Release day interview: Rosslyn – The Templar Mystery

Here at J-OMG, we often feature remakes by Ovine by Design. Why? Because they happen to remake games we like, they answer our questions, and they haven’t told us to go jump – yet.

But today we’ve got something different; an original game by Ovine. Rosslyn – The Templar Mystery.

Now the game’s been released in the last few hours (free download – link below), it’s time for another J-OMG ‘release day interview’.

Still Stealthy. Still Alive. The Final Ninja.

Here at J-OMG we’ve had a HUGE amount of traffic in recent months to our Final Ninja ‘screenshot comparison‘, but no news.

That’s not good enough.

So I put the makers, Stu & Smila in a small room, shine a light in their faces, and asked the hard questions.

• What’s the ‘latest’ you can tell the fans about Final Ninja?
• Got any screenshots to keep the excitable J-OMG readers at bay?
• How are you going with the improvements you were planning?
• Where we YOU at 7.22pm on April 7th*?

*Just wondering; I lost my keys that night and needed a lift.

Release day interview: Rocky Memphis

Previews? Reviews? Any blog can do that.

Here at J-OMG we love to give you release-day interviews. Something to read while you download a great new freeware game.

And today’s contestant is… Rocky Memphis & the temple of Ophuxoff.

Exclusive: First 5 screens from Last Ninja remake

Earlier this year, J-OMG was first with the news that C64 class The Last Ninja was being remade for the PC. This daunting task, was being undertaken by Trevor ‘Smila’ Story and Stu Collier – makers of the Armalyte remake we reviewed back in March.

Today, I’m pleased to present the world’s first look at 5 screens from level 1 of The Final Ninja. To help refresh your memory, I’ve alternated a screenshot from the original title, with the relevant pic from the remake.

And now, on with the show…

News Flash – Armalyte (PC) – WILL be a download!

First of all, thanks to Rock Paper Shotgun for featuring our Armalyte coverage yesterday. If you’ve somehow missed it.. RPS is a top-class blog for PC Gamers, and run by really nice guys to boot.

Now, the news…

In the RPS Armalyte remake comments yesterday, many visitors expressed a disappointment with the lack of a digital download option. (Currently, only a ‘deluxe boxed version’ is available)

This morning, S-A-S programmer StuC gave a quick update on the situation..
“Apparently the publisher has been swamped with ‘can we have a digital download?’, so he’s decided to have one. (It will be released at) a reduced price as a) There’s no packaging b) It will be the game only – no extras. Price TBA, but we’re looking at no more than a fiver (£5/US$7.50). I’ll post more details when I get them.”

Hopefully, the many people preferring a cheaper ‘no frills’ Armalyte option will vote with their credit card/paypal when the time is right…

More screenshots: Smila & Stu’s arcade project

Following on from our exclusive story last week, Smila’s shared a few more screenshots & renders for his ‘virtual arcade’ project with Stu C. We’ve also got a few insights into the kinds of things the boys hope to include…

First up, more screenshots!

Do these guys ever sleep?

Trevor ‘Smila’ Storey has just popped up on the Retro Remakes forums, telling us of his next project with Stuart Collier! That’s after their C64 remake Scarabaeus. Which is after their work on Final Ninja. They must be on RedBull IV drips or something.

Anyway, quoting the man himself…

“[Our next project is] a first person arcade with loads of arcade clones to play about on. The main room and outdoor areas are built…”

Here’s an early render of the outside of the building…

First review: Armalyte (official PC remake)

If you’re as excited about this game as I am, you want ANSWERS NOW. You don’t want me to explain (again) the plot, basic gameplay or critical reception of this classic Commodore 64 game.

Instead, let’s fire up the remake, and dive right in…

C64 classic The Last Ninja – coming to PC

Awesome news for C64 fans.

Fresh from finishing work on the PC remake of Armalyte (due out in April), well known game remaker Trevor ‘Smila’ Storey, has revealed his latest project. He’s working on a fan remake of System 3’s classy isometric ninja-em-up, The Last Ninja.

So far, all we have is a single screenshot. (And a promise to include ‘better controls’)

Of course, TLN is such a huge game, it’s going to be a big project. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re looking at a 2011 release.

In the meantime, we’ve contacted Smila for some more details – expect an update here soon!

Armalyte PC remake – more screenshots released…

You may remember JOMG’s exclusive interview with the creators of the upcoming PC version of Armalyte.

This remake of the classic Commodore 64 shmup has been sanctioned by the original rights holders AND it’ll come out in a proper CDROM box.

We must be edging closer to a release date now, with publisher Psytronik releasing a big batch of screenshots. Here’s a few of them…