Shoot'em Up! / Shoot'em Up! - Miscellaneous · 1982

Astro Chase

Published by First Star Software · Developed by [n/a]

atarimania.com — atari-400-800-xl-xe-games-astro-chase-356

Information

Genre: Shoot'em Up! - Miscellaneous
Language: Machine Language
Controls: Joystick
Players: 1
Programmer(s): Herrera, Fernando
Graphic Artist(s): [n/a]
Sound: [n/a]
Cover Artist(s): [unknown]
Year: 1982
Publisher: First Star Software
Developer: [n/a]
Country: USA
License: Commercial
Medium: Tape, Disk, Cartridge
Rarity: 7 (Tape), 7 (Disk), 9 (Cartridge)
Serial: -

Votes / Statistics

Rating: 6.5/10 · Votes: 57 · Downloads: 4,056 · Hits: 25,894

Additional Comments

Also available on the Greatest Hits - Volume 1 compilation.

The cartridge version of the game was never meant for home use. It was designed for the Exidy Max-a-Flex cabinet (basically an arcade machine with a 600XL inside) and sold with typical arcade packaging. Unlike the Parker Brothers ROM, it runs on the Atari XL and XE machines.

Missing original tape and disk images!

Screenshots (4)

Cover Art (7)

Instructions (16)

Ads (5)

Book / Magazine Reviews (1)

Electronic Fun · June, 1983 · Rating: 3 / 4

Astro Chase is such a pretty game to look at, it seems a shame that it isn't more exciting to play. And that's perplexing, because at first blush Astro Chase looks like a space game with everything. It's got shield depots, it's got energy generators and it's got pulsating enemy mines so powerful that just one of them can blow up the entire Earth. It's got a screen full of zillions of colorful asteroids, planets and stars, and a picture of Earth so good it looks like it came right off the schoolroom wall. And then there are eight different kinds of enemy spaceships, 34 difficulty levels and no less than seven different animation sequences.

In short, Astro Chase has everything but an animated, laser-equipped kitchen sink - and therein's the rub. First Star designer Fernando Herrera seems to have either run out of room for, or just forgotten about, that other component of a hit game: challenging and innovative game action.

Once the game begins, the lovely 3-D starfield is just another 2-D maze - with round obstructions instead of walls - through which you must carefully dodge in order to ray down the pulsating mines creeping inexorably toward the Earth. The enemy spaceships show up at odd intervals to harry and distract you from your main job of eliminating the mines and you can either shoot them or ram them.

Astro Chase's only notable variation from its predecessors is First Star's proprietary Single Thrust Propulsion movement system, which involves using a single tap of the joystick to lock your saucer on the course you want to go. After that, you hold down the trigger button and point the joystick in the direction you want to fire your lasers.

Is there really anything wrong with Astro Chase? No, not a thing. Just remember: the graphics are only screen deep.

It costs you energy to bump into planets or stars. Beware of wiping yourself out with too much maneuvering.

Comments (3)

the big m — 13 Aug 2023
Back in the early 80's, I owned an Intellivision. When I saw a picture of the game on a magazine, I was jealous of Atari owners. Herrera became a celebrity for the 3d design of the city and the animation of the spaceman waving and taking off in his spaceship. Now a days, we see the game as a bit frustrating when running into the stars and planets. The game defaults to level 8. Start on level 1 and you'll have more fun. My daughter and I did. Recommended!
Scott Stilphen — 5 Dec 2020
Not sure why magazines like Electronic Games just raved about it. It's a great-looking game but incredibly frustrating to play. Having to move around a layout of a random number of planets and stars (especially little stars that your ship gets hung up on) really affects how you progress. If only all that stuff was on a different layer, with you either moving in front of or behind them, so that you had the entire area to freely move around.
Monk — 9 Nov 2017
As the loving owner of both Atari 800 XL and a Commodore 64C, I feel obligated to compare the differences between versions in my reviews / comments. Astro Chase is one of those games that you have to really look at with a magnifying glass for hours to find all the little differences between the Atari and the C64 to be able to finally declare a winner. Which you probably can't, anyway. I just recently played both versions today, and I have to say, they are so similar, that I wouldn't blame anyone for having strong nostalgic feelings for either one (or both). This was the first game that I saw having a wonderful intro sequence that got me all excited. The game itself, sadly, didn't quite reach the potential the intro sets up. The game is very simplistic and repetitive, and I couldn't really care about saving the Earth for the fourth time, after nothing seemed to change. But it's a good game to spend a few minutes in a simplistic, mindless, relaxing destruction of some attackers. And the explosive Pokey always delivers the satisfying aural pleasures. The Atari version seems to be ever so slightly better than the C64 version. First of all, in the intro, Atari doesn't have boring grey, which is a big part of the C64 version's color scheme. Second of all, the animated space pilot actually synchronizes the footsteps, unlike the ice skating C64 pilot, who slides while walking. The crunchier Pokey noise wave sounds just fit this game better than the softer SID noise, and makes for a more massive experience. Oddly, the space ship in the intro has a different shape, depending on which version you play. The gameplay is pretty much the same, and just as repetitive and simplistic. There are simple games that are great classics, but this one is a bit too simple, perhaps. Also, not being able to stop your spaceship is really annoying, although you learn to play 'around' it. All in all, a good little game, when you just want to have a quick, not-so-serious fun for a couple of minutes, and nothing much more. Even Orc Attack offers more entertainment (another game where Atari version shines over the C64 version). Good game, but only in short sessions.