Play This Free Asteroids Online Game
This is one of the best Asteroids games I've seen online.
Click 'Play Game' to
play this free online version of Flash Asteroids.
Instructions for the Asteroids Game
Left arrow - Turn left
Right arrow - Turn right
Up arrow - Thrust forward
Space - Fire missile
Shift key - Hyperspace
P - Pause/unpause game
Q - Quit game
Asteroids Video Game History
Asteroids is a video arcade game released in 1979 by Atari
Inc. The Asteroids game was one of the most popular and
influential games of the Golden Age of Arcade Games. Asteroids
uses vector graphics and a two-dimensional view that wraps
around in both screen axes. The player controls a spaceship in
an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by flying
saucers. The object of the game is to shoot and destroy
asteroids and saucers while not colliding with either, or being
hit by the saucers' counter-fire.
Asteroids Gameplay
The objective of Asteroids is to score as many points as
possible by destroying asteroids and flying saucers. The player
controls a ship that can rotate left and right, fire shots
straight forward, and thrust forward. As the ship moves,
momentum is not conserved — the ship eventually comes to a stop
again when not thrusting. The player can also send their ship
into hyperspace, causing it to disappear and reappear in a
random location on the screen (with the risk of self-destructing
or appearing on top of an asteroid).
Each stage starts with a few asteroids drifting in random
directions on the screen. Objects wrap around screen edges — for
instance, an asteroid that drifts off the top edge of the screen
reappears at the bottom and continues moving in the same
direction. As the player shoots asteroids, they break into
smaller asteroids that frequently move faster and are more
difficult to hit. Smaller asteroids also score higher points.
Periodically, a flying saucer appears on one side of the screen
and moves across to the other before disappearing again. The
saucers are of two kinds: Large saucers fire in random
directions, while small saucers aim at the player's ship.
The minimalist soundtrack in Asteroids features a memorable
deep-toned electronic "heartbeat", which quickens as the
asteroid density is reduced by the player's fire.
Once the screen has been cleared of all asteroids and flying
saucers, a new set of large asteroids appears. The number of
asteroids increases each round up to a maximum of twelve. The
Asteroids game is over when the player has lost all of his/her
lives.
Bugs in the Original Game
Asteroids contains several bugs that were mostly the
result of the original programmers underestimating the game's
popularity or the skill of its players. The maximum possible
score in Asteroids is 99,990 points, after which it "rolls over"
back to zero. Also, an oversight in the small saucer's
programming gave rise to a popular strategy known as "lurking" —
because the saucer could only shoot directly at the player's
position on the screen, the player could "hide" at the opposite
end of the screen and shoot across the screen boundary, while
remaining relatively safe. This led to experienced players being
able to play indefinitely on a single credit. This
oversight was addressed in the game's sequel, Asteroids Deluxe,
and led to significant changes in the way game developers
designed and tested their games in the future.
On some early versions of the Asteroids game, it was also
possible to hide the space ship in the score area indefinitely
without being hit by asteroids. More
Arcade Games here.
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