''Gremlins'' is a 1984

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed and published by

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 ...

for the Atari 2600. It is a

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

to the 1984 film '' Gremlins''. Atari released another, substantially different game based on the film for the Atari 5200.Weiss, p. 139.

Gameplay

left, Gameplay The 2600 game consists of two playable screens and can be played by one player or two players alternating turns. The first screen is similar to the 1981 game '' Kaboom!''. The player controls protagonist Billy Peltzer, who runs side-to-side across the screen catching falling Mogwai to prevent them from eating hamburgers. In the second screen, similar to '' Space Invaders'', the player moves Billy back and forth across the screen and shoots waves of descending gremlins.Weiss, p. 67.

Development

'' Gremlins'', directed by

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

, was the center of a major

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...

push in the months surrounding its release. Atari developed video game

s for both of its contemporary consoles, the Atari 2600 and the Atari 5200. The game was also the final game released for the 5200. Atari intended to release both along with the film in 1984, but the company stopped shipment of all its games after its reorganization that year. Atari first previewed the 2600 version of the game at the 1984 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. It was released in limited numbers later that year, and became moderately rare.

Reception

In retrospective reviews, Brett Weiss called it "derivative" and lacking in originality, and humorist Seanbaby criticized the premise of defending hamburgers from gremlins, calling it a "clumsily rearranged Hamburglar game".

References

* {{Atari 2600 1984 video games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games Video games based on films Video games developed in the United States Gremlins (franchise)