The 'roids are closing in from all sides. You knew you had put up a brave defence, but now, after hours of stressful piloting you cannot take any more. Reaching forward you reboot the navigation circuits one more time and initiate the Hyperspace Engine, knowing it will not work for long, hoping for something better.
Blackness. Then a brightness so blinding you are unable to block it out. The universe feels like it is being dragged through you. Everything goes completely silent. There is nothing. Endless, infinite darkness.
You wonder if you are dead. And then the darkness explodes into a billion points of light, which slowly fade.
Adrift in space, again. Great. A faint glow on the scanner indicates a planetary system nearby. A strange energy signal is allowing you to lock the Hyperspace Engine and set co-ordinates. With no other option you jump again, to appear in a... hangar?
It appears deserted but the power is still at low levels and the atmosphere is breathable. Exiting the EWS you take stock of the situation, rest and inspect the ship. It is badly damaged, punctures in the hull tell you it will never fly again.
Exploring deeper into the hangar you find what appears to be an old fighter craft. It is intact but was clearly being repaired here before the base was abandoned. It seems familiar somehow...
The scanners are the least damaged, so you set to work to bring them online first. Good to know where you are, right? Energy signatures! ones that you have seen before... when they attacked the home-world. This must be where they came from!
Repairing the communications array now becomes the top priority. You have to warn command of this! Days pass before you get a response to your signal requesting backup, time which you use by fitting the hyperdrive system from the EWS into the fighter. It will be perfect for sneaking past their perimeter defences!
Once the call for help was received things move quickly, and the base is swiftly transformed into a forward attack point. Now you begin to plan how to take the fight to them and make sure they can never threaten your world again.
Gravitic Mines is a love letter to classics like "Thrust", "Gravitar" and "Lunar Lander", but blends classic gameplay with modern flavors of games like "Gravity Crash" or "Pixel Junk Shooter". And it is an exclusive title for the Atari Jaguar 64 bit system!
The gameplay consists of three pillars: 1) exploration and puzzles, 2) shooting foes and managing limited fuel and ammo, and 3) landing your ship on pads to grab items or rescue survivors. The game is very challenging.
The core gameplay mechanics from these games feature tight, responsive controls, and 60 FPS was targeted so that Gravitic Mines would be very smooth and natural to play. Gravtiic Mines is split over two full campaigns, with sixteen missions (and four boss encounters!) in each campaign, along with eight training missions which can be played at any time. New missions unlock as previous ones are completed. Gravitic Mines has a compelling story written by Andrew Rosa to tie it all together and create a sense of world building, where hopefully players will ‘care’ about what they are trying to achieve. The Gravitic Mines AI has a distinct personality!
Multiple mission types are present, from ‘rescue missions’ to ‘recon’ and ‘explosive demolition’ bomb-drops. Under the hood, Gravitic Mines features a scripting engine, allowing each level to contain sequences designed to challenge the player and provide more entertainment. Alongside all of this, Gravitic Mines also has on-line integration. Each cartridge can hold up to three Pilot Profiles which can track a players progress and unlock achievements via a QR code which will update against the reboot-games website.
6MB cartridge containing over 43MB of compressed data!
Sixteen unique and lush worlds
Multiple missions on each world
Punishing boss fights!
Thirteen music tracks, totaling 38 minutes of music
Pilot profiles and online achievement tracking
Online scoreboards
Pro-Controller support
Controller Overlay included
Artist William Thorup, who has created cover artwork and manuals for several of our Atari Jaguar releases (Last Strike, reBOOTed, and Jeff Minter Classics), has published a time lapse video showing the genesis of the stunning artwork he painted for Gravitic Mines. This video is a must watch if you want a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into creating original artwork for these games!
We're including a controller overlay for Gravitic Mines, the first time we've produced one for a Jaguar game! As Gravitic Mines takes advantage of the keypad, this will be a big help when you're in the heat of battle!
If you want more Gravitic Mines goodness, we've put together a Deluxe Edition package! This package includes an 18" x 24" poster (shipped separately in a tube so it does not need to be folded), a baseball cap with an embroidered Gravitic Mines logo, pilot cards, a soundtrack CD, embroidered patch, keychain, and Gravitic Mines stickers. Additionally, the first 100 Deluxe Editions of Gravitic Mines will include a Reboot coin!
Images of many of these items are below, and we will continue to update this page as these items are produced and we can post actual photos of the items versus renders. We are also exploring other fun items to include with this package, and those will be a surprise!
