''Planetoids'' is a clone of Atari, Inc.'s '' Asteroids'' arcade game published by Adventure International for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

in 1980 and TRS-80 in 1981. Each was originally an independently sold game, neither of which was titled ''Planetoids''. The Apple II version, written by Marc Goodman, was published as ''Asteroid''. The TRS-80 game was written by Greg Hassett as ''Fasteroids'' by Adventure Works. ''Fasteroids'' was still sold by Adventure Works at the same time ''Planetoids'' was available through Adventure International. The TRS-80 version includes features not present on the Apple II or arcade original.

Gameplay

''Planetoids'' is a version of the 1979 arcade game, '' Asteroids''. The TRS-80 adaptation includes three additional modes: high-speed asteroids, very slow moving asteroids, and a dogfight with only enemy ships.

Reception

Ian Chadwick reviewed ''Planetoids'' in ''

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...

'' magazine #11 and commented that "it's enjoyable and ..well done. It's a must for fans of the arcade game". In ''80-U.S.'' magazine, Bob Liddil called ''Fasteroids'', "''Asteroids'' with GUSTO" and called out the ability to save high scores to tape and the pause feature as positives.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=Planetoids Manual , url=https://archive.org/details/Planetoids_1981_Adventure_International/page/n7/mode/2up , website=archive.org , publisher=Adventure International , date=1981 {{cite journal , title=Planetoids , journal=Adventure International Catalog , date=1981 , volume=2 , issue=4 , pag
16
, url=https://archive.org/details/adventure-international-catalog-v2n4-1981 {{cite journal , last1=Liddil , first1=Bob , title=Captain 80 , journal=80-U.s. , date=September 1981 , volume=4 , issue=5 , page
97
98 , url=https://archive.org/details/80-U.S._Volume_IV_Number_5_1981-09_80-Northwest_Publishing_US {{cite book , last1=Hague , first1=James , title=Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers , date=1997 , url=https://dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/GOODMAN.HTM

External links

Review
in '' Byte''
Review
in ''

Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format th ...

'' 1980 video games Adventure International games Apple II games Multidirectional shooters TRS-80 games Video game clones Video games developed in the United States Video games set in outer space