I never had an Intellivision game console as a kid, but my cousins did and I remember playing it over at their house when I’d visit them in Alabama.  While I mostly remember playing Frog Bog with my cousin, I also remember Astrosmash.  I could’ve sworn it was the pack-in game for the system, but it wasn’t.  But it sure was popular and I recall seeing it everywhere.  They even used it in one of my local TV station’s TV Pow segments as a kid, which was a thing back then (look it up).  At any rate, Astrosmash is a like a cross between Space Invaders and Asteroids, and it was one of the Intellivision’s top sellers.  And now you can play a remake of it on some game consoles and PC, but it’s reviewed on Switch here.

Game play is super simple.  You control a gun that moves left and right at the bottom of the screen.  Asteroids fall from above, and you must shoot them.  Your goal is to reach a certain score to make it to the next level.  But if the asteroids hit the ground before you shoot them, your score goes down.  If an asteroid hits your ship, you’ll lose one life, and when you lose all your lives it’s Game Over.  You can choose from different ships, but they all controlled the same to me.

Aside from the graphics and music, this remake adds some other new things as well.  Asteroids can fall at different angles now, and can bounce off each other.  Some split into smaller rocks when hit, and some will explode when they hit the ground, so watch out.  Sometimes what’s in the background can affect the stage, like erupting volcanoes shooting out lava rocks.  You can shoot power-ups that give you rapid fire, a shield, or destroy all the rocks onscreen.  You can even press a button to quickly scoot out of the way, but you have to wait a while before you can use that move again.  Up to four can play at the same time, and there are campaign, versus, and multiplayer modes.  You can also view leaderboards and toggle settings.

I think the only thing people might have a problem with this game is that it’s pretty simple and there’s not much to it.  But I dunno, I still liked it anyway.  It keeps the feel of the original game while adding enough new things to keep it relevant and interesting.  Fans of simple classic arcade style games should like this.

Kid Factor:

Nothing too violent or objectionable here.  Asteroids explode when you shoot them and your ship does too when hit.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the menus, but not necessary just to play.  Astrosmash is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews