It’s the new games mega blast! From arcade classics to 8-bit legends, these are some of the stars of Antstream Arcade that have debuted on the platform this September. Want something super fresh to play, for free, on Antstream Arcade, the easy-access platform for retro gaming? This quick and painless guide is here to help you.
Alien Brigade – Atari 7800
If you like arcade games such as Operation Wolf, then you’ll love our latest Atari 7800 game, Alien Brigade! Aliens have invaded Earth and are deviously brainwashing your fellow soldiers. Rescue the hostages, take out the aliens and don’t forget to pick up extra ammo in this brilliant first-person on-rails shoot-‘em-up for the Atari 7800.
Ant-Fact: Released in 1990, Alien Brigade was one of the final commercial releases for the Atari 7800 console.
Ant-Tactic: Watch for the items that drop from defeated enemies. Pick up spare ammunition, health and grenades and upgrade the basic semi-automatic pistol, but whatever you’re using, don’t shoot the real humans!
Ant-ernative: There is more jungle-based on-rails shooting action on Antstream Arcade with the legendary arcade game Operation Wolf.
Human Cannonball – Atari 2600
We track back to the end of the Seventies for our next new game, Human Cannonball. On each screen of this daredevil game, the player aims a cannon at the water tower nearby. Through experimentation with the angle and speed – plus a lot of bruises – the aim is to fire your brave man into the tower. Can you avoid splatting the human cannonball?
Ant-Fact: Human Cannonball is based on an unreleased arcade game called Cannonball.
Ant-Tactic: The aim is to get to 7 points – miss, and a point is deducted, with a point awarded for a successful splashdown.
Ant-ernative: For more circus fun, try Circus Atari, also on the Atari 2600.
Chaos Rising – Amstrad CPC
Next, we meet up with a friend of Antstream Arcade Egotrip for another enjoyable game on the Amstrad CPC. A Prelude To Chaos star, Amy, is back and on the hunt for more glittering jewels. Throughout Chaos Rising’s many screens, Amy solves puzzles and collects the gems, with help from her pals along the way. A neat and engaging puzzler that also boasts a lovely ditty to accompany Amy on her adventure.
Ant-Fact: The CPCtelera multi-platform framework system was used to develop Chaos Rising.
Ant-Tactic: Stuck on the screen with the spikes? Push the two blocks into the gaps above and below the spikes, and they magically disappear!
Ant-ernative: For puzzling of a slightly more historical leaning, give Battle Chess a spin.
Get ‘Em Gary – NES
Originally released in 2016, this slick homebrew game is another wonderful addition to the NES roster on Antstream Arcade. Rusty, the neighbourhood hooligan, is on a rampage, smashing windows and throwing bowling balls and worse at poor Gary. Fortunately, he’s equipped with a magical squeegee and can repair windows instantly – just watch out for Rusty’s bombs!
Ant-Fact: Get ‘Em Gary is a prequel to Second Dimension’s earlier game, Handy Harvy. Gaming historians will note the influence of a certain ape-based Nintendo arcade game.
Ant-Tactic: Rusty’s bombs will shatter windows, so don’t forget to close those shutters after repairing them.
Ant-ernative: For more cute Nintendo escapades, there’s another Second Dimension title, Blow ‘Em Out.
Prehistorik 2 – Amstrad CPC
It’s back to the stone age for our next game and the clubbing mayhem of Prehistorik 2. With a comic vein running throughout, the caveman hero batters the animals that stand in his way as he searches for food to satisfy his rumbling tummy. Colourful, quaint and entertaining, Prehistorik 2 is another fine addition to Antstream Arcade’s range of Amstrad games.
Ant-Fact: Prehistorik 2 is a fine technical achievement on the Amstrad, with many colours, multiple sprites and parallax scrolling.
Ant-Tactic: Clubbing random items to reveal bonuses. There are also many hidden areas, such as caves and cabins.
Ant-ernative: Antstream Arcade also hosts the original Prehistorik for the Commodore Amiga.
Afterlife – DOS
Have you ever wondered what taking control of the Afterlife would be like, shaping the realms of Heaven and Hell as a semi-omnipotent Demiurge? Well, wonder no more, wannabe fashioner of the hereafter! In Afterlife, it’s up to you to design the roads, buildings and more to create a functioning and productive place for those who’ve been nice and those who have been naughty. Chock full of satirical and pop culture references, Afterlife is both a sinful and virtuous strategy game that can be played right now, for free, on Antstream Arcade!
Ant-Fact: Lead designer Michael Stemmie credits the twin influences of Sim City and Dante’s poem on the Afterlife, The Divine Comedy.
Ant-Tactic: As in Sim City, the player must create zones for different building types. The most common is Fate Structures, where your souls will live.
Ant-ernative: There are more God-like antics on Antstream Arcade with Sensible Software’s fabulous Mega Lo Mania.
Aquaventure – Atari 2600
Aquaventure is a curious story of a lost cartridge, reclaimed from the depths many years after its initial planned release. The game itself is simple: you’re a diver, plunging the seas for treasure, dodging and shooting the many denizens of the ocean that threaten you. Balancing a short oxygen supply and the faster respawning enemies is an obligatory skill if you wish to avoid a watery grave in this superb Atari 2600 game.
Ant-Fact: Aquaventure sat hidden on the seabed until a loose cartridge was discovered in a Florida fleamarket in the mid-Nineties.
Ant-Tactic: Aquaventure has a novel enemy pattern: shooting fish or sharks makes them meaner and faster. If you want to avoid a testy journey back to the surface, only fire when necessary.
Ant-ernative: For a shoot-‘em-up of a slightly drier aesthetic, try fellow Atari game Outlaw.
Chaos Rising II – Amstrad CPC
Amy is back! Again! Having completed her jewel collecting in Chaos Rising, Amy blacks out and awakes on an island full of strange machines. As with its predecessor, the heroine searches for keys and dodges enemies and hazards as she tries to free the island's people by destroying the 5 chaos chips that control the machines. Chaos Rising II is another splendid Amstrad CPC game from Egotrip.
Ant-Fact: Chaos Rising’s developer, Egotrip, has hinted that a third and concluding chapter to the Amy story is in the works.
Ant-Tactic: Beware the many swathes of water – Amy foolishly skipped swimming lessons.
Ant-ernative: There’s more exploration with Obsidian, also available on Antstream Arcade.
10-Yard Fight – Arcade
Finally, for this month’s round-up, we have a sporty arcade game in the form of Irem’s American Football simulation, 10-Yard Fight. Take to the field and select your play in this simplified yet hugely entertaining slice of America’s favourite sport.
Ant-Fact: 10-Yard Fight is regarded by many as the “Granddaddy” of American Football simulations, given it was the first such game to represent the sport’s play and visuals.
Ant-Tactic: You can only pass the ball when the potential receiver has raised their hand, and be careful no defenders are lurking, ready to intercept the pass.
Ant-ernative: There’s more American Football action on Antstream Arcade with the Atari 2600 game RealSports Football. Game on!
That concludes the Antstream Arcade new game roundup for another month! Look out for another fantastic selection of new games soon.