked to have seen more recent stuff, too - things like Minotaur Arcade, Polybius and Moose Life (fantastic in 2D and even more so on PSVR). But I guess they're maybe a bit too new to include.

Polybius was fantastic. I was still pretty new to VR as a medium back when it released and every time I took the bucket off my head I seemed to suffer form sensory withdrawal symptoms.

I too would like physical, but for once I wont let it stop me picking it up.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Polybius was fantastic. I was still pretty new to VR as a medium back when it released and every time I took the bucket off my head I seemed to suffer form sensory withdrawal symptoms...

Polybius and - especially - Moose Life are some of my favourite PSVR experiences. Simple, slick gameplay and the VR effect is superbly managed; there is a lot going on but I never feel sick from it. Minter knew just how to use VR to best effect.

I'm now thinking about getting Minotaur Arcade for PSVR; it's £15 for new versions of GridRunner (the classic shooter) and GoatUp (the iOS tower-platformer). They're playable in standard 2D and in VR. If they're as good as those first two titles then I'll be well happy!

Shame it only seems to be covering things up to Tempest 2000 - they may not be quite as high profile or popular now but there's plenty of stuff that Jeff/Llamasoft have released this century as well!

Jenuall wrote:Shame it only seems to be covering things up to Tempest 2000 - they may not be quite as high profile or popular now but there's plenty of stuff that Jeff/Llamasoft have released this century as well!

Yeah, I would have liked to have seen some more recent stuff but I suspect that licensing is an issue here.

Polybius is great so for it to not be here sucks. Definitely would have been nice to see newer stuff.

Like you said Jawa, could be licensing (Usually is).

But I'll still be getting this.

Wonder if there's going to be anything on Unity, the "game" he was working on for the GameCube. I remember that getting an Edge front cover before disappearing into the abyss.

Launches 13 March. Nice to get confirmation that it *will* be available on PlayStation formats, too!

Good to see this coming so soon. Shame they couldn’t get Tempest 3000 on this collection as it’s still stuck on the Nuon. I’m such a Minter fanboy that I bought a Nuon back in 2003 just to play Tempest 3000 (I did get Merlin Racing as a freebie).

Minter’s games really are the coolest video games, with only Mizuguchi’s games coming as close.

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story | Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC

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