Meteor Mission II
Encyclopedia
Meteor Mission II is a clone of the Taito
arcade game
Lunar Rescue
released by Big Five Software for the RadioShack
/Tandy
TRS-80
home computer
(the monochrome
Model I and Model III, predating the more well known TRS-80 Color Computer
).
The game is similar in concept to Lunar Lander
(without the complex physics), but makes the whole thing more interesting by adding a rescue element. Once you navigate through a moving meteor belt, and land on one of several landing pads, a small figure runs out from the side of the screen, enters your ship, and then you have to fire and navigate your way back through the meteor field and dock with the mother ship.
The title Meteor Mission II implies the game may have been inspired by the BBC Micro
game Meteor Mission (Acornsoft
), another Lunar Rescue clone also released in 1982, rather than the original arcade machine. The author claims he had already written a 'completely unrelated' Meteor Mission game that was never published.http://www.bigfivesoftware.com/trs80/trs80main.htm
The game was the fifth of seven arcade clones programmed for the TRS-80 by Bill Hogue, who left the TRS-80 platform in 1982. He would later that year create the platform game
Miner 2049er
for the Atari 800
.
Taito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
Lunar Rescue
Lunar Rescue
Lunar Rescue is an arcade game released by Taito in 1979. It contains elements that resemble both Taito's own Space Invaders as well as Atari's Lunar Lander released that same year....
released by Big Five Software for the RadioShack
RadioShack
RadioShack Corporation is an American franchise of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of Europe, South America and Africa. As of 2008, RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. The headquarters of RadioShack is located in Downtown...
/Tandy
Tandy Corporation
Tandy Corporation was a family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store, and acquired RadioShack in 1963. The Tandy name was dropped in May 2000, when RadioShack Corporation was made the official name.-History:Tandy began in 1919...
TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
(the monochrome
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
Model I and Model III, predating the more well known TRS-80 Color Computer
TRS-80 Color Computer
The Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer was a home computer launched in 1980. It was one of the earliest of the first generation of computers marketed for home use in English-speaking markets...
).
The game is similar in concept to Lunar Lander
Lunar Lander
Lunar Lander is the name of several video games. In all variations of the game, the player must portion a limited amount of fuel to land on the moon without crashing...
(without the complex physics), but makes the whole thing more interesting by adding a rescue element. Once you navigate through a moving meteor belt, and land on one of several landing pads, a small figure runs out from the side of the screen, enters your ship, and then you have to fire and navigate your way back through the meteor field and dock with the mother ship.
The title Meteor Mission II implies the game may have been inspired by the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
game Meteor Mission (Acornsoft
Acornsoft
Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers Ltd, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, they also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages - these included ROM-based word...
), another Lunar Rescue clone also released in 1982, rather than the original arcade machine. The author claims he had already written a 'completely unrelated' Meteor Mission game that was never published.http://www.bigfivesoftware.com/trs80/trs80main.htm
The game was the fifth of seven arcade clones programmed for the TRS-80 by Bill Hogue, who left the TRS-80 platform in 1982. He would later that year create the platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
Miner 2049er
Miner 2049er
Miner 2049er is a video game created by Bill Hogue that was released in 1982 by Big Five Software. The game was licensed in conjunction with International Computer Group . At the time of its release, Miner 2049'er was notable for having ten different screens, which was a large number for a platform...
for the Atari 800
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
.