While on a routine Stellar Cartography mission, UESC Rains experienced a malfunction and warped into an asteroid field in an unknown sector of space. Unable to get a bearing to safely warp out, the ship must blast the asteroids into smithereens to prevent imminent destruction. To make matters worse, the local inhabitants are xenophobic and have sent warships and Magna-Mines to eliminate the alien (that's you!) threat. As the pilot of your ship you must maneuver instantly, rotating left, right and energizing your thrusters to avoid destruction. A direct hit on an asteroid with your laser cannon breaks it in two. A hit on one of these breaks it into two smaller asteroids, a final hit on a small asteroid destroys it completely. Your ship is equipped with a special defensive option to help you avoid collisions when the action gets intense! Space Rocks is an impressive blending of the classic arcade games Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe, crafted for the Atari 2600 by Darrell Spice, Jr. If you're a fan of either arcade cabinet (or both!), you'll love Space Rocks! While Atari's version of Asteroids for the 2600 was passable at the time of its release, Space Rocks blasts far ahead of this early effort. Taking full advantage of the DPC+ mode in our Melody Board, Space Rocks pushes the Atari 2600 to its limits and offers a wide variety of gameplay options to keep you playing for years to come. The graphics, animations, and sound effects are well above what is typically experienced on the 2600. Game Features One or Two Players Head-to-Head or Cooperative Two Player Modes Vector or Solid graphic styles Mutlicolor rocks, or choose one of 16 monochrome color themes Four difficulty levels: Kids, Easy, Normal, and Hard Choose Shields, Hyperspace or 180 Degree Turn when you press Down on the controller Friction can be turned on or off Bonus life can be set to 5K, 10K, 20K or disabled Supports Gamepads and Joysticks Magna-Mines can be toggled on or off Label Contest In 2012 we held a Space Rocks Label Contest. We received a total of 55 great submissions from AtariAge visitors! Dave Dries' entry was chosen at the winner, and his artwork graces the box, manual and label for the game, as well as the posters we had printed up! You can learn more about the contest and view all the submissions here. Additional Information Space Rocks is a Melody-enhanced game that takes full advantage of the DPC+ mode in the Melody. Space Rocks an eight-page, full-color manual and game cartridge. Available in NTSC and PAL60 television formats--please select above. If you do not select, you will receive an NTSC cartridge by default. Number of Players 1 - 2 Controller Joystick, Amiga CD32 Joypad, Sega Genesis Gamepad Cartridge Size 32K Melody Enhanced Programming Darrell Spice, Jr. Sound Effects Bob DeCrescenzo Game Graphics Nathan Strum Label and Manual Design Dave Dries
