''Mine Storm'' (also written as ''MineStorm'') is a
multidirectional shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
similar to
Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.
Based primarily around the Sunny ...
's 1979 ''
Asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
'' arcade game. It was published in 1982 by General Consumer Electronics as the
built-in game for the
Vectrex
The Vectrex is a vector display-based home video game console–the only one ever designed and released for the home market, developed by Smith Engineering. It was first released for the North America market in November 1982 and then Europe an ...
system. ''Mine Storm'' was implemented by John Hall.
Gameplay
Developed by General Consumer Electronics, Vectrex's manufacturer, it was built into the game system.
The gameplay is very similar to that of Atari's ''
Asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
''. The game begins with a large enemy ship dropping mines onto the field as an ominous jingle plays, and moves from the top to the bottom of the screen, where it disappears. The player's ship starts in the middle of the field with 5 lives. Numerous mines then start popping up. The player must destroy all of the mines in order to progress to the next minefield. All of the mines can be destroyed with one shot, or hit with the player's ship, costing the player a life. There are 4 types of mines. The original mines are stationary, then second level has magnetic mines that follow the player's ship if neared, the third has mines that shoot fireballs back when destroyed, and the last are magnetic fireball mines.
The original version that came packaged with the Vectrex system included a bug causing the game to crash on the thirteenth level. Players who called GCE (
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...
in the UK) and reported the bug received a ''MineStorm II'' cartridge free of charge in the mail.
Only a few people did this, making the game extremely rare.
Reception
''MineStorm'' was reviewed in 1982 by ''
Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...
'' in its "Arcade Alley" column, where it was described as "a fast-moving contest, more than slightly similar to ''Asteroids''".
of ''
Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games'' praised the controls' "excellent" responsiveness, and the "simply magnificent" graphics and sound. He recommended the game to ''Asteroids'' fans who were disappointed by other home versions.
Reviews
*''
Games''
[https://archive.org/details/games-34-1982-december/page/n51/mode/2up]
References
{{Reflist
External links
History of Gaming Platforms: The Vectrex
1982 video games
Vectrex games
Video game clones
Video games developed in the United States
Multidirectional shooters