| Beast Invaders | |
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| Developers | Atari (original) Jeff Minter (hack) |
| Publishers | Atari, Sears (original) Freeware (hack) |
| System | Atari 2600 |
| Release Dates | 1980 (original) 2000 (hack) |
| Modes | Single player Two players alternating Two players simultaneous |
| Media | Cartridge (original) ROM file (hack) |
Background/gameplay[]
Space Invaders for the Atari 2600 was the first ever arcade to home game license, becoming a huge best seller, which it included 112 games with multiple playing variables. In the game, a group of invaders marched from one side of the screen to the other, dropping down a notch closer to the player’s laser cannon whenever they reached a screen edge, firing at the player’s cannon all the while. The player had three bunkers to take cover under, although they would become damaged with the player’s and invaders’ laser fire, then disappear altogether if the invaders came down too close, and if the invaders made it down to the very bottom of the screen, the player was "invaded" and the game would end (along with if the player lost all three of their laser cannons due to being shot by invaders would also end a game). A high-scoring Command Alien Ship would also fly overhead several times during a wave as well.
Beast Invaders is a graphical hack of the 2600 version of Space Invaders, having changed game sprites, as the invaders, players' laser cannons, bunkers, and the Command Alien Ship look different, as the laser cannon more closely resembles the base from the original Space Invaders arcade game and all of the Invaders are now critters. The double shot bug is also automatically enabled.
Game variations[]
- Moving Shields--bunkers move back and forth
- Zigzagging Laser Bombs--Invaders' shots zigzag back and forth towards the earth
- Fast Laser Bombs--Invaders' bombs drop quickly
- Invisible Invaders--Invaders are invisible unless one (or the Command Alien Ship) is shot, which they then briefly reappear
- Large laser cannon--flipping a difficulty switch on the 2600 console to the A position makes players' laser cannons twice as large
Game variations, player setup[]
There are two player alternating variations, along with variations to not only have both players onscreen at once, but there are also several competing variations as well, such as ones where if one player gets hit by Invaders' fire, the other player is awarded 200 points. Others include alternating shots where if one player takes too long to fire their laser cannon then it will automatically shoot.
Other variations include ones where one player controls the cannon, along with one player can only move the cannon to the right, while the other player can only move it to the left. Other variations allow one movement and one shot per player, then the other player gets to do the same, and others have one player move the laser cannon while the other player fires.
Scoring[]
- Row 1 Invader--5 points
- Row 2 Invader--10 points
- Row 3 Invader--15 points
- Row 4 Invader--20 points
- Row 5 Invader--25 points
- Row 6 Invader--30 points
- Command Alien Ship--200 points, or 100 points in certain game variations
- Other player's laser cannon hit--200 points awarded to other player on certain competitive game variations
Controls[]
- Move cannon--joystick (left/right)
- Fire--button
Trivia[]
- The original game came with several label variations, which are known as Picture, Text, Red, and Silver labels. This version comes as a ROM file only to be played on Atari emulators or multicarts.
- There is a bug on the original Atari 2600 version of the game where if the game reset switch is held down as the 2600 is powered on, the game will start with the player firing two shots at once instead of just being able to shoot one shot at a time. These double shots are automatically enabled by default on this hack.
Links[]
Beast Invaders Atari Age page