Astrosmash

aka: Astroblast, Astrosmash!, Avalanche, L'Astrosmash, Rocks, Meteor!
Moby ID: 10011
Intellivision Specs

Description official descriptions

In Astrosmash, the player controls a laser cannon at the bottom of the screen; the goal is to earn as many points as possible by destroying the various incoming meteors, bombs, and other objects. Points are earned for destroying objects, while points are lost for letting them get past the player. Meteors are the most common item needed to defend against. They come in various sizes and colors, and some even split into two smaller meteors when shot.

Mixed in with the meteors are white spinning bombs. While letting a meteor get past the player will only lower the score; the player has to shoot the spinners. If one gets past, the player will lose a life. On the more difficult levels, UFOs and guided missiles will also appear occasionally and attempt to destroy the player's cannon.

If trapped in a hopeless situation, the cannon may enter hyperspace and be instantly transported to a different location on the screen. Just be careful, sometimes the player may be transported to a situation worse than the one the player left! The game ends when all of the laser cannons have been destroyed.

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Credits (Intellivision version)

Program
Design

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 76% (based on 12 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 31 ratings with 3 reviews)

An excellent score-attack game where you are penalized points for failing to meet your objective

The Good
AstroSmash is a space-themed action game released for Mattel’s two home systems – the Intellivision and Aquarius – and Atari 2600 (as AstroBlast). You control a laser at the bottom of the screen that can go left or right along the moon surface, shooting objects that are falling from space before they hit the ground. This is a score-attack game, and it is one of the first games where the player loses points; if you let the objects hit the ground, points are lost. However, every 1000 points you gain an extra life.

Most of the objects are asteroids, spinners, guided missiles, and UFOs. The asteroids are different colors and sizes, and some of them even split into two. The spinners will cost you a life if they hit the ground. Out of the objects, the most dangerous are the guided missiles; I ended up missing a shot, and the only way you can avoid them is by moving to the extreme left or right edges of the screen. Even if I did lose a life, I enjoyed watching the little ship explode.

I also like the way the game starts easy and then gradually gets difficult as you progress so that you get used to it. When the difficulty gets ramped up, the screen changes color. Asteroids come to the ground faster than normal, and it is hard to avoid the guided missile unless you act immediately. AstroSmash is quite an addictive game. I am excellent at it, meaning that I can play for hours without losing a life; and even when I do lose all of them, I ended up having just one more go, just to beat my previous score.

The Bad
There isn’t anything. There are no bugs, and it plays like any other shooter should.

The Bottom Line
AstroSmash is an addictive game where you have to shoot asteroids before they hit the moon surface, and also deal with spinners and guided missiles that see you lose a life if you are not paying attention to your surroundings. When you do lose a life, the resulting explosion looks good, and the way you are rewarded an extra life every 1000 points encourages you to keep playing. Excellent game, overall.

Intellivision · by Katakis | カタキス (43092) · 2022

11 out of 10 stars!

The Good
This game is awesome. Though the graphics might not be the best, though obviously that wouldn't matter or I wouldn't play Intellivision, the game is totally perfect. It's kind of like Missile Command, except asteroids are falling and it's much harder. The sound is pretty cool too. This is one of those games that you could play for hours. I know I do. It's one of my favorite games ever and it's extremely addicting.

The Bad
I didn't like...well...I don't know.

The Bottom Line
Astrosmash is an awesome space shooter that will keep you busy for hours. It's much like Missile Command, only with asteroids and space aliens. It's a challenging game and extremely fun. Everything about this game is awesome.

Intellivision · by hkfdmb khtfdkghsd (2) · 2005

A fun mix of classic arcade gameplay

The Good
You score points by smashing (shooting) asteroids & you lose points when you miss the asteroids & they hit the ground. You can have a negative score by the end of it but the game gives you your "peak score" when your run out of ships. This is a great point system, more interesting than most of the games of this time which were just based on racking up points. This makes for a more compelling game with a much higher replay value because your hits & misses are both factored in. The autofire option is also awesome.

The Bad
I wish there were a survival mode where when your points hit zero it would be game over.

The Bottom Line
A mix of Asteroids, Galaxian, & Missile Command with a more simple action feeling rather than a simulation feeling.

Intellivision · by Emperor MAR (2598) · 2013

Trivia

Competition

An 18 year old named Manuel Rodriguez won the "$100,000 Astrosmash Shootoff." His take was $25,000. The play was timed for one hour and his score was 835,180.

Intellivision Master Component

In 1982, due to it's popularity, Astrosmash replaced Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack as the cartridge that was included with the Intellivision Master Component.

Releases

Astrosmash is available to play on some cellular phones along with other Intellivision games.

Information also contributed by J. Michael Bottorff

Analytics

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Meteor
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Released 1982 on ZX81
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Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
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Starlink: Battle for Atlas - Hailstorm Weapon Pack
Released 2018 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Starlink: Battle for Atlas - Meteor Weapon Pack
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Missile War
Released 1983 on Atari 2600

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 10011
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Servo.

Mattel Aquarius added by Rola. Windows, Xbox 360 added by Alaka. J2ME added by Kabushi. Atari 2600 added by JPaterson.

Additional contributors: RKL, Sciere, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, Bart Smith.

Game added August 17, 2003. Last modified March 10, 2024.