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''Spider Fighter'' is a
In each level, the player must protect three pieces of fruit. The player's blaster moves left and right along the bottom of the screen, and the joystick button fires a shot upward toward four types of attackers. Each level contains a set number of "master nests", which are enemies who can grab a piece of fruit and drag it off the left side of the screen. A nest drops the fruit when shot. The game ends if all fruit has been stolen or all of the player's blasters are destroyed. The type of fruit varies per level: grapes, strawberries, oranges, and bananas.
There is an option to have the shots move horizontally with the blaster after being fired, allowing them to be steered.
At the time of release, a photo of the TV screen showing a score of 40,000 points or higher would earn the player a patch for the Activision "Spider Fighters."
''Spider Fighter''
at Atari Mania *{{internet archive game, atari_2600_spider_fighter_1982_activision_larry_miller_ax-021
1983 TV commercial
1982 video games Activision games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games Fixed shooters Video games about food and drink Video games about insects Video games developed in the United States Video games about spiders Single-player video games
fixed shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a Video game genre, 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 certai ...
designed by Larry Miller for the Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
and published by Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
in 1982. According to the manual, Miller was "the newest addition to the Activision design team." He went on to create the Atari 2600 racing game ''Enduro
Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a ...
'' for Activision, released in 1983.
The object of ''Spider Fighter'' is to protect an orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
containing fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
—grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
s, strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
, oranges
An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...
, and banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s—from four kinds of bugs. ''Digital Press'' described it as "much like the coin-op game ''Stratovox
''Stratovox'', known in Japan as ''Speak & Rescue'' (スピーク&レスキュー), is a 1980 Arcade game, arcade fixed shooter developed and published in Japan by Sunsoft, Sun Electronics and released in North America by Taito. It is the first ...
'' but w/o the voice."
Gameplay
In each level, the player must protect three pieces of fruit. The player's blaster moves left and right along the bottom of the screen, and the joystick button fires a shot upward toward four types of attackers. Each level contains a set number of "master nests", which are enemies who can grab a piece of fruit and drag it off the left side of the screen. A nest drops the fruit when shot. The game ends if all fruit has been stolen or all of the player's blasters are destroyed. The type of fruit varies per level: grapes, strawberries, oranges, and bananas.
There is an option to have the shots move horizontally with the blaster after being fired, allowing them to be steered.
At the time of release, a photo of the TV screen showing a score of 40,000 points or higher would earn the player a patch for the Activision "Spider Fighters."
Reception
''Spider Fighter'' was not as successful as Activision's other fixed shooter released earlier the same year, ''Megamania
''Megamania'' is an Atari 2600 game by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision in 1982. Versions were released for the Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit family in 1983. ''Megamania'' is similar to Sega's 1981 arcade title '' Astro Blaster''. Bo ...
''.
''Electronic Fun with Computers & Games
''Electronic Fun with Computers & Games'' was a video game magazine published in the United States from November 1982 to May 1984. For the last two issues it was renamed ''ComputerFun''.
Content
The magazine was split up into the following sect ...
'' gave the game 3 out 4 joysticks in the May 1983 issue. A June 1983 ''Electronic Games
An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...
'' review was more critical, claiming it a "keen disappointment" and a "mediocre title from a superior game company." ''Joystik'' took the middle road, calling it "a better than average bottom-shoot game that somehow looks like it should be more difficult than it is."
In an AtariHQ retrospective review, Keita Iida said "2600 players who are familiar with Activision's usual efforts (which are exceptional overall) might feel a bit let down by ''Spider Fighter''."
See also
*''Bandits
Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...
''
References
External links
''Spider Fighter''
at Atari Mania *{{internet archive game, atari_2600_spider_fighter_1982_activision_larry_miller_ax-021
1983 TV commercial
1982 video games Activision games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games Fixed shooters Video games about food and drink Video games about insects Video games developed in the United States Video games about spiders Single-player video games