The player's objective in the game is to shoot and destroy as many asteroids, saucers, and enemy ships as possible before all his or her spaceships are destroyed.
The game awards players 200 points for shooting a large saucer and 1,000 points for a small saucer (the latter is a smaller target for players, though not any faster moving than the large one. These small pieces disappear when the player hits them, and the score increases by 200 points.Īt any time during game play, a flying saucer may appear from either side of the display. The medium-sized enemy or diamond, when hit, grants the player 100 points and breaks into two small triangular pieces. When hit, the large ships ('death stars' shaped like hexagons) score 50 points and break into three diamond shapes. In addition to asteroids, the players can score points for shooting the various enemy ships. When shot the smallest asteroid disappears and the game adds 100 points to the player's score. Medium-sized asteroids, when shot, divide into two small-sized asteroids, and the game awards 50 points to the player. When shot, each large asteroid divides into two medium-sized asteroids, and the game adds 20 points to the player's score. The player uses the FIRE pushbutton to shoot at the asteroids and other objects.
By pressing the ROTATE LEFT and ROTATE RIGHT pushbuttons on the control panel, the player may aim a spaceship toward any of the asteroids. Large asteroids appear and drift in from the outer edges of the display. Players can put up an octagon-shaped 'shield' to temporarily protect their spaceship. When hit, the asteroids and death stars will break into progressively smaller pieces. The game depicts a third-person view of a player's spaceship battling to destroy asteroids, flying saucers and enemy ships or 'death stars' (shaped like clusters of triangles). Asteroids Deluxe © 1981 Atari, Incorporated.Īsteroids Deluxe is a 1 or 2-player game with an X-Y or vector-generator monitor.