The Deluxe Edition of Gravitic Mines includes an 18" x 24" poster featuring the beautiful cover artwork created by artist William Thorup. We will ship these posters separately in a tube for both domestic and international customers to prevent having to fold the poster. The shipping cost is included in the price of the Deluxe Edition. This artwork will look great framed and hanging on a wall!
The Gravitic Mines Soundtrack CD contains thirteen tracks comprising 38 minutes of music! The Gravitic Mines music was composed by Roald Strauss. The Soundtrack CD is glass mastered and professionally produced, enclosed in a thin CD jewel case.
The Deluxe Edition includes an embroidered Gravitic Mines patch, as well as a Gravitic Mines keychain!
Included with the Deluxe Edition are two different Gravitic Mines stickers.
An embroidered baseball cap sporting the Gravitic Mines logo is included with the Deluxe Edition of Gravitic Mines! This is a universal size baseball cap made of quality materials!
This hefty Reboot coin is included with the first 100 Deluxe Edition copies of Gravitic Mines! If you want one of these coins, don't delay! This is a great looking coin, featuring the Reboot logo on one side and the Jaguar logo on the other. The coin measures 1.5" in diameter and is fairly thick versus most coins!
The Standard Edition Gravitic Mines package includes a professionally printed, full-color box, a full-color manual, game cartridge, and keypad controller overlay.
The Deluxe Edition of Gravitic Mines additionally includes an 18" x 24" poster (shipped separately in a tube so it does not need to be folded), a baseball cap with an embroidered Gravitic Mines logo, pilot cards, a soundtrack CD, embroidered patch, keychain, and Gravitic Mines stickers.
If you are trying to decide which Jaguar homebrew to buy . BUY THIS ONE! You will not regret it.
Graphics
Sound
Music
Animation
Controls
Gravitational physics
Utilization of Pro Controller
Multiple factors for ranking system
Level design
Action
Exploration
Multiple ways to finish levels
Ability to restart level without soft system reset
Fast, intuitive menus
Fast loading
Best game that ever was and ever will be
Would have Saved the Jaguar® if released as pack-in
CONS
Humanity still producing new video games as though "Gravitic Mines" doesn't already exist
May lead to divorce, dehydration, and starvation
PRO TIP
Just as in THHGTTG, don't panic. It's hard not to at times, but, as a cyborg once said, "This does not help our mission."
During its dev cycle I was fortunate to test it and couldn't get enough. Since receiving my copies a week ago I've missed a couple days of work to play and get my name on those online scoreboards!
Went a few months between the last build I tested and this final version. While I lost some of my piloting skills, it didn't take long to hone them and re-immerse myself into this awesome creation.
The game play is very addictive and challenging. The artwork is superb, as is the incredible soundtrack.
I'd definitely recommend picking this title up whether you're new to the Jaguar or have a wall full of games for it already. You can't go wrong with any of Reboot's titles and this one is absolutely epic.
In a single 12 hour sitting I've managed to beat the Pilot difficulty levels which unlocks Ace difficulty-for an entirely new set of challenges!
A genuine masterpiece. I give it a well earned 10/10.
Much thanks to all who made this game possible!
The game's story really adds to the feel of the experience. I won't spoil it, but by the end I was unable to stop playing. The need to see what was next drew me in. After I finally finished the game, I immediately went back and played through several of the levels againso much fun. The online high score is such a cool feature. I couldn't help but find myself going back to levels because I felt the need to trim some time off my scores. Players are gonna have fun seeing how their times stack up against other players online. I found myself spending hours trying to shave a few seconds off of some of the training levels. ADDICTING!
The artwork is extremely stunning. Levels feel like they were cut from a Sci-fi water color painting. Really sets the mood and builds on the story. The different worlds have unique characteristics. Some have underwater parts while others have green toxic clouds. Learning to land upside down was challenging and rewarding. Progressing from world to world really feels like you have traveled to a new planet.
As a Gravitar arcade owner, this game is a dream come true. It gives a nod to Gravitar while still being original. Just a blast from start to finish. Beating the game felt like a major accomplishment and I immediately wanted to play through it again. Finding new ways to beat levels and new techniques for flying really got me hooked. Just a beautiful, captivating & polished game overall.
Thank you Reboot!!!
The controls in this game are incredibly tight and responsive, and the scrolling is so silky smooth. It seems like modern developers can't even get a simple UI to scroll that smoothly half the time on the comparatively massive GPUs in smartphones with gigs of memory these days. Great work by the developers. It's a joy to play, and I find it to be a very relaxing game. It's just as fun of a pick-up-and-play choice as Tempest 2000 or Rebooteroids, but with the exact opposite mood.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord