''The Attack'' 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 charact ...
video game created, designed, and implemented by Jim Pettingell for the
TI-99/4A
The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. ...
home computer and published by
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
in 1981.
The game was developed at
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 ...
as ''Alien Attack'', inspired by the movies ''
Alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
'' (1979) and ''
Barbarella'' (1968). After being sold to TI, the name was changed to ''The Attack''.
Gameplay
The player flies a spaceship in four directions around a single screen, shooting "spores", which connect together to form new aliens, and already formed aliens before they eat the player. Incubators, shown as square boxes, release more spores or, in later levels, aliens.
[
There are four skill levels: Novice, Intermediate, Master, and Pro.][
]
Reception
See also
* ''Alien'' (Atari 2600)
References
External links
''The Attack''
at TI-99/4A-Pedia
Gameplay video
at YouTube
1981 video games
Multidirectional shooters
Texas Instruments games
TI-99/4A games
Video games about extraterrestrial life
Video games developed in the United States
Milton Bradley Company video games
{{shooter-videogame-stub