Asteroids

The Atari 2600 version of Asteroids is not a thing of beauty, however it is a game that is simple to play. So simple that even I, a child could make the high score board loop over. I used to think that was so awesome, that I was great at the game, then I picked it up as an adult and was able to do it again. This time my thoughts were not how awesome I was, but how easy this game is. You are a pilot, in a space ship flying in space. Suddenly asteroids come at you, wave after wave! You must use your blaster, something every ship has, but the government keeps it from us! While blasting the asteroids you may have to take out a satellite or two. Things become really scary when aliens attack in their small UFO that has a blaster as well! Space is a scary place full of a bunch of junk that must be eradicated! The game does a good job for an Atari game with the movement of the asteroids and the way they fragment into pieces and it is somewhat enjoyable to play. Unfortunately, the difficulty does not seem to get any more difficult as the game progresses. Hence, the ease that a gamer will have making the score loop around back to zero. Not like Yar's Revenge where the difficulty becomes noticeably greater the further you last or nearly any other Atari game of this era. Then again, a lot of those games got to hard like Space Invaders where they shot across the screen once and crushed you!

Great things to say about this game are its crisp graphics for the day, physics, and smooth game play. In addition to turning and shooting, there's thrust to move and 'hyperspace' to vanish and re-appear in a random location. Both thrust and hyperspace can get you out of a fix in a hurry, but the risk is high of ending up in a worse-off spot. U. F. O.s add flavour and points to the mix as well.

Controls needed the most help, everything was button based whereas a joystick would've really come in handy and be a more natural fit. There's no on-screen intro, story, or conclusion to the game which isn't necessarily a surprise for the day but would certainly motivate a player to succeed or at least keep coming back.

Important arcade game in history, well worth a few quarters.

Rated E

Pong released in 1972 was the first video game ever made. It was made for the Atari system and didn't have good graphics due to its time yet its a good game.Same for Asteroids.That game was also in the CD I got in the cereal box.This game came out in 1979.THis game is better than Pong.Better graphics and gameplay.What you do is you use your spaceship to shoot asteroids.No real plot but back then no one cared about plot.THis game was great for its time.Now its just okay.Its one of the few games that actually work in my atari CD-Rom.Get this game if you can find it for free or for a very cheap price.

7/10

This particular version of ASTEROIDS was released in 1981 for the Atari 2600 home gaming system. While it's still fun, it pales in comparison to the 1979 arcade version.

First of all, the graphics are substandard, shoddy, and generally inferior to its predecessor. The arcade version showcased clear and very well-defined vector-based graphics that were truly top-notch for the time. The 2600 version has a bunch of brightly colored messy blobs that are constantly flashing because of the unavoidable "too many sprites on the screen at one time" dilemma. It's a real eyesore, and becomes too tough to stand after a while.

Secondly, the sound here is irritating and repetitive. The constant high-pitched noise of the spaceship firing is seriously headache-inducing. Also, in the coin-op version the ambient background sounds really helped get the adrenalin pumping, and sometimes made the game just too nerveracking to handle. In this version, these sounds just plain don't work.

Lastly, and most upsettingly, this game is just too damn easy! Even on the maximum difficulty level I was able to max out the high score with very little effort. While playing the arcade version, it was a one-of-a-kind, exhilarating experience if you made the high score list. With this particular version, however, the gameplay is way too monotonous to really want to bother trying.

In spite of this game's many faults, though, it remains a classic, important addition to any Atari afficionado's cartridge collection. Just be sure to play it with the volume down!

Asteroids is a great game. It was made back in the day when graphics were simple, game rules were simple, the controls the simple, and everything was fun. There aren't any overly complex levels, it is just pure fun. At times, certain levels can get frustrating. As each level goes up, the asteroids are harder to destroy, this can get frustrating.

A few of my other favorite arcade games from this era are Galaga, Pac Man, Dig Dug, Tetris, and Galaxian. Even though these games are old, their levels are fun, and they are very addicting. At times, when you've been playing for a while, you just don't want to stop. That's what makes a game fun, when you never get tired of it.

This is a great game, I really enjoy playing it. Some day, I hope to find an old Asteroids machine and keep it in my basement, along with some of the other games I mentioned.