Tony: Montezuma's Gold for Atari 8-bit computers | Review
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Embark with Tony Halik on an adventure full of challenges and Aztec mysteries, in this platform game with high-resolution monochrome graphics for Atari XL/XE.
Inspired by classic platform games from the 1980s, Tony: Montezuma's Gold invites you to join Tony Halik, an intrepid reporter and treasure hunter, on an epic adventure through the heart of the ancient Aztec civilization. The game's high-resolution monochrome graphics bring a unique visual style to the Atari XL/XE platform, ensuring a captivating experience.
Your mission is simple yet challenging: navigate five unique levels – the Jungle, the Swamp, Montezuma Castle, the Catacombs, and the Aztec Pyramid – each packed with enemies and hazards that will test your agility and strategic planning. Collect ancient treasures and artifacts, avoid deadly traps, and use your limited inventory wisely to advance through each stage.
TONY: MONTEZUMA'S GOLD
Published by: Monochrome Productions, 2024.Developed by: Vladimir "Popmilo" Janković (code), Rafał Dudek (graphics), Michał "Caruso" Brzezicki (music).
Gender: Adventures, platforms.
Extra: 1 player, joystick.
THE STORY
The plot of “Tony: Montezuma's Gold” centers on Tony Halik, an experienced reporter and treasure hunter. The story begins when Tony, freshly returned from an expedition to the ancient city of Tula, Mexico, receives an urgent call from his colleague Margaret. Upon arriving at the Washington News office, his editor-in-chief, Steve, proposes a new expedition to investigate the alleged discovery of the Montezuma I treasure. Tony accepts the mission, preparing to embark on a quest that will lead him deeper into the mysteries of the Aztec civilization.
The inspiration behind “Tony” comes from the fascinating life of Tony Halik (1921-1998), born in Torun, Poland. He was a fighter pilot in the British RAF during World War II and joined the French Resistance after being shot down. His brave actions earned him the esteemed French Croix de Guerre medal. After the war, Halik embarked on a three-decade career as an NBC correspondent, creating over four hundred documentaries, writing thirteen books and contributing numerous newspaper articles.
GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS
Players will embark on a journey through five unique levels: the Jungle, the Swamp, Montezuma Castle, the Catacombs and the Aztec Pyramid. Each level offers a variety of challenges and enemies tailored to its environment, ensuring a rich and varied visual experience. Precision and quick reflexes are crucial as you guide Tony through dangerous terrain, using keys to unlock doors and masks to complete levels. Strategic use of potions and other inventory items can make the difference between success and failure.Every 3,000 points grants an extra life, so collecting treasures is key. You start with five lives, and they're not easy to come by, so take care of each one. Jewels, worth 200 points each, and potions, worth 100 points, are your best allies. Potions can be used to eliminate enemies, earning you 50 points for each enemy defeated.
Your inventory has only four slots available. Keys, masks, and potions are the primary items, while jewelry takes up no space. Be strategic: once an item is in your inventory, it stays until it is used or replaced by a higher priority item. Masks are essential to completing levels, followed by keys, then potions. Don't forget that keys open doors, masks complete levels, and unused items disappear as you advance to the next level. Plan wisely and seek out the legendary Montezuma mask, your ticket to the next adventure.
GAME OPTIONS
Use the fire button to advance during the comic's intro scene and any other similar scenes (such as losing a match or finishing the game).The keySTARTallows you to skip the comic part and go straight into the game from the beginning.
The keyOPTIONallows you to switch between complete silence, sound effects only, music only, and music with sound effects.
Press thespace barduring gameplay to change the screen color.
CONTROLS
Use the joystick to move Tony left and right, or to go up and down stairs. You can also move the joystick down to make Tony crouch.Jumps are executed with the fire button.
