Astro Fighter
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| Astro Fighter | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of Astro Fighter |
|
| Developer(s) | Data East |
| Publisher(s) | Data East |
| Release date(s) | 1980 (Arcade) |
| Genre(s) | Shooter game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Platform(s) | Arcade Game, Microtan 65 |
| Input | 3 Buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Vertical |
| Arcade CPU(s) | M6502 |
| Arcade sound system(s) | samples |
| Arcade display | Raster, 240 x 240 pixels, 16 colors |
Astro Fighter is a two-dimensional, space shoot'em up arcade game released in 1980 by Data East. Your job is to protect the various sectors from the hoards of invading aliens. You will have to defeat four waves of alien spaceships in order to dock with the 'GS' ship and refuel. In addition to battling the alien spaceships, you will also have to dodge bombs that seem to come out of nowhere. Armed only with your fighter and a lot of spirit, you must ensure that you clear the screen of invaders before they pass you by.
Hints:
If there's one last enemy that you may not be able to shoot as it zeroes in towards the bottom of the screen, use up a ship and ram into it, if you have more remaining. If it passes you the entire armada returns, and you will waste even more fuel.
From the first level up to the mothership, miss with only 3 shots exactly. Now destroy the mother ship for a 10,000 point bonus.
[edit] Trivia
- This is the first game manufactured by Data East. Astro Fighter came as a result of a merging of ideas between Sega and Data East. Unfortunately, this game wasn't well received and didn't sell many units. Sega would improve on the overall design and release "Astro Blaster", which was a superior game in every way to this one. Astro Fighter, though, was still a challenging game and a definite departure from the standard 'shoot'em up' type of space games, it just never caught on.
- Fred Pastore holds the official record for this game with a maximum possible 26 150 points. [1]
