Missile Command
Missile Command | |
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Release | ArcadeAtari 2600
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Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
Missile Command is a 1980
Atari brought the game to its home systems beginning with the 1981
Plot
The player's six cities are being attacked by an endless hail of ballistic missiles, some of which split like multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. New weapons are introduced in later levels: smart bombs that can evade a less-than-perfectly targeted missile, and bomber planes and satellites that fly across the screen launching missiles of their own. As a regional commander of three anti-missile batteries, the player must defend six cities in their zone from being destroyed.
Gameplay
The game is played by moving a
The game is staged as a series of levels of increasing difficulty; each level contains a set number of incoming enemy weapons. The weapons attack both the cities and the missile batteries and can destroy any target with one hit. Enemy weapons are only able to destroy three cities during one level. A level ends when all enemy weaponry is destroyed or reaches its target. A player who runs out of missiles no longer has control over the remainder of the level. At the conclusion of a level, the player receives bonus points for all remaining missiles and cities; at preset score intervals, the player earns a bonus city that can be used to replace a destroyed one at the end of the current level. These bonus cities can be kept in reserve and are automatically deployed as needed. The scoring multiplier begins at 1x and advances by 1x after every second level, to a maximum of 6x; this multiplier affects both target and bonus values.
The game inevitably ends once all six cities are destroyed and the player neither has any in reserve nor earns one during the current level. Like most early arcade games, there is no way to "win"; the enemy weapons become faster and more prolific with each new level. The game, then, is just a contest in seeing how long the player can survive. On conclusion of the game, the screen displays "The End", rather than "Game Over", signifying that "in the end, all is lost. There is no winner".[3] This conclusion is skipped, however, if the player makes the high score list and the game prompts the player to enter their initials.
Development
When the game was originally designed, the six cities were meant to represent six cities in California: Eureka, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego.[3] Later in development the names of the cities varied depending on the game level being played, but eventually city names were removed completely.
While programming Missile Command, the lead programmer, Dave Theurer, suffered from nightmares of these cities being destroyed by a nuclear blast.[4][5]
Ports
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2011) |
Missile Command was ported to the Atari 2600 in 1981.[6] The game's instruction manual describes a war between two planets: Zardon (the defending player) and Krytol. The original arcade game contains no reference to these worlds. On level 13, if the player uses all of his or her missiles without scoring any points, at the end of the game the city on the right will turn into "RF" — the initials of the programmer Rob Fulop. This Easter egg is originally documented in Atari Age (Volume 1, issue #2) in a letter to the editor by Joseph Nickischer, and is the second one publicly acknowledged by Atari. In an interview with Paleotronic Magazine, Fulop stated that Atari paid him for his work by giving him a Safeway coupon for a free turkey, which motivated him to leave the company and co-found competing developer Imagic.[7]
Missile Command was released for the
Reception
Missile Command is considered one of the great classic video games from the
The game sold nearly 20,000 arcade cabinets.[12] Missile Command was a commercial success for Sega in Japan, where it was among the top-ten highest-grossing arcade video games of 1980.[13]
In 1983,
In 1995, Flux magazine ranked the arcade version 24th on their "Top 100 Video Games".[15]
Reviews
- Games[16]
Legacy
Re-releases
Missile Command has seen many re-releases in many Atari compilation titles:
- The game is included in Arcade Classics for the Sega Genesis and Game Gear and a similar Master System compilation titled Arcade Smash Hits.
- The game was released for Microsoft Windows 3.x as part of the Microsoft Arcade package in 1993.
- Accolade released a version for the Game Boy in 1995, as part of their Arcade Classics series. It was later re-released in a double-pack with the Game Boy version of Asteroids, which was licensed by Accolade to Nintendo for publishing.
- The game is included in the Midway Games published Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1 for the Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the PlayStation.
- It is also included in Atari Arcade Hits 1, Atari Greatest Hits, Atari: 80 Classic Games in One!.
- The game appears as a bonus unlockable minigame in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, that can be unlocked once it has been played on a hidden computer in one of the levels.
- The game has also been made available for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 (in both arcade and Atari 2600 versions) as part of Atari Anthology in 2004.
