Space Lobsters
| Space Lobsters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Ivan Mackintosh[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Red Rat Software |
| Artist(s) | Richard Munns |
| Composer(s) | Richard Munns |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit computers |
| Release | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Maze, shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Space Lobsters is a 1987 flip‑screen maze-shooter video game developed and published by Red Rat Software for the Atari 8-bit computers. Players guide Captain Crumble through the gargantuan alien starship Colossus, shooting hostile crustaceans and robot guardians while searching more than 150 rooms for computer codes needed to activate the escape pod.
Gameplay
[edit]
Space Lobsters combines flip‑screen maze exploration with run‑and‑gun action. As Captain Crumble, the player boards the alien super‑ship Colossus armed with a plasma‑blaster and a small supply of ammunition. The mission is to find fourteen computer terminals that each reveal part of the escape code needed to unlock a one‑man rescue pod on the top deck (the cassette version requires ten codes).
The ship is laid out as a stack of horizontal corridors. Teleport booths act as vertical lifts, letting the player hop between deck levels to access the more than 150 rooms. The blaster fires in four directions, and extra ammo or health can be traded for supplies at occasional vendor kiosks.
Rooms are patrolled by Space‑Lobster sentries (red crustaceans that fire energy bolts), and roaming Robo‑Droids. Touching a foe or projectile costs one life. Environmental obstacles include locked doors, moving barriers, and narrow passages that funnel the player into ambushes.
A large status panel on the left shows lives, ammunition, collected codes, and score, while the active playfield occupies the right‑hand quarter of the screen. Clearing all codes and reaching the pod ends the game; otherwise play continues until all lives are lost.
Reception
[edit]Page 6 magazine, an independent UK Atari journal, reviewed the game in issue 27. The reviewer praised the variety of rooms and the sense of exploration, describing Space Lobsters as "fast, colourful and good value for money" though they felt the cramped play window kept it from greatness.[2] Atari User magazine awarded the game 7/10 overall. Reviewer Victor Laszlo praised its split‑screen graphics mix and "good, animated blast'em, run away, turn around and shoot'em again style" highlighting more than 150 screens and teleport mechanics. Sound, graphics, and value for money each scored 7/10, with playability rated 8/10.[3] German magazine Aktueller Software Markt called the game "an appealing maze shooter" for Atari owners starved of new titles. The writer commended its colorful background art and smooth animation, though criticized the tiny playfield and repetitive in‑game sound.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ^ "Space Lobsters". Page 6 (27). May 1987.
- ^ "Lively lobsters". Atari User (25): 19. May 1987.
- ^ "Das gibt's auch:Der Weltraum-Hummer". Aktueller Software Markt (in German): 15. June 1987.
External links
[edit]Space Lobsters at MobyGames
Space Lobsters at Atari Mania