Space Armada - MAME software

Mattel Intellivision cart. published 44 years ago:

Space Armada © 1981 Mattel Electronics.

Start the game and HERE THEY COME -- 4 rows of menacing monsters -- an armada of trouble! You begin with 6 laser guns and 3 bunkers. The descending targets drop bombs on you and your bunkers. Hit the elusive red flying saucer for big points and some damage repair! Every time you clear the screen of targets, the challenge gets tougher -- more bombs, guided missiles, and many, many surprises! Fire away!

Score as many points as possible for shooting descending Space Armada targets, before any of them land. Each time a screen full of targets is cleared a new Armada appears with higher point values...and sometimes new offensive weapons.

TECHNICAL
Model 3759

TRIVIA
Space Armada is a clone of the arcade game Space Invaders. According to Mattel lawyers, the copyright of the original game hadn't been properly protected. Any other company could make their own version as long as they changed the name.

Space Armada was the first Intellivision game to take advantage of sequencing GRAM to create the illusion of more than eight moving objects (sprites) on-screen at one time.

SCORING
Every screenful of targets is worth more than the preceding Armada. The first set of targets are worth 10 points each; the second set are 20 points, and so on (you do not score any points when you hit a bomb or projectile). The red flying saucer at the top of the screen gives you bonus points when you hit it...a random number from 1 to 32, times the current value of each target. So, hitting the flying saucer in the fifth screen could give you over 1,500 points!

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Start to the right. Knock off vertical columns to delay the armada from advancing down another rank. The fewer columns left in the armada, the better your chances of clearing the screen as the armada approaches the bottom.
• Hit the saucer. It's difficult but well worth it. Not only do you get points, a bunker will be rebuilt as well.
• Don't get hit. Stay mobile or hide behind the bunkers. You'll need every "life" possible late in the game.
• Remember the red spiral missiles don't need a direct hit to cause damage. If you're too close when the missile hits bottom, your base will be destroyed.
• Outmaneuver the red homing missiles. Lead them into a bunker. They will crash and self-destruct. Or, lead them along to one side, quickly double-back underneath and fire.
• Concentrate. Remember the structure of the invisible armadas. Many good players suffer early defeat because they forgot the presence of just one alien.

STAFF
Program: John Brooks, Chris Hawley

CONTRIBUTE
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