Missile Command (1980)

Atari

Arcade · Atari ST/STE · Commodore C64/128/MAX

3.17 from 146 ratings

345 members have it in their collection · 2 playing now · 41 backlogged · 23 wish listed

How long? Main story 3h · 100% 1h (from 2 logged playthroughs)

As a regional commander of three anti-missile batteries, the player must defend six cities in their zone from being destroyed. The player's six cities are being attacked by an endless hail of ballistic missiles, some of them even splitting like multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). New weapons are introduced in later levels: smart bombs that can evade a less … Read more
As a regional commander of three anti-missile batteries, the player must defend six cities in their zone from being destroyed. The player's six cities are being attacked by an endless hail of ballistic missiles, some of them even splitting like multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). New weapons are introduced in later levels: smart bombs that can evade a less than perfectly targeted missile, and bomber planes and satellites that fly across the screen and launch missiles of their own. Read less

Details

Developers
Atari
Publishers
Atari, Atari Corporation, Sega, Taito
Genres
Arcade, Shooter
Themes
Action, Science fiction, Warfare
Series
Missile Command

Release dates

  • Jul 1980 (Full Release) (Japan) Arcade
  • Jul 1980 (Full Release) (North_America) Arcade
  • Q3 1980 (Full Release) (Europe) Arcade
  • 1983 (Full Release) (Europe) Commodore C64/128/MAX
  • 1987 (Full Release) (North_America) Atari ST/STE

Related

Bundled in

Remakes

Remasters

Ports

Rating distribution

5 stars
19
4 stars
25
3 stars
68
2 stars
30
1 star
4

Community All Reviews Statuses

Reset_Tears

Status Reset_Tears Jun 12, 2022

Missile Command is one of those old arcade games I've played off and on over the years, but have never really gotten any good at. But that's okay. The best way to play it by far is with the actual arcade machine, which has a trackball for moving the cursor, and three buttons that let you shoot your missiles from …

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Missile Command is one of those old arcade games I've played off and on over the years, but have never really gotten any good at. But that's okay. The best way to play it by far is with the actual arcade machine, which has a trackball for moving the cursor, and three buttons that let you shoot your missiles from three different cities. Your goal is to blow up your missiles at the right spots, so that the explosions take out the projectiles raining down upon your cities. It's a clever concept and works really well for a 1980 game. It's also super challenging, of course.

Attempting to replicate this with a game controller... is okay-ish. And if you've ever played on computer by clicking with a mouse, that's just an entirely different (and tbh kind of pointless) sort of game. See if you can find an arcade machine of this and give it a few rounds! I love me a good trackball at the arcade. Time to play some Centipede and Marble Madness now.

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scoopings

Review scoopings 2/5 · Jan 23, 2022

Why Are Games Like This And Asteroids Better Known Than The Original Head On or Armor Attack?

Look: 5/10 Exceptionally bland for its time

Sound: 6/10 Functional, not included in the rating.

Play: 6/10 I mean, the mechanics are consistent, the gameplay makes sense, and I definitely had a drive to keep playing till I got the mechanics down. But I remember this being one of the arcade games, along with Asteroids, that turned me off from …

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Look: 5/10 Exceptionally bland for its time

Sound: 6/10 Functional, not included in the rating.

Play: 6/10 I mean, the mechanics are consistent, the gameplay makes sense, and I definitely had a drive to keep playing till I got the mechanics down. But I remember this being one of the arcade games, along with Asteroids, that turned me off from arcade games at a young age.

Feel: 7/10 Giving this a bit of a boost, since I did have a drive to keep trying till I got it down better. But after a little bit, I had no drive to push on...

Attachment: 6/10 I doubt I will be replaying this, but obviously I respect it for being a huge hit and a game people still find fun! Just not my thing I guess. I prefer a straight shooter. (I do like how you have to plan where the missiles will be, which helped boost the Feel rating, but meh)

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