Air-Sea Battle
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Air-Sea Battle
- Release Date: 1977
- Genre: Shooter
- Style: Fixed Screen Shooter
- Similar Games: Carnival (Atari Video Computer System), Target Fun (Atari Video Computer System)
Game Description
Air-Sea Battle contains six types of shooting games: anti-aircraft, torpedo, shooting gallery, Polaris, bomber, and Polaris vs. bomber. Within each of these games are various selectable options, which add up to the 27 game variations advertised on the manual.The anti-aircraft games (1-6) involve shooting down different types of aircraft including small jets, large jets, helicopters, 747s, and observation blimps. The torpedo games (7-12) have you firing torpedoes at PT boats, aircraft carriers, pirate ships, freighters, and mines. The shooting gallery games (13-15) simulate a carnival atmosphere where you aim at rabbits, ducks, and clowns.
In the Polaris games (16-18), you control a moving boat whose mission is to shoot down small jets, large jets, helicopters, and 747s. The bomber games (19-21) are similar to the Polaris games, except that the roles are reversed: You are the pilot of a plane trying to bomb PT boats, aircraft carriers, pirate ships, and freighters. Finally, the bomber vs. Polaris games (22-27) pit a plane against a boat in one-on-one combat.
All games last for two minutes and 16 seconds or when a player reaches 99 points. Air-Sea Battle can be played alone or with another player, depending on the game and option selected.
Air-Sea Battle was one of the first games released for the Atari 2600 and is identical to Target Fun, released by Sears, with the exception of the game's manual, which contains different artwork and uses the term "missile" in place of "Polaris."
~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Air-Sea Battle is simple, addictive, and fun, the three qualities that make an arcade-style game great. There are no complicated maneuvers or joystick combinations to learn; aim and shoot is all you need to know.But arcade shooters for the Atari 2600 are a dime a dozen. The key to Air-Sea Battle is variety. Different options allow you to customize the game to your liking, and with six different games and a total of 27 variations to choose from, it's hard to get bored. All you have to do is switch to another game.
Another aspect of the game that sets it apart is its two-player option. Like most video games, Air-Sea Battle is best played with another person. While it is possible to play alone for a high score or set the computer player to fire continuously, there is nothing like competing against living human player. It is only then that the game truly reaches its potential.
The game's graphics are plain but colorful, with every object clearly recognizable, e.g., a boat looks like a boat and a plane looks like a plane. The background is a blue sky (or blue water) with a nice gradient. The sound effects are similarly plain, and there is no music. These factors take a backseat to the game play, however, which is what this game is all about.
Of the six games, anti-aircraft and shooting gallery are the best for one player, while Polaris vs. bomber is the best for a two-player competition. However, you will find all of the games in Air-Sea Battle to be an enjoyable diversion.
~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
Addictive, pure game play makes up for the lack of visuals.~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
Functional, simple graphics that get the job done.~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
Basic sound effects and no music.~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
With six games and 27 variations, you'll get a lot of mileage out of {*Air-Sea Battle}.~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
A nice manual which details the various options of each game.~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Production Credits
Designer: Larry Kaplan
~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Air-Sea Battle
| Air-Sea Battle | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Atari |
| Publisher(s) | Atari |
| Designer(s) | Larry Kaplan |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Fixed shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Media/distribution | Atari 2600 cartridge |
Air-Sea Battle is a game developed by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600, and was one of the nine original launch titles for that system when it was released in October 1977. It was also released by Sears as Target Fun and was the pack-in game with the original Sears Tele-Games version of the Atari 2600.
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Contents
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Gameplay
There are six basic types of game available in Air-Sea Battle, and for each type, there are one or two groups of three games, for a total of twenty-seven game variants. Within each group, variant one is the standard game, variant two features guided missiles which can be directed left or right after being fired, and variant three pits a single player (using the right gun) against a computer opponent, which simply fires continuously at the default angle or speed. In every game, players shoot targets (enemy planes or ships, shooting gallery targets, or each other, depending on the game chosen) competing to get a higher score. Each round lasts two minutes and sixteen seconds; the player with the higher score after time expires is the winner, unless one player wins (and ends the game) by reaching 99 points before the time is up.
Anti-aircraft games
Variants 1-6 are anti-aircraft games, in which the player uses a stationary anti-aircraft gun that can be positioned at a 30, 60, or 90-degree angle to shoot down four different types of aircraft. The planes typically appear in groups of three to five, and once every plane in a formation has been destroyed, a new formation appears. There are two groups of anti-aircraft games: in variants 1-3, each target hit is worth 1 point, while in 4-6, the various types of aircraft have different point values. Additionally, zero-point blimps are added as obstacles in games 4-6.
Torpedo games
The torpedo games (7-12) are similar to the anti-aircraft games, except that each player mans a submarine that can move left and right and fires at a 90 degree angle. The targets are ships instead of planes. As with the anti-aircraft games, in games 7-9, all targets are worth one point, while games 10-12 have variable point values for targets and additional zero-point obstacles.
Shooting gallery games
The shooting gallery games (13-15) differ from the previous variants in that the player can both set the angle of the gun and move the gun left and right. Instead of planes or ships, clowns, ducks, and rabbits are the targets, with point values of 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
Polaris games
The polaris games (16-18) put the player in control of a boat which moves back and forth across the bottom of the screen automatically. Instead of controlling the gun angle, the player controls the speed at which the ship moves, attempting to shoot the same fleets of planes as in the anti-aircraft variants, with the point values of games 4-6.
Bomber games
In the bomber games (19-21), the player-controlled vehicle is a plane flying near the top of the screen dropping bombs on the ships from the torpedo games. As in the polaris games, the plane's speed is controlled by the player, and the point values are identical to those in games 10-12.
Polaris vs. Bomber games
In the polaris vs. bomber games (22-27), one player controls the ship from the polaris games while the other controls the plane from the bomber games, with the goal being to destroy the other player's craft. Games 25-27 feature zero-point mines as obstacles.
Legacy
Air-Sea Battle appears on the Atari Anthology collection for Xbox and PlayStation 2 and the Atari Flashback dedicated console. The game was also re-released to Microsoft's Game Room download service for the Xbox 360 and Windows-based PCs in March 2010.
See also
- Anti-Aircraft (arcade game)
- AirLand Battle#AirSea Battle
References
External links
- Air-Sea Battle at AtariAge
- Target Fun at AtariAge
- Air-Sea Battle guide at StrategyWiki
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