Pilot your lone Blaster through enemy sectors shooting down wave after wave of glowing, shifting alien ships in the rarely-seen Sega/Gremlin classic, Astro Blaster from 1981!
Answer the game’s call for fighter pilots, and put your quarter in to save the galaxy. Don’t hesitate! You must quickly destroy several formations, fly through the outer asteroid field and dock with the mother ship before fuel reserves run out. Aim carefully, too: your ship’s laser temperature increases with each firing and can temporarily overheat after too many wasted shots.
To aid you in battle, your ship is equipped with Warp drive that temporarily slows down enemies and their weapons for easier targeting, and a speaking computer that audibly updates you on fuel status, laser temperature, seconds of Warp time remaining and other conditions throughout play. Earn secret bonuses by meeting conditions like not wasting a single shot, destroying all enemies before they leave the screen, or docking with the mother ship without using movement controls. There are more hidden bonuses to find, too!
Astro Blaster is one of the earliest shoot ’em ups, coming out after Space Invaders and Galaxian but predating Galaga. It scored “best video game speech” in several gamers’ magazine polls of the time, and its sound effects and synthesized speech are still impressive today! Atari gamers may remember a stripped-down version called “Megamania”, but this cabinet is the only way to experience this underrated shooter in its original form!