Communist Mutants from Space
Communist Mutants from Space was a video game created in 1982 by Starpath (formerly known as Arcadia) for the Atari 2600 home video game console and the Starpath Supercharger cassette accessory. Communist Mutants from Space is a typical 1980s-era Space Invaders-inspired space shoot-em-up. The player starts off with three reserve cannons. The object is to destroy the mutants aliens and, most importantly, the Mother Creature. The mutants hatch from moving eggs at the top of the screen. Because the Mother Creature replenishes eggs when they hatch or are destroyed, it must be defeated before the player can advance to the next wave. If a mutant or a bomb thrown by a mutant comes into contact with the cannon, the cannon will be destroyed and a reserve must be called up. A new cannon is awarded on every other wave. The menu allows a variety of gameplay changes; for example, the player may toggle the shield option on or off. If activated, "shield" mode allowed a player to press down on the joystick to become invincible for a short period (only one shield was allotted per level). Another feature was the "time warp," which allowed the player to press up on the joystick to temporarily slow down the passage of time for his opponents (i.e., they move slower than usual). Additionally, the type of shot fired could be changed by activating the "penetrating fire" option (which enhanced the beam fired so that it could withstand hitting two mutants rather than a single one) and/or the "guided fire" option (which caused the beam to be moved with the joystick rather than firing in a straight line). The menu also allowed for multiple players (up to four) to be entered into the game. Players one and three shared the first joystick while players two and four shared the second.
SCREENSHOTS
PHYSICAL
HISTORY
Communist Mutants from Space is a fixed shooter video game programmed by Stephen H. Landrum for the Atari 2600 with the Starpath Supercharger cassette accessory. It was published in 1982 by Starpath (formerly Arcadia). The game is similar to Galaxian, adding a variety of gameplay-changing options.
Plot
Aliens from the communist planet of Rooskee are invading peaceful, democratic planets and turning their inhabitants into "Communist Mutants." The communist mutant armies are controlled by the Mother Creature, a strange alien who has gone mad due to irradiated vodka.
Gameplay
The player starts off with three reserve cannons. The object is to destroy the mutants aliens and, most importantly, the Mother Creature. The mutants hatch from moving eggs at the top of the screen. Because the Mother Creature replenishes eggs when they hatch or are destroyed, it must be defeated before the player can advance to the next wave. If a mutant or a bomb thrown by a mutant comes into contact with the cannon, the cannon will be destroyed and a reserve must be called up. A new cannon is awarded on every other wave.
Options
An in-game menu allows a variety of gameplay changes. The player can toggle the shield option on or off. If activated, "shield" mode allows pulling back on the joystick to become invincible for a short period (only one shield is allotted per level). "Time warp" allows the player to press up on the joystick to temporarily slow the enemies. The type of shot fired can be changed by activating the "penetrating fire" option (which enhances the beam fired so that it can hit two mutants rather than one) and/or the "guided fire" option (which causes the beam to be moved with the joystick rather than firing in a straight line).
The menu also allows for selecting 1-4 players. Players one and three share the first joystick while players two and four share the second.
Development
Communist Mutants from Space was the first commercial game that Stephen Landrum developed. In a 1993 interview, he was asked about the origin of the game's name:I would like to take credit for the name, but I can't. It was developed by our advertising agency, and was the best thing that they did for Starpath. I must admit that I was really surprised when they suggested the name. I thought they were joking, but when I realized that they were serious, I couldn't believe it! It took me a little while to realize that the outrageousness of the name would actually help the program. We had a great poster made up from the artwork for the box cover, but unfortunately I only have one of them. We should have sold the poster, as it would have made quite a bit of money.
Easter egg
Holding fire during power-on of the Atari 2600 causes the "HI" on the high scores screen to change to