Asteroids (NTSC) - MAME software

Atari 7800 cart. published 37 years ago:

Asteroids © 1987 Atari Corporation.

Asteroids crowd in on your ship in waves from all corners of the screen. When you empty the screen of asteroids, a new wave crowds in. Each wave you face is more difficult to destroy than the last.

You have more than enough photon power to destroy all the asteroids, but you can fire only four shots into the asteroid field at a time. When hit, small asteroids disintegrate; medium asteroids split into two small asteroids; and large asteroids break into two medium asteroids. (In the Novice level, medium and large asteroids get smaller when hit.)

Watch out for Alien Robot Saucers! They are armed with special photon lasers that destroy anything they hit under all battle conditions. Both small and large saucers explode when hit. (There are no saucers in the Novice level.)

A reserve fleet of three ships stands ready in hyperspace. Each time an asteroid hits you, destroying your ship, a reserve ship appears in the starting position. When the screen is clear of passing asteroids, your new ship begins play. This continues until all your ships are destroyed.

To escape from the asteroid cloud, pull back on the controller handle to warp into hyperspace -- but watch out! You can be warped back at any time, or the warp could destroy your ship.

The highest score of the game is displayed on the ending screen and updated as higher scores are tallied in later games. The highest score remains on screen until you turn off your console.

This variation is for one player, or two players alternating.

Competition Asteroids:
Two players appear on screen at the same time. Your ship is vulnerable to shots fired by the other player. Both players are supplied with ships as long as either player has ships in reserve. You benefit by helping the other player stay alive.

Team Asteroids:
Two players appear on screen at the same time and share reserve ships. Your photon shots pass through the other player's ships without disabling them.

TECHNICAL
Model CX7802

TRIVIA
Asteroids was one of the launch games for the Atari 7800.

SCORING
Use your photon cannon to destroy the foe and gain points. Player 1's score is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen; Player 2's in the upper right corner. The number of ships you have remaining is listed next to your score.

You gain a bonus ship for every 10,000 points you score. Points are scored in the following way:
Small saucer: 1000 points.
Other player's ship: 500 points.
Large saucer: 200 points.
Small asteroid: 100 points.
Medium asteroid: 50 points.
Large asteroid: 20 points.

TIPS AND TRICKS
You can shoot at anything on screen, but you will score more points with a target priority. The following tips can help you preserve your ship and score high:

Fire first at the asteroids closest to your ship.
Then fire at the fastest moving target approaching you.
Fire at the saucers last.

You don't need to move your ship forward to play. You can stay in one place and fire, turning on HYPERSPACE to protect yourself from asteroid collisions. However, learning to move your ship can extend your playing time by three or four ships per game.

In a two-player Team game, get together with the other player in the center of the screen and divide the battle zone into equal sectors. Protect the other player from a rear approach. The asteroids will almost never be able to approach a player until the final waves.

STAFF
Designed by: Greg Munster
Programmed by: Doug Macrae, Ethan

PORTS

• OTHERS:

Atari Flashback [US] (2004)

CONTRIBUTE
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