By Todd Russell
After playing and streaming yesterday on the (NO) Blue Monday Show well over 8 hours of Asteroids Deluxe gameplay, I was reminded just how much I like this game still today after some 44 years since it first appeared in arcades, convenience stores, bars and other businesses in 1981.
I first saw this at a roller skating rink in the gaming area. That’s what we did as kids: went to the roller skating rink. It was a thing back then. Still see skating rinks around the area, but they don’t seem to be as big a deal socially as they were in the late 70s into the 80s.
“Before the widespread closures of roller rinks, roller-skating used to be a popular pastime activity in the U.S. From the “Golden Age” of roller-skating between the 1930s and 1950s to the “Roller Disco” era between the 1970s and 1980s, the activity saw multiple booms in popularity throughout the decades.” – The fall and rise of roller-skating – Daily Sundial
The Atari 50 Anniversary Collection (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1919470/Atari_50_The_Anniversary_Celebration/) has a good emulation of the classic arcade game, complete with the backgound that is often missing. You need that alien background in Asteroids Deluxe.
The arcade cabinet design is somewhat unusual and unique, as many arcade cabs tried to do back in the day: stick out in a certain shape, this one more rectangular, so that you could spot the game from a distance without needing to see the side art and marquee.
Also, note the button layout, where you rotate the ship left or right using two volcano arcade buttons. This is a much preferred way to play Asteroids Deluxe and the original Asteroids vs. using a controller and the joystick to rotate. It just doesn’t feel the same.
Came across this 3D printed controller on Etsy from LayerFab (https://www.etsy.com/listing/1761762163/asteroids-arcade-themed-custom-built):
Not sure I’d want to spend $94 + $18 shipped from the UK on this, but it sure looks durable, anyway. And with 1:1 ratio vs. the arcade, should make this superior to using a standard controller.
Asteroids Deluxe is a notoriously difficult game. It was programmed intentionally to be challenging than the original game and, at least in this author’s opinion, the sequel is more fun to play.
“There are two versions of the software. The original release proved to be so difficult that Atari released a revised version that had easier game play. This new version was originally introduced in Europe and is often referred to as the “European Version”. Determining which version you are playing can be discerned by noting when the first appearance of a Killer Satellite occurs – in the original version this is near the end of the second wave, in the revised version it will appear near the end of the first wave and moves much more slowly. Dave Sheppard was the designer.” – Asteroids Deluxe – Videogame by Atari | Museum of the Game
We last score chased Asteroids Deluxe in Season 2 and RBWings has the #1 score as of this writing. I spent all that time yesterday chasing his score and came within 200 points of it. Congrats to him for that score.
Feel free to score chase along with us, even though the week has passed, the scores remain available to play against.
What do you think of Asteroids Deluxe?