Saucer Attack is a computer game for the Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

, created by James D. Sachs

James D. Sachs

James D. Sachs is a retired United States Air Force veteran, game artist and game programmer.Sachs was the lead artist on the groundbreaking Amiga computer game Defender of the Crown from Cinemaware . He is also the author of the Commodore 64 game Saucer Attack, which was heavily pirated...

.

Summary

The game is a shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...

 where the player's job is to protect Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 from invading flying saucer

Flying saucer

A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...

s. The game screen presents a beautifully drawn backdrop of Washington, with various landmarks such as the Washington Monument

Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...

 visible. After a while, flying saucers start to descend from the top of the screen. The player has to move a crosshair

Crosshair

A reticle is a net of fine lines or fibers in the eyepiece of a sighting device, such as a telescope, a telescopic sight, a microscope, or the screen of an oscilloscope. The word reticle comes from the Latin "reticulum," meaning "net." Today, engraved lines or embedded fibers may be replaced by a...

 at the saucers and fire bullets to destroy them. If allowed to proceed unharmed, saucers will hover near a famous landmark and shoot a beam of electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

at it, eventually destroying it. If all landmarks are destroyed, the game is lost.