The War of the Worlds (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
The War of the Worlds is an arcade game
based on the H. G. Wells
novel The War of the Worlds
. There were two versions of this game, identical in gameplay but differing in graphics. The first version was released by Cinematronics
in 1979, and featured black and white vector graphics
. A color version was later made in 1982.
In terms of gameplay and graphics, and game was essentially a Space Invaders
clone done using 3-D vector graphics and using martians, instead of generic invading aliens, as the enemy. Gameplay is quite simple; the player has to eliminate waves of 3-D martian tripods while dodging their shots. The game also had a shield feature the player could activate for a limited time that gave them temporary invincibility against the martians.
The game is very rare, having been ranked a 3 out of 100 on the Nation Game Preservation Society, 100 being the most common and 1 being the rarest.
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...
based on the H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
novel The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.The War of the Worlds may also refer to:- Radio broadcasts :* The War of the Worlds , the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles...
. There were two versions of this game, identical in gameplay but differing in graphics. The first version was released by Cinematronics
Cinematronics
Cinematronics Incorporated was a pioneering arcade game developer that had its heyday in the era of vector display games. While other companies released games based on raster displays, early in their history, Cinematronics and Atari released vector-display games, which offered a distinctive look...
in 1979, and featured black and white vector graphics
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
. A color version was later made in 1982.
In terms of gameplay and graphics, and game was essentially a Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
clone done using 3-D vector graphics and using martians, instead of generic invading aliens, as the enemy. Gameplay is quite simple; the player has to eliminate waves of 3-D martian tripods while dodging their shots. The game also had a shield feature the player could activate for a limited time that gave them temporary invincibility against the martians.
The game is very rare, having been ranked a 3 out of 100 on the Nation Game Preservation Society, 100 being the most common and 1 being the rarest.