| Stellar Shuttle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher(s) | Broderbund |
| Designer(s) | Matt Rutter |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit |
| Release | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Action |
Stellar Shuttle is an action game written by Matt Rutter [1] for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1982 by Broderbund. [2] The game is similar to the arcade Lunar Rescue released in 1979 by Taito.
The main object of Stellar Shuttle is to guide the shuttle down to the surface of the planet, rescue the refugees and return them safely to the mothership.
On his way down the player must maneuver through the asteroid belt into one of the narrow landing wells on the planet's surface. The speed of the shuttle's descent can be adjusted by activating the shuttle's retro rockets. Once the player has landed, the nearest refugee will try to make it to the shuttle's safety. As soon as he is inside, the shuttle will take off for a rendezvous with the mothership.
For each level there are six refugees that have to be rescued one at a time. Once that has been done the player moves on to the next level.
The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 gave it an overall rating C+ and concluded: "Stellar Shuttle is a nicely implemented game with a good graphics and sound effects. It offers a fine challenge, but doesn't have much depth, becoming repetitious after extended play". [3]
M.U.L.E. is a multiplayer video game written for Atari 8-bit computers by Ozark Softscape. Designer Danielle Bunten Berry takes advantage of the four joystick ports of the Atari 400 and 800 to allow four-player simultaneous play. Published in 1983, M.U.L.E. was one of the first five games from new company Electronic Arts, alongside Axis Assassin, Archon: The Light and the Dark, Worms?, and Hard Hat Mack. It is primarily a turn-based strategy game, but incorporates real-time elements where players compete directly as well as aspects that simulate economics.
Excalibur is a resource management strategy video game for Atari 8-bit computers published in 1983. It was designed by Chris Crawford and developed with the help of Larry Summers and Valerie Atkinson. Like Crawford's earlier Eastern Front (1941), Excalibur was released through the Atari Program Exchange.
Choplifter is a military themed scrolling shooter developed by Dan Gorlin for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1982. It was ported to Atari 8-bit computers the same year and also to the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, MSX, and Thomson computers.
Caverns of Mars is a vertically scrolling shooter for Atari 8-bit computers. It was written by Greg Christensen, with some features later added by Richard Watts, and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. Caverns of Mars became the best selling APX software of all-time and was moved into Atari, Inc.'s official product line, first on diskette, then on cartridge.
Crossfire is a multidirectional shooter created by Jay Sullivan for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Using keyboard-based twin-stick shooter controls, the player maneuvers a ship in a grid-like maze. Versions with joystick-control use the stick for movement and switch to firing mode when the button is held down.
Blue Max is a scrolling shooter written by Bob Polin for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Synapse Software in 1983. It was released for the Commodore 64 the same year. U.S. Gold published the Commodore 64 version in the UK in 1984 and ported the game to the ZX Spectrum. In 1987, Atari Corporation published Blue Max as a cartridge styled for the then-new Atari XEGS.
Gateway to Apshai is an action-adventure game for the Commodore 64, ColecoVision and Atari 8-bit computers. It was developed by The Connelley Group and published by Epyx in 1983 as a prequel to Temple of Apshai. It is a more action-oriented version of Temple of Apshai, with smoother and faster graphics, streamlined controls, fewer role-playing video game elements, and fewer room descriptions.
The Tail of Beta Lyrae is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Philip Price for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1983 by Datamost. The music is by Gary Gilbertson. Price and Gilbertson later collaborated on the Alternate Reality games.
Legionnaire is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford released through Avalon Hill in 1982. Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in real-time battles against the barbarians.
Lunar Rescue is an arcade game released by Taito in November 1979. The gameplay has some resemblance to both Taito's own 1978 hit Space Invaders and Atari, Inc.'s Lunar Lander.
Bandits is a 1982 fixed shooter written by Tony and Benny Ngo for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software. The game is a clone of Taito's 1980 Stratovox arcade video game where the goal is to prevent aliens from stealing objects. Bandits was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and VIC-20.
Protector II is a video game written by Mike Potter for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Synapse Software in 1982. It is a sequel to 1981's Protector; both games are horizontally scrolling shooters inspired by the arcade video game Defender. Protector II was ported to the Commodore 64, TI-99/4A, and TRS-80 Color Computer.
Kid Grid is a grid capture game which borrows heavily from the 1981 arcade video game Amidar. Written by Arti Haroutunian for Atari 8-bit computers, it was published by Tronix in 1982. A Commodore 64 port from the same programmer was released in 1983. In Kid Grid, the player moves along the horizontal and vertical lines of the playfield, turning the lines from dotted gray to solid blue. If all the lines around a square are completed, it is filled-in. Deadly creatures chase the player.
Bug Off! is a single screen fixed shooter for Atari 8-bit computers written by Sparky Starks and published by Adventure International in 1982. QuelleSoft released the game in Germany as Kampf dem Ungeziefer in 1984.
Labyrinth is a maze shooter written by Scott Schram for the Apple II, published in 1982 by Broderbund. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers by Corey Kosak.
Tutti Frutti is an action game written by Alan M. Newman for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1982 by Adventure International. It was re-released in Germany by QuelleSoft in 1984. The game is programmed in Atari BASIC.
Mr. Cool is an action game designed by Peter Oliphant and published in 1983 by Sierra On-Line for the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 home computers. The ports for the IBM PC and Apple II were written by John Redekopp and released the same year. The game is heavily inspired by the 1982 arcade video game Q*bert.
O'Riley's Mine is an action game designed by Mark Riley and published in 1983 by Datasoft for Atari 8-bit computers. The game was ported to the Apple II by Larry Lewis and Commodore 64 by Al Rubin. Both ports were also released in 1983.
Nightraiders is a vertically scrolling shooter designed by Peter Filiberti and published in 1983 by Datamost for Atari 8-bit computers. It is heavily inspired by the 1982 Sega arcade video game Zaxxon.
Zeppelin is a multidirectional scrolling shooter designed by Cathryn Mataga and published in 1983 by Synapse Software for Atari 8-bit computers. A Commodore 64 port programmed by David Barbour was released in 1984.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)