Sokoban
Bobby the Hippie Ghost edition
Oh, poor Bobby the Hippie Ghost. The Tellus Ghost Investigation Agency is going to pay him a visit, and he who has all those peace signs all over his place. He might lose his ghost licence because of those. You must help Bobby to cover all his peace signs with the stones that lies around his place.
Sokoban is a puzzle game originating from Sweden. If you don't recognised the name, you will still certainly recognise the game. You have to push blocks around a small maze to a certain location. Once blocks become trapped in corners you can't move them any more. It a basically a game of logical thinking, but one that can be both very frustrating and very addictive.
Sokoban is not new to the Atari, perhaps the most famous version was featured on the Syntax Terror demo by Delta Force and I hear that German coding team Absence have released a commercial version for the Falcon.
This particular version was coded by Johan Språng (of Inner Circuit Explorers) with graphics by Mandus Skön (Impulse). There is no real front end to the game—you are presented with a Gem dialogue box followed by some text, then a file selector is called every time you want to load a new level. There is perhaps a level of polish missing from the presentation.
The plot is quite amusing—you are Bobbie The Hippie Ghost and have to hide your peace signs before you get raided. Makes perfect sense!
The game itself is fine—the graphics are nicely defined and it plays just as well as any other version of Sokoban. It runs on STE and Falcon, so the graphics are only 16 colour. There is no sound.
The good point about having the file selector is that you can create your own levels and load them in. There are instructions given on how to make Sokoban levels and it seems straightforward enough (even for me!)
Like Ishido, it would be nice if the creators of the game had forgotten about the ST and plunged entirely into the Falcon world with true colour graphics, some nice sound and some nice effects. But forgive them this as they have a great little game on their hands. If you haven't played this before, get hold of it. Even if you have, give it another go - it is nice to be acquainted again with old friend, and a very entertaining one at that.
Oh, poor Bobby the hippie ghost. The Tellus Ghost Investigation Agency is going to pay him a visit, and he who has all those peace signs all over his place. He might lose his ghost licence because of those. You must help Bobby to cover all his peace signs with the stones that lies around his place. You can only move one stone at a time so you have to plan ahead and not work yourself "into a corner." You may have seen this game in the past (as an ASCII only version), but it was nothing like this. This version has improved graphics (colorful, attractive, and pleasing) and gameplay. All of the 42 classic levels are included along with a few new ones. A level editor is included so you can create as many great levels as you wish. Designed for the STE but you may play it on the Falcon too (color monitor, RGB or VGA, required). Johan has gotten tired of coding great demos and he wanted to do something else. This was his first attempt and first success (both at the same time!). I look forward to finding more PD games from him. This is excellent! Online docs. Geneva and NeoDesk compatible.
A re-write of the old classic puzzle type game where you have to push blocks around the screen and avoid boxing yourself in. In this version you play a hippie ghost who is frantically trying to disguise all his CND signs (by hiding them behind stones) in advance of an inspection by the local ghost licensing agency! Graphics are superb, hiding the game's 8-bit roots whilst maintaining the addictive playability of the original. 45 levels are supplied along with easy instructions on how to create your own. STE Only.
Unlike most other ST games you can download here, this is not an MSA file. It's a PRG in a folder, with additional files for the levels. If you want to play it in Steem, copy it to the folder that serves as the virtual harddisk. If you want to play it on a real STE or Falcon, copy it to a floppy.
