[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Reactor

January 9th, 2012 by Benj Edwards

Parker Brothers Reactor Atari 2600 Advertisement - 1983Strange proportions courtesy of Blip’s comic book dimensions.

[ From Blip: The Video Games Magazine, February 1983, rear cover ]

Discussion Topic of the Week: Quick! Favorite space shooter of the 1970s or ’80s?



12 Responses to “[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Reactor”

  1. Eagles409 Says:

    Astrosmash for the Intellivision!

  2. Benj Edwards Says:

    Good choice! I’m partial to that as well. It’s hard to pick a favorite, though. Maybe Asteroids, or I could be cheap and say Galaga. There is probably something I’m not remembering.

  3. technotregrass Says:

    River Raid for the Atari 2600, and I am very partial to the Nintendo 3DS remake of Xevious on the NES.

  4. BDD Says:

    I wonder if anyone has ever asked Tim Skelly about what he thought of the 2600 port of his game. I’ve corresponded with him a few times over the years (check out http://atari.vg-network.com/tsinterview.html) and never thought to ask him. I liked the port, for what it’s worth. At the time, it was better than nothing, since the arcade I used to play it at closed soon after the game’s release…

  5. Lawrence Says:

    My favourite is Silpheed: Super Dogfighter (the original PC-compatible game, not the 90s Sega Mega CD one) from 1986.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D9s_5EUGYk

    I first played it when I was 5 on my first ever computer – the IBM PS/2. I first completed it when I was about 10! To this day the toughest game I’ve ever played, mostly due to the lack of an in-mission save feature.

  6. Donn Says:

    Star Raider(s), Atari 800. I have both cart versions, and I love it. Honorable mention goes to Rescue on Fractalus.

  7. Alexander Says:

    Vanguard on Atari 2600, probably, closely followed by Asteroids.

    I remember the first time I looped the score on Asteroids… it was a glorious day.

  8. Zoyous Says:

    Lately it’s been Gyruss, with its incredible soundtrack and circular Galaga-inspired enemies.

    I remember that Reactor ad well from when I was a kid. Parker Brothers did some really good games for the 2600.

  9. Xyzzy Says:

    My favorite is/was the amazingly addictive Repton, which was unlike any other space-shooter I’ve ever played. Here’s a good tribute site for it, which says the game’s creator released an iPhone version a while back:
    http://www.jeffbots.com/c64/repton.html

    It was a really nice change of pace after being freaked out by the evil computer in Zaxxon as a little kid…!

  10. synchead Says:

    I would have to go with Star Raiders for the Atari 800 as well. By today’s standards the graphics are rudimentary, but I’ll never forgot how I would instinctively try to move out of the way of the photons being fired at me. I always loved first person shooters so as a result though it is off topic, I loved the arcade game Battlezone.

  11. Fluppo Says:

    That artist drew for Mad Magazine. I recognize the style.

  12. Thomas Says:

    R-type or Gradius. There were a lot of interesting shooters for the Amiga & Atari ST, but I have a hard time remembering them right now. Maybe Swiv…

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