- The game is included in Retro Atari Classics and Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1 for the Nintendo DS. The former title also includes a remixed art version.
- Both the arcade and 2600 versions are part of Atari Vault (2016).
- Both the Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 version was released on the Evercade as part of Arcade Collection 1 and 2 in 2020.
Sequels
In late 1980, a two-player sequel Missile Command 2 was field tested but never released,[17] although at least one prototype appeared in an arcade in Santa Clara, California. This game was similar to the original except that each player had their own set of cities and missile batteries and the players could cooperate to save each other's cities from the onslaught.
In 1992, Atari developed a prototype of an arcade game called Arcade Classics for their 20th anniversary, which included Missile Command 2 and Super Centipede. Despite its name, however, this version was not the unreleased sequel, but an enhanced remake of the first game.
In 1981, an enhancement kit was made by
In 1982, Atari released a game called Liberator, which was seen by some as being a sequel to Missile Command with the situation essentially reversed; in Liberator, the player is the one attacking planetary bases from orbit.[18]
Updated versions
Enhanced versions of Missile Command were released for the Atari Lynx and Game Boy.
An updated version called Missile Command 3D was released for the Atari Jaguar in 1995. It contains three versions of the game: Classic (a straight port of the arcade game), 3D (graphically upgraded and with a rotating viewpoint), and Virtual.[19] It is the only game that works with the virtual reality helmet from Virtuality.
Missile Command: Recharged with high-definition graphics was released via Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 on July 4, 2007.
Missile Command was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch for US$5 on September 23, 2008. It includes two gameplay modes ("Ultra" and "Classic").
In March 2020, Atari released a new remake, Missile Command: Recharged, on mobile platforms.
An updated version of the game was announced in 2018 for the Intellivision Amico.[23] While neither the Intellivision Amico version of Missile Command nor the Amico console itself have yet released, a mobile version was announced in late 2023, as part of Intellivision's Amico Home initiative. This version was released for Android the same year, with an iOS version being announced for a later release.[24]
Clones
Contemporary Missile Command clones include Missile Defense (1981) for the Apple II, Stratos (1982) for the TRS-80, Missile Control (1983) for the BBC Micro, Repulsar (1983) for the ZX Spectrum, and Barrage (1983) for the TI-99/4A. Silas Warner programmed the 1980 clone ABM for the Apple II several years before writing Castle Wolfenstein.[2] Similarly, John Field programmed the Missile Command-like game ICBM (1981), then went on to create Axis Assassin,[2] one of the first five games published by Electronic Arts.
Atomic Command, a clone of Missile Command, is playable on the Pip-Boy interface in the Fallout 4 video game.[25]
In popular culture
- Missile Command was referenced in the 1980 episode "Call Girl" of the TV sitcom Barney Miller, which features a detective who is hooked on the game.[26]
- In the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, John Connor plays the game in an arcade, echoing the film's theme of a future global nuclear war.
- The documentary High Score (2006) follows William Carlton, a Portland, Oregon gamer, on his quest to beat the Missile Command high score record for Marathon settings.[27]
- In the 2010 open world survival horror video game, Deadly Premonition, the game is mentioned by the protagonist Francis York Morgan, while driving.
- In the 2008 episode "kill screen of Missile Command by its programmer, Mr. Morimoto (Clyde Kusatsu).[28]
- In the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Missile Command's "The End" screen is used to help illustrate the film's ending.[29]
- The game is shown in the opening title sequence of the 2013 FX television series The Americans.
Film connection and adaptation
The gameplay of Missile Command, specifically, the
In February 2010, Atari was talking with several studios to turn Missile Command into a film.[30] 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to bring Missile Command to film the following year.[31] In May 2016, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films closed a deal to partner with Atari to produce and finance both Centipede and Missile Command.[32]
World records
Two types of world records are monitored for the arcade version of Missile Command: Marathon and Tournament settings. Both settings allow the player to start with six cities. Marathon settings award bonus cities, while in tournament mode bonus cities are not awarded at any point in the game.
