How to play Astroblast online
Astroblast works with either a joystick or a paddle controller, and the manual recommends the paddle because it moves the base faster. The emulator starts in joystick mode for this game; press Alt + L if you want to try paddle mode.
- Move the laser base: left and right arrow keys
- Fire: Space bar (hold it down to keep firing)
- Start a game: F12 (Reset), then Space
- Continue after being hit: wait for the explosion to finish, then press Space
- Accelerated speed: F9 toggles the right difficulty switch (A = fast)
- Automatic fire: F4 toggles the left difficulty switch (A = automatic, B = manual)
- Switch between joystick and paddle: Alt + L
- Save and load: Ctrl + 0–9 saves, Alt + 0–9 loads
Gameplay
You start with ten laser bases. Four kinds of targets fall towards you. Rocks come in big and small sizes; big ones often split in two when hit, and small ones are worth twice as much. White spinning bombs sound an alarm, and if one reaches the ground you lose a base. Pulsars are guided missiles that steer towards your base. Once your score passes 20,000, UFOs also fly across the top of the screen and drop bombs on you.
Scoring works in both directions. Hits add points, but rocks that land and hits on your base take points away. Point values rise through five score ranges, and the background colour changes each time you move into a new range, as more targets fall faster. You earn an extra base each time your peak score rises by 1,000, so falling back and climbing again does not pay twice. When all bases are gone, the game shows your peak score.
| Target | Points (score under 1,000) | Points (score over 50,000) |
|---|---|---|
| Big rock | 10 | 50 |
| Small rock | 20 | 100 |
| Spinner | 40 | 200 |
| Pulsar | 80 | 400 |
| UFO | – | 500 |
Difficulty switches
There is only a one-player game, and the two difficulty switches change it. The right switch in position A runs the game at the pace it normally reaches above 50,000 points. The left switch in position A makes the laser fire automatically. You can flip either switch during play.
Tips
- Shoot spinners first. A landed spinner costs a whole base, while a landed rock only costs points.
- Prefer small rocks. They are worth double, and letting them land costs double too.
- Don’t fire at rocks right above you. The explosion can destroy your own base.
- Face pulsars and UFOs head on. Running away rarely works; get directly underneath and shoot.
History
Astrosmash began on the Intellivision as a side project. Programmer John Sohl had written an Asteroids-style game called Meteor! that left room on the cartridge, so he added a falling-objects variant called Avalanche! When Meteor! was dropped because it was too close to Asteroids, the variant became Astrosmash, and it went on to sell more than a million copies. For the Atari 2600, Mattel renamed it Astroblast and made it play faster than the original. AtariAge credits the 2600 programming to Hal Finney. Telegames later reissued the cartridge.
Similar games to play next
- Space Invaders – the classic laser-base shooter
- Asteroids – splitting rocks in open space
- Space Attack – another M Network conversion of an Intellivision game
- MegaMania – Activision’s shooter with strange objects falling in waves
- Demon Attack – fast shooting from a base at the bottom of the screen