Atari Asteroids

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Atari Asteroids is a shooter arcade game based on a space theme that supports multidirectional shooting. In Atari Asteroids, the player needs to control a spaceship present in the asteroid field. The player’s aim needs to shoot and destroy other asteroids and saucers while ensuring that the player’s spaceship does not collide with another asteroid and saucer while remaining safe from the counter-fire of the saucer. As the game Atari Asteroids progresses, the number of asteroids in the game increases, which increases the difficulty level of the game. Atari Asteroids is one of the most popular arcade games that was a huge hit when launched. The game is inspired by a previous game named Cosmos.

How to Play Atari Asteroids?

In Atari Asteroids, the primary objective of the player is to destroy the asteroids and saucers. The player is placed in a triangular spaceship that can rotate in the left and right direction and can shoot forward and thrust forward. When the spacecraft starts travelling in one direction, it continues its motion until the player in another direction thrusts it. If the player does not thrust the spaceship while it is in motion, it will eventually come to a halt. The player also can send their spaceship into hyperspace in Atari Asteroids, which results in the disappearance and reappearance of the spaceship in a random location. This is a risky move as the spaceship can be placed anywhere, even on the top of an asteroid.

Each level in Atari Asteroids starts with few large asteroids that move in a random direction. When the player shoots this large asteroid, it splits into multiple tiny asteroids that move faster and, therefore, it becomes difficult to hit them. However, hitting smaller asteroid results in more score. In addition to that, two flying saucers appear on the game screen in the periodic interval. The more oversized saucer shoots randomly on the screen with poor aim. However, the smaller saucer attacks the spaceship with precision. Once the player reaches the score of 40,000, only a small saucer will attack the spaceship. As the player’s score increases, the small saucer’s precision increases too to increase the game’s difficulty level. For winning a level in Atari Asteroids, the player needs to shoot down all the asteroids, and flying saucer after which, a new set of large asteroids appear on the screen marking the beginning of a new level.

In the beginning stage, the player gets five lives, and then, the player can earn one extra life per 10,000 points in the game. The game of Atari Asteroids continues till the spaceship exists. Once the spacecraft is lost, the game ends.

Developer

Atari Asteroids is developed by Atari and is designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg.

Platforms

Atari Asteroids can be played on a web browser on any device.

Controls

The player is presented with the following option on the game screen: left arrow, right arrow, shoot, thrust and hyperspace. For choosing an option, the player needs to click on it.

Features

  • Multi-direction arcade game
  • Challenging levels

FAQs

What is the maximum point that can be earned on Atari Asteroids?

The maximum high score that can be earned on Atari Asteroids is 99,990.

Which saucer fires with more accuracy in Atari Asteroids?

Two saucers attack the spaceship: big saucer and a small saucer. Out of the two saucers, the small saucers attack the spaceship with more precision. As the game of Atari Asteroids progresses, the precision skill of the small saucer increases.

What happens in the hyperspace mode of Atari Asteroids?

When the player clicks on the hyperspace mode of Atari Asteroids, the spaceship of the player disappears and then reappears in a random space. Entering a hyperspace is risky as the player does not know where the spacecraft will appear.

Shooting which asteroids fetches more score in Atari Asteroids?

In the beginning, large asteroids appear in the game; shooting them splits the asteroids into small asteroids, which move at a faster pace. Shooting these tiny asteroids fetch the player more score.

How many chances does one get in Atari Asteroids?

Atari Asteroids supports five lives. In addition to that, bonus lives can be earned after every 10,000 points.