Marathon settings
In 1981, Floridian Jody Bowles played a Missile Command arcade game for 30 hours at The Filling Station Eatery in Pensacola. Bowles scored 41,399,845 points with one quarter using Marathon settings, besting the previous known record, according to Atari spokesman Mike Fournell.[33] The record was broken when Victor Ali of the United States scored 80,364,995 points in 1982.
Beginning on March 15, 2013, Victor Sandberg of Sweden scored 81,796,035 points live on Twitch after 56 hours of play.[34] On December 27 of the same year, Sandberg started a 71-hour and 41 minute game with a score of 103,809,990—10 points short of getting an additional 176 cities.[34]
Tournament settings
On July 3, 1985, Roy Shildt of
After more than 20 years, on March 9, 2006,
See also
- Golden age of video arcade games
References
- ^ "ミサイルコマンドコックピット筺体版" [Missile Command cockpit cabinet version]. Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ^ a b "The Creation of Missile Command and the haunting of its creator, Dave Theurer". polygon.com. 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
- ISBN 0-9741000-0-5
- ^ Extra Credits: Narrative Mechanics
- ^ Missile Command arcade video game by Atari, Inc. (1980)
- ^ "An Interview with Atari 2600 developer and Imagic Co-Founder Rob Fulop". Paleotronic Magazine. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ AllGame. Archived from the originalon November 14, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ Irwin, Jeff. "Missile Command (Atari 5200) Review". Allgame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ Cook, Brad. "Missile Command (Game Boy Color) Review". Allgame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "8 Bit Apocalypse by Alex Rubens". 13 November 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-4302-2614-7. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
While certainly not the size of Asteroids, the game was still a huge hit with almost 20,000 units sold.
- ^ "ベストスリー 本紙調査 (調査対象1980年) 〜 アーケードゲーム機" [Best Three Book Survey (Survey Target 1980) ~ Arcade Game Machines] (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 159. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 February 1981. p. 2.
- ^ "The Most Popular Atari Program Ever". Softline. March 1983. p. 44. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ "Top 100 Video Games". Flux (4). Harris Publications: 27. April 1995.
- ^ "GAMES Magazine #34". December 1982.
- ^ Missile Command 2 - Videogame by Atari, arcade-museum.com
- ^ Liberator - Videogame by Atari, arcade-museum.com
- ^ "Next Wave: Missile Command 3D". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 78. Sendai Publishing. January 1996. p. 132.
- YouTube
- ^ Ronaghan, Neal (2020-05-27). "Missile Command: Recharged (Switch) Review". Retrieved 2020-07-25.
- ^ Shea, Brian (July 1, 2020). "Atari's New Console, The VCS, Launches This Fall". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ "Intellivision Reveals Initial Details For The Upcoming Amico Home Video Game Console!". PR Newswire (Press release). October 22, 2018.
- ^ "Intellivision launches app version of Amico console, as hardware remains distant". Eurogamer. 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ Atomic Command (Missile Command) Retro Game in Fallout 4 Gameplay, Youtube
- ^ "Call Girl". Barney Miller. Season 7. Episode 6. December 18, 1980.
- ^ "High Score". Highscoremovie.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016.
- ^ "Chuck Versus Tom Sawyer Season Episode Guide on". Tv.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ "Atari's Missile Command, a potential Hollywood franchise". Los Angeles Times. 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "24 Frames". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Graser, Marc (2011-01-11). "Atari arms 'Missile Command' for bigscreen". Variety.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 12, 2016). "Atari Classic Arcade Games Centipede & Missile Command Headed for Big Screen". Deadline.
- ^ Man Plays Video Game 30 Hours To Win Record With One Quarter. Ocala Star-Banner. 4 May 1981.
- ^ a b DiskborsteMC's Twitch.tv channel
- ^ 1986 Guinness Book of World Records. Bantam Books. 1986. p. 559.
- ^ 2008 Guinness Book of World Records. Little Brown Books. 2008. p. 234.
On March 9, 2006, Tony Temple (UK) scores 1,967,830 on Missile Command under Twin Galaxies tournament settings. This has caused much controversy; previous record holder Roy Shildt (USA) scores 1,695,265 in 1985 using a harder setting that decreases cursor speed
External links
- Missile Command at the Killer List of Videogames
- Missile Command at the Arcade History database
- Missile Command software disassembly and analysis