Before we get to the compilation here is a bit of a background about Jeff Minter the founder of Llamasoft. He is an icon in the British gaming scene of the 1980s and he always resembled a hippie or a rocker. A university dropout with quite an interesting success story. Originally from Tadley, UK Jeff started out making indie games from a Commodore PET computer. The predecessor of the Commodore 64. He was very influenced by popular arcade games from that period such as Defender and Centipede.
Computers like the Commodore Vic-20, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, as well as the Atari 8-bit line were gaining popularity in the UK so Jeff decided to create his own takes on his favorite arcade games. His first international hit was Grid Runner. A static single screen shooter inspired by the arcade classic Centipede. It is not a complete clone though. Unlike Centipede you have to keep dodging beams from cannons on the side of the playfield while blasting the worm. After the success of Grid Runner Jeff went on to make some really bizarre games all involving llamas, goats, sheep, basically his trademark humor. He made a Defender clone called Attack of the Mutant Camels which pretty much spoofs the scene with the Rebel Alliance shooting down the AT-ATs in The Empire Strikes Back.
After taking a break with Atari clones Jeff created the world’s first light synthesizer for C64 and Atari 8-bit computers called “Psychedelia” which he created for music in mind. As the 90s rolled around all the 8-bit computers were losing popularity to 16-bit game consoles such as Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) and SNES so Jeff Minter attempted to stay relevant by releasing his indies via shareware on Atari ST floppies.
In 1993 Atari asked Jeff Minter if he wanted to make a Tempest sequel on their then brand new Jaguar console. He immediately became interested and the rest is history. Tempest 2000 is his magnum opus. It combined his love for psychedelic imagery with his love for classic arcade gaming. It became the Jaguar’s killer app. It even made a few people buy a Jaguar just to try it out.
To this day he still makes indie games for Steam and modern consoles. Over 40 years later he has never sold himself out to major corporations he always has stayed indie. His latest game as of this article is the reboot of the long lost Atari arcade game Akka Arrh.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story most certainly gets an A+ in presentation. As you start the game you get a full-on menu of Jeff Minter’s entire resume. From his college years to the present time. His whole documentary is extremely detailed. Every milestone is mentioned and there are video clips with Jeff talking about his time developing his games along with other UK industry veterans speaking about his influence. I must say after reading and watching all the clips I have learned a lot about Jeff Minter. It was a good history lesson for sure.
There are a total of 43 playable games. Many of these are games that came out on Sinclair, Commodore, and Atari computers. Some games have multiple versions:
3D3D (ZX81) – An early 3D maze tech demo
Centipede (ZX81) – Exactly what it is. A port of the Atari arcade classic.
Deflex (Vic-20) – You bounce a ricocheting ball around with sticks and you have to make it reach the target.
Ratman (Vic-20)– You walk around smashing rats with a hammer.
Superdeflex (ZX Spectrum) – Sequel to Deflex. Same concept but harder.
City Bomb (ZX Spectrum) – You bomb cities with a plane.
Rox III (ZX Spectrum) – A clone of Missile Command.
Turboflex (ZX Spectrum) – Yet another installment of Deflex.
Abuctor (Vic-20) – Its a very fun clone of Galaxian, Galaga, Space Invaders.
Grid Runner (Vic-20, C64, Atari 8-bit) – Jeff Minter’s first major hit. It’s Centipede but more intense!
Andes Attack (Vic-20) – Literally Defender with llamas.
Rox 64 (C64) – It’s the same game as Rox III but with better graphics and sound.
Attack of the Mutant Camels (C64, Atari 8-bit) – It’s literally the Empire Strikes Back game for the 2600 but with giant camels instead of AT-ATs.
Headbanger’s Heaven (ZX Spectrum) – Hilarious game. You’re a guy looting money back and forth across the screen while dodging raining bricks.
Laser Zone (Vic-20, C64) – Yet another single screen shooter. Just like Abductor but now you control 2 cannons.
Matrix: Grid Runner 2 (Vic-20, C64) – Sequel to Grid Runner. Harder too.
Hover Bovver (C64, Atari 8 bit) – Weird lawn mowing game.
Meta-Llamas (Vic-20, C64) – Another single screen shooter. You are a llama that shoots lasers that bounce off walls. Spiders are your main targets.
Revenge of the Mutant Camels (C64, Atari 8 bit, Atari ST) – Sequel to Attack of the Mutant Camels. This time you are one of the giant camels attacking humans and other monsters.
Hellgate (Vic-20, C64) – Its literally Laser Zone with 4 cannons now.
Sheep in Space (C64) – Defender with a flying sheep.
Ancipital (C64) – I can’t make out what this game is supposed to be. You’re a goat shooting fruit in random rooms. Really strange game.
Psychedelia (C64) – Its a video tech demo showing off the C64’s color palette capabilities.
Mama Llama (C64) – Is it chess? I never understood what to do in this game.
Colourspace (Atari 8 bit) – Literally the Atari 8-bit computer version of Psychedelia.
Batalyx (C64) – It looks like another Defender clone but the gameplay is much more complex. I couldn’t figure this one out.
Idris Alpha (C64) – Its literally the same game as Batalyx. Sequel?
Revenge of the Mutant Camels 2 (C64) – Sequel with better graphics.
Voidrunner (C64) – Fun intense single screen shooter.
Super Grid Runner (Atari ST) – It’s Grid Runner now with mouse controls!
Attack of the Mutant Camels ‘89 (Konix Multi System) – Unreleased port of the C64 shooter.
Llamatron 2112 (Atari ST) – Rare shareware homage to Robotron 2084. Now with a llama and a bunch with weird sprites.
Tempest 2000 (Atari Jaguar) – Its Tempest for the 90s. What else I can say?
Grid Runner Remastered (original game for this collection) – Flashy remake of the C64 classic.
A lot of these games range from Atari/Midway arcade clones, simple shooters, Nintendo Game & Watch style action games, visual tech demos.
Unfortunately Jeff Minter’s Defender 2000 also for Atari Jaguar never made the cut in this collection because neither Jeff or Atari own the rights to Defender and some of the sound effects from Llamatron 2112 were changed in this release because they came from other copyrighted media.
Each game here has multiple video modes, button configurations, a digital manual, save states, fast forward and rewind features.
One thing I noticed in a few Atari ST games like Llamatron 2112 and Super Grid Runner is that the sound crackles a bit during gameplay. Hopefully, a future patch will resolve this issue.
So do I recommend Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story? Well if you grew up during the Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision era and the early-mid 80s PC gaming boom then this might be for you. I personally have no nostalgic attachment to a lot of these games here besides Tempest 2000. I just see this collection as a way to own the game without shelling out dough for an Atari Jaguar console plus the original cart. Although I do find the Grid Runner games and Llamatron 2112 surprisingly addictive.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is now on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series and PC.
*A review code was given for this review.
David Medina is a hardcore gamer and Japanese import collector owning dozens of systems and games from Famicom to Nintendo Switch. He has an active YouTube channel called "The Karnov Jr Show" and posts retro gaming content there weekly showing off collections, random store tours, and gameplay clips.