Asteroids

"Classic Arcade action at home!"

As I've mentioned in prior Atari reviews, Atari was responsible for bringing some of the most addicting Arcade games into the home. One of these, along with such games as Space Invaders, was Asteroids. In fact they're very similar, except that in Asteroids you fend off---well, asteroids.
Gameplay 10-10. Move your little ship thingy around and blow up asteroids with your laser. Each time you hit an asteroid, it splits into several smaller ones, so you'll have to be careful. Then there are occasional satelites and enemy ships that appear to destroy you, so you have to watch out for those as well.
Control 10-10. It's nice and simple. The button fires and the joystick moves you around. Pressing Up makes you go faster. It's what any shooter ought to be, nice and simple. Nowadays games have gotten so complex, even ones that should stay simple. Well, that's just the way it works. Stuff that was considered groundbreaking in the 80s and 70s is crap by today's standards. Still, there's something about Atari that---well, let's get on with it.
Audio 10-10. It's not much, but it's catchy. What passes for music is simply a two-note tune that gets faster and faster the farther you get. The sound efects are, like the music, rudementary but fitting. There's a simple pew pew pew sound for when you fire your gun, and boom sound for when you or an asteroid is hit, and a thruster sound for when you go faster. Then there's a sort of telephone sound when one of those satelites is after you. Due to the limitations of the Atari sound hardware, the music stops when the satelite noise plays.Oh well, you can't have everything in life.
Story ??? If you really want one I'll make one up. Aliens have sent some asteroids to destroy Earth. You, some spaceship flying dude, must fly up to where they are and blow 'em up before they hit Earth, or it's game over. Story or no however, this game gets incredibly addicting, and like a lot of Atari games, it can go on indefinitely.
Overall 10-10. Like most if not all Atari games, Asteroids does come with several variations. If one is too easy for you, you can set it at a harder mode. It can still get boring after a while, but even if you set it down for a while you'll eventually be back. It holds true with me and probably a lot of you as well. Give this game a try, whether it be one of the remakes or the original (the original would be better in order to understand my review). You won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/19/03