Destroyer (Arcade)
Developed/Published by: Atari, Inc. Released: 11/1977 Completed:Ā 12/03/2023 Completion:Ā Played it a bit. Only reached 1600 points, thoughā¦ Version Played: Atari Flashback Classics Trophies / Achievements:Ā n/a
Honestly pretty hard to know what to make of Atari in 1977. Itās just put out the 2600 with what can be charitably called a bit of a mixed bag of launch titles, and itās also dumping out pretty uninspired titles like Canyon Bomber. But itās also releasing Destroyer, which, while hardly a great game, feels like not just a betterĀ version of what Canyon Bomber is trying to do, but also comes in a more interesting and attractive cabinet with one of those cool color backgrounds via that monitor reflection technique.. and it was released basically at the same time???
At least part of the story here is that Destroyer definitely began as a rip-off: after ripping off Gremlinās Blockade for Dominoes, Atari seemed like they really wanted to stick the boot in, ripping off Gremlinās slow anti-submarine shooter Depthcharge with a far flashier game.
It sortĀ of works. For some stupid reason again Atari decides that the player doesnāt want to control their ship and instead just have it go back and forth on the screen, but at least here youāre able to control the speed (well, between fast and slow.) Additionally, youāre actually ātargetingā your depth charges with a dotted line on screen that you move up and down, and when you hit the fire button, where youāve got the line at that moment is where the depth charge will explode, even if you move the line later.Ā
Perhaps Iām just a sucker for something that looks nice after the monochrome tedium of Super Bug and Canyon Bomber, but I was more charmed by this, and it at least improves on Depthcharge. Take a look at the arcade flyer and notice how cool the controls must have felt to use and I can imagine this grabbing quite a few quarters.
Unfortunately though, itās still just not that good. The submarines that move back and forth appear randomly and it really does feel like sheer luck if youāre going to hit the high-scoring fast moving ones, with controlling your shipās speed hardly feeling helpful at all, so once the shine of the visuals and controls wear off youāre really left with very little at all, especially as this is another timed game meaning that going for a high score just feels like an exercise where youāre going to have a lot of plays where you had no chance at all.
Itās the kind of thing, really, where youād think that a company should probably not release two similar titles but instead maybe just concentrate on making one especially good one. Iām not sure Canyon Bomber being multiplayer is really enough of a differentiator for both of these to exist.
Or either of them really.
Will I ever play it again? Iāll allow that Iād like to play an actual arcade version of this.
Final Thought: Things would go pretty sadly for Gremlin in the end. Theyād be acquired by Sega in 1978 (good!) but would be defunct by 1983, despite one of their last releases, Zaxxon, being one of the top grossing games of 1982 and is still fondly remembered. Support Every Game Iāve Finished onĀ ko-fi! You can pick up a digital copy of exp. 2600, a zine featuring all-exclusive writing at my shop, or join as a supporter at just $1 a month and get articles like this a week early.
