Cosmic Commuter is an Atari 2600 game released in 1984 by Activision. Set in the year 2075, players take on the role of a Galactic Travel Agency employee responsible for helping citizens commute between their homes and work.
The gameplay is divided into several parts:
- Landing the rocket module: Players must successfully land the rocket module containing their astrobus on the planet’s surface. This segment is similar to Lunar Lander, requiring careful control of the lander’s speed to avoid crashing.
- Picking up commuters: Players control the astrobus in a horizontally scrolling environment, navigating to bus stops to pick up waiting commuters. Precision and timing are essential to successfully collecting all the passengers.
- Returning to the rocket module: After picking up all the commuters, players must return to the rocket module and take off to transport the commuters to the grand central space station.
Throughout the game, various obstacles pose challenges to the player’s mission. Meteors, fireballs, and space mines can destroy the astrobus, and players must use the astrobus’s laser to eliminate these threats. Additionally, the astrobus has a limited fuel supply, so players must find and collect more fuel to prevent crashing.
Cosmic Commuter offers a unique and engaging gaming experience for Atari 2600 players, combining elements of precision, timing, and resource management in a futuristic setting.