Space Invaders Atari 2600 Review

Space Invaders was a worldwide phenomenon. When it burst onto the scene, nobody had ever seen anything like it. The Atari 2600 version of the Space Invaders game was a monumental boost to the Atari corporation. It was the first Atari 2600 game to ever sell over a million copies. It also boosted the sales of its consoles and is considered the first “killer app” for video game consoles. This is the first space-based video game that I ever played. Being that this game was released in 1980, it was also one of the first space-based games out at the time. It was also the first home video game port that was licensed from the arcade version.

No score really. How about pressing the fire button already?

The beauty of this game, lies in its simplicity. It was said to be inspired by the video game “Breakout”. While the gameplay is simple, at the time it was also groundbreaking. For example, this is one of the first video games where your opponents fired back at you, …what the? Really?…. It was the first video game that had destructible barriers to hide behind. The arcade version was also the first video game that would record your high score, albeit without initials. It was also a fun and addictive game.

The planet is being invaded by multiple waves of gooey slimy invaders slowly descending upon you. You are in control of the planetary defense, your lone laser cannon against the many invaders. How long can you hold them off before succumbing? The controls are pretty simple, left, right and fire the button. You must kill the invaders by shooting them down one at a time until they are all dead. All the while, they are slowly descending upon you like ants on a sugar cane. You can hide behind the shield barriers but they are slowly being destroyed as the enemy laser beams come raining down. Even your laser cannon can damage the defense barrier if you are not careful. Occasionally an alien space ship will rapidly jot across the top of the screen. Shoot it down for extra points. The longer you take, the faster the enemy will start moving toward you. If you don’t successfully shoot down all of the enemies in time, they will eventually land right on top of you, ending your life and destroying your planet. The concept was simple, and fun to play.

Alien at the top, must get em!!

The sounds within the game were not that bad, fairly close to the arcade version. There is sort of a marching sound “hut 2, 3, 4 , Hut 2, 3, 4”, going on constantly in the background. Once the game pace picks up, the background tempo also speeds up. There is a nice firing sound and a nice humming sound when an alien ship is coming across the screen. Simple and concise.

Game Sounds:

Dying

Enemy Dying

Firing

Flying Saucer

Marching

Ramp up

Saucer Dying

There are an incredible 112 different game variations, including “moving shields”, “Zigzagging laser bombs”, “Fast laser bombs” and “invisible vaders”. Two-player options allow you to alternate play with a buddy after dying. This game even has cooperative muti-playing options, possibly the first Atari game to do so. Suffice it to say, there is quite a bit of replay value built into these variations especially knowing you can play against the computer or against a friend. The difficulty switch determines the size of your laser cannon. In position “A”, the cannon is twice as large as it is in position “B”.

On the Twin Galaxies website, there are two NTSC world records listed as of 07/02/2016:
Rules Record Holder Points
Game 1, Difficulty B Frankie Cardulla 621,535
Game 7, Difficulty B Ron Corcoran 10,875

Space Invaders for the 2600 was released with four different labels – Picture, Text, Red, and Silver.

There were also three different box art styles.

Space Invaders is a very common cartridge for the Atari 2600 and is therefore easy to get your hands on it. It can be found on EBAY, Amazon, or wherever video games are sold.

Once you’ve mastered Space Invaders, but you still want more? There are a ton of hacks out there, here is a list I have found of a few of them on Atariage, including one by AA user Nukey Shay. This is an 8K version with many enhancements. These are ALL freely available to download.

http://atariage.com/software_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=462

Atariage is offering a couple of hacks of Space Invaders for sale, “Space Instigators” and “Space Invaders Arcade”, both available for $20 plus shipping.

https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=114
https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=105

It was officially ported to the Atari 8-bit line and to the Atari 5200 console. There is also a version of Space Invaders for the Atari 7800 console, by Bob DeCrescenzo, available on Atariage $30

https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=900

Packrat video games is selling a hack of Space Invaders called “Space Invaders Vector” for about $15 plus shipping

http://www.packratvg.com/sivector.html

Call me a purist, but I prefer the original to most of these knock-offs.

This is the game that spawned a whole new generation of video games and the arcade version nearly single-handedly pulled the market out of the crash of 1977. It is the pre-cursor to the modern-day shooter. It’s simple. It’s fun. It’s a must-have for your Atari 2600 collection. Highly recommended.

*****

TOP 10 2600 Games (as a Child)

Top 10 ranking (work in progress)
6

Youtube Description:

This is my review of Space Invaders for the Atari 2600.

Hacks of Space Invaders on Atariage:
http://atariage.com/software_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=462

Nukey Shay Space Invaders Deluxe 8K on AA:
http://atariage.com/hack_page.php?SystemID=2600&SoftwareHackID=262

Atari 2600 Space Instigators on AA:
https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=114

Space Invaders Arcade on AA:
https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=105

Atari 7800 Space Invaders on AA:
https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=900

GameFaqs.com Walkthrough of the game:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/198724-space-invaders/faqs/10216

Atari 2600 Game by Game podcast coverage of Space Invaders:
http://2600gamebygamepodcast.libsyn.com/episode-40-space-invaders-by-atari