Star Strike [Model 5161]

45 Years old Mattel Intellivision cart. Mattel Electronics [Mattel, Inc.]

Star Strike © 1981 Mattel Electronics.

YOUR MISSION: Destroy the alien station BEFORE Earth passes directly over the launch trench! Shoot down the alien defenders stalking you. Bomb 5 Hot Targets, or Earth will be destroyed! Good luck...and good hunting!

OBJECT OF THE GAME
Get a high score by quickly bombing five red targets, and by hitting as many alien spacecraft as you can. You must hit all red targets before 'Planet Earth' moves directly over the green trench. The first red target that you fail to hit when Earth is in alignment will become a missile that blows up Earth. If this happens, the game is over. Avoid hits by alien spaceships to keep controls and lasers working.

TECHNICAL

Model 5161

CONTROLS
KEYPAD 1 - 5: Skill Level / Flying Speed
UPPER SIDE KEYS: Fire Air-To-Air Laser
LOWER SIDE KEYS: Drop Bomb
DISC: Flying Control

TRIVIA

Inspired by the Death Star trench sequence from the movie Star Wars, Star Strike is actually a very simple game; most players quickly learn the timing of it to consistently win. But visually it was stunning, with a 3-D effect (accomplished by sequencing GRAM) not seen before in a home videogame. Heavily promoted, it was the top-selling Intellivision game of 1982, with nearly 800,000 units shipped that year.

The Star Strike TV commercial became probably the most notorious of all videogame commercials of its era, with Mattel Electronics spokesperson George Plimpton bragging about "our most amazing visual effect ever: the total destruction of a planet!" while the earth is seen being blasted to pieces. Comedians, cartoonists and politicians all jumped on this as an example of the glorification of violence in videogames.

TIPS AND TRICKS

* When engaged in air-to-air combat, remember that whoever is behind another spaceship has the shooting position. When the aliens pass you, they turn light blue. Then you're in position to shoot them down.

* Part of the aliens' strategy is to draw your ship away from the trench where it is harder to hit them and, of course, where you are way out of bombing position. Try to stay near the center target area as much as you can.

* Keep track of the number of targets you have bombed. The targets always appear in the same sequence. If you remember that the next one is black (already hit), you won't have to fly in the vulnerable bombing position, and can concentrate on shooting down aliens for more score points.

* The best bombing position is low altitude, in the center of the trench. Your bombs fall too slowly for high-altitude precision. Also, you cannot fire your laser while a bomb is falling.

* Stay mobile. Keep moving up, down, left and right when the aliens are behind you. Don't give them a stationary target.

* Practice firing at the aliens. Line up the alien ship between you and your laser's vanishing point.

* Try shooting down both aliens. Doubling up on targets will give you a little extra time to align your ship for bombing before a new wave of aliens appear. You'll add extra points to your score.

* Stay on the deck. It's much more difficult to bomb the alien's silos from a high altitude. Stay low and score higher.

* Keep a mental scorecard. Keep track of alien silos destroyed. Don't risk damage by going after a 'dead' silo.

* Be aware of damage. Keep a careful record of your ship's capabilities. Damage reduces control. Don't ask your ship to do something it can't in emergency situations.

STAFF

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Program: Hal Finney, Brett Stutz

SOURCES

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ROM dump (MAME).