Play Meter
Issue: 1979 January 15 - Vol 5 Num 1 - Page 147
The martians
are coming!
The martians
are coming!
Midway's Space Invaders , now
available at all Midway distributors , is
a one - or two-player video game that
offers contagious action , tests the
players skill , strategy , and quick
reflexes against the game's invaders
fro m outer space .
A phalanx of intergalactic maraud-
ers sweep down the screen toward
earth . Thev attack in five relentless
wav s. drop bombs on th e player's
la er ba e and threaten to overrun it.
Th e invad r advance. moving ever
fa ster to the hypnotic sounds of
stacca to footsteps and increasingly
tense and titillating rhythm .
The player defends earth by
maneuvering his laser base hori-
zontally and hiding behind protective
shields to avoid enemy bombs . He
Simultaneously launches missiles at
the attackers and tallies target values
of ten , twenty , or thirty points and a
special score for striking the mystery
invad rs . The interplanetary shoot-
out is all or nothing . The player must
wipe out all the attackers before they
destroy him . Three hits to the laser
base eliminates the player and the
game ends .
Proficient defense. however, may
earn him extended play . Score 1000
points and the raiders will need a
fourth hit to eliminate the player .
PLAY METER . J nuary. 1979
When push
turns to tug
Am ericoin . a division of Electri-
W ire Corp . . has announced a new
arcade game - Tug ·a · War - which it
says is " an exciting way for two
people to play an old competitive
favorite of large party . picniC, and
college ca mpus groups ."
Clever art and cabinet design
combine to effect a nostalgic theme
of an old -fashioned turn -of-the -cen -
tury picnic in the park . At the drop of
a quarter , two players operat e his or
her own switch, trying to tug their
teams to victory .
Realistic sound effects add an
attention -grabbing dimension to the
game .
While th e game 's motif may be
nostalgic . th e unit itself is completely
modern with such features as : simple
design for maximum reliability. easy-
to -understand
electro -mechanical
Circuitry for quick servicing, dual
" tug" action , cabinet -mounted con -
trols (quickly removable for remote
play). and tugging and cheering
sound effects .
The game is available in base or
wall m o unt models .
71
are coming!
The martians
are coming!
Midway's Space Invaders , now
available at all Midway distributors , is
a one - or two-player video game that
offers contagious action , tests the
players skill , strategy , and quick
reflexes against the game's invaders
fro m outer space .
A phalanx of intergalactic maraud-
ers sweep down the screen toward
earth . Thev attack in five relentless
wav s. drop bombs on th e player's
la er ba e and threaten to overrun it.
Th e invad r advance. moving ever
fa ster to the hypnotic sounds of
stacca to footsteps and increasingly
tense and titillating rhythm .
The player defends earth by
maneuvering his laser base hori-
zontally and hiding behind protective
shields to avoid enemy bombs . He
Simultaneously launches missiles at
the attackers and tallies target values
of ten , twenty , or thirty points and a
special score for striking the mystery
invad rs . The interplanetary shoot-
out is all or nothing . The player must
wipe out all the attackers before they
destroy him . Three hits to the laser
base eliminates the player and the
game ends .
Proficient defense. however, may
earn him extended play . Score 1000
points and the raiders will need a
fourth hit to eliminate the player .
PLAY METER . J nuary. 1979
When push
turns to tug
Am ericoin . a division of Electri-
W ire Corp . . has announced a new
arcade game - Tug ·a · War - which it
says is " an exciting way for two
people to play an old competitive
favorite of large party . picniC, and
college ca mpus groups ."
Clever art and cabinet design
combine to effect a nostalgic theme
of an old -fashioned turn -of-the -cen -
tury picnic in the park . At the drop of
a quarter , two players operat e his or
her own switch, trying to tug their
teams to victory .
Realistic sound effects add an
attention -grabbing dimension to the
game .
While th e game 's motif may be
nostalgic . th e unit itself is completely
modern with such features as : simple
design for maximum reliability. easy-
to -understand
electro -mechanical
Circuitry for quick servicing, dual
" tug" action , cabinet -mounted con -
trols (quickly removable for remote
play). and tugging and cheering
sound effects .
The game is available in base or
wall m o unt models .
71
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).