Astro Invader

Using buttons to move left, right and fire, you attempt to ward off invading aliens and their flying saucers. The aliens are dropped off from a saucer and stored in multiple columns until a column is full, then the aliens in that column descend, one by one, and attack. Also, the saucers sometimes descend to attack; if they are not destroyed, one ship is lost.

The player controls a small spaceship is at the bottom of the screen. Like most Space Invaders-type games of the period, the ship can move left and right (but not up or down), and can fire one bullet at a time. The ship may not fire again until its previous shot has detonated.

Although all the screen colors are generated by the game’s hardware as opposed to a screen overlay, there are varying bands of color dependent upon where the aliens are displayed vertically. At different heights, the aliens and their saucers are displayed in various colors. When a player’s ship is destroyed, the entire display is drawn in red.

This game was featured in a music video by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers called You Got Lucky. Tom Petty knocks the machine over.