''Spacechase'' is a

fixed shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...

video game for the Atari Video Computer System (later called the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...

) written by Ed Salvo and published by

Games by Apollo Games by Apollo Inc. (also known as Apollo) was a third-party developer of games for the Atari 2600 video game system, based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded in October 1981 by Pat Roper as a subsidiary of his National Career Consultants (N ...

in 1982.

Gameplay

In orbit of an unnamed "

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

," the player uses a Starcruiser to destroy formations of alien enemy raiders that attack from above. The lunar surface rotates in the background, but has no effect on gameplay. The player's ship can maneuver in eight directions within the lower third of the game screen. As the game advances, the aliens attacks begin to include "Lazer-Directed Heat-Seeking Proton Missiles". There are single and two-player games; players alternate turns in the latter. The game can be handicapped for each player by setting the Atari's Difficulty Switch. In the "A" position the player's shots are slower than when the switch is in the "B" position.

Reception

''Spacechase'' became Apollo's best selling title. Apollo also marketed ''Spacechase'' with an offer to make customized or "monogrammed" versions of ''Spacechase''. Less than 10 were sold, and several were given to press including ''

Electronic Games ''Electronic Games'' was the first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States and ran from October 15, 1981, to 1997 under different titles. It was co-founded by Bill Kunkel, Joyce Worley, and Arnie Katz. History The h ...

'' magazine co-founder Arnie Katz. ''

PM Magazine ''PM/Evening Magazine'' is a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States. In most areas, ''Evening/PM Magazine'' was broadcast from the late 1970s into the late 1980s. Orig ...

'' visited Apollo's offices to film a segment on Apollo and ''Spacechase'', with

Leeza Gibbons Leeza Kim Gibbons (born March 26, 1957) is an American talk show host. She is best known as a correspondent and co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' (1984–2000) as well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show, ''Leeza'' (1993– ...

doing the interview. The segment included programmer Ed Salvo making a customized ''Spacechase'' for Gibbons, changing three shapes in the explosion graphic to her initials. When her ship was destroyed, Leeza's initials appeared.

Reviews

The Atari Times, reviewed by Ethan C. Nobles, gave it a 75% rating. neXGam (German), reviewed by Michael Tausendpfund, gave it a 63% rating.

References

External links

* *{{internet archive game, atari_2600_spacechase_1981_apollo_-_games_by_apollo_ed_salvo_byron_parks_ap-2001 1982 video games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games Fixed shooters Games by Apollo Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games Video games developed in the United States