GAME SCREEN
Below you can see, from left to right:
1. Inventory
2. Lives.
3. Score.
4. Music/sound.
ASSESSMENT
Beyond its cultural or visual references to classics such as "Montezuma's Revenge", "Starquake" or "Blinky's Scary School", the figure of Tony Halik - with his adventurous spirit and passion for discovering treasures - is the soul of this game. "Tony: Montezuma's Gold" seeks to capture that essence, taking players on exciting and challenging adventures, while exploring the rich and enigmatic landscapes of the ancient Mexican civilization.Since its initial demo, Tony: Montezuma's Gold has gone through numerous updates, improving its gameplay and aesthetics thanks to feedback from the AtariOnline and AtariAge communities. Its graphics and refined gameplay have been highly praised.
The opening sequence of the game is simply superb. Despite the lack of color, the creativity of the comic strip harkens back to productions on other platforms - and even the arcade. Without a doubt, the detailed monochrome graphics bring a unique visual style to the Atari XL/XE platform, ensuring a captivating experience that evokes the golden age of video games. The graphics in "Tony: Montezuma's Gold" are impeccable, displaying a quality that perfectly justifies the definition of "pixel perfect." Although they maintain a monochrome palette, surprisingly, up to 15 different color options can be activated. This variety adds an extra touch of customization and liveliness to the landscapes, without compromising the retro aesthetic that is so valued on the Atari 8-bit platform.
Each level is meticulously crafted to offer a visually rich and varied environment, enhancing the adventure as a whole. At the same time, the controls respond with absolute precision; resulting in a remarkable experience in each playthrough. Meanwhile, the soundtrack plays a crucial role in player immersion, adapting to each level to create the right atmosphere. From the haunting sounds of the catacombs to the eerie melodies of the swamp, each piece of music enhances the setting and adds an extra layer of excitement and tension to Tony Halik's adventure.
However, in our own way, we feel that the game lacks an additional action component, one that pushes the player to complete the mission. Perhaps it needs to add some element of stress – such as, for example, the bat that appears in "Montezuma's Revenge" when the player takes too long in the same room. And since two sequels have been announced, the authors face the challenge of adding new approaches – perhaps inspired by classics from other systems such as the weapons from "Rick Dangerous" – that prevent a repetition of this first installment with a mere change of settings and motifs.
All in all, Tony: Montezuma's Gold not only pays homage to the classics, but also introduces innovative elements that keep the gameplay fresh and engaging. With a mix of challenging puzzles, action-packed sequences, and a rich story, this title is a must-have for all fans of platform and adventure games. We look forward to its announced second and third installments, Ark of Covenant and Shimazu Masamune's Katana.
ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME
As we have previously reported on Atariteca, the game has progressed significantly since its initial announcement in September 2022. The team, led by Vladimir "Popmilo" Janković (Serbia), made the smart decision to release a playable demo; from which the gameplay experience was refined, thanks to valuable feedback from the community.Speaking to Atariteca, Janković said that the graphics are pure bitmap monochrome, in a resolution of 320x192, changing color by level as designed by Rafał Dudek. The technique allows the sprites to move at 50 frames per second, using tricks to optimize fluidity and minimize CPU usage, as smooth sprites take a long time.
Likewise, each version of the game (Atari, C64, Amiga) has been designed with a certain amount of freedom by its programmers, resulting in unique variations on each system. For example, the bat paths and the position of some platforms have been adjusted to improve the gameplay experience on the Atari 8-bit version.
“Popmilo” stresses that the goal was always to keep the game within the 64KB of RAM of standard Atari computers, managing to compress the graphics and maps without repeating details; which implies an efficient use of the available space.
GRADES
- The digital version of "Tony: Montezuma's Gold" for Atari 8-bit computers premiered at the Pixel Heaven 2024 festival, held from June 7 to 9, 2024 in Warsaw, Poland.
- At the event, the game was declared the winner of the AMD Pixel Awards Europe 2024 in the "Retro Roots" category.
- There are three different physical versions on offer, available through the Retronics website, with prices ranging from 119 to 179 Polish złoty.
- The digital version of the game can be purchased for USD 9.99 on the website Monochrome Productions
- The cassette version of the game is now ready, though it still needs Dudek's permission to be released.
Acknowledgements
Our thanks to Vladimir Janković and Rafał Dudek for providing us with early access to versions 1.1 and 1.2 of the game. We also thank again Mariusz "Marbed" Bednarz for providing us with some of the images and videos that illustrate this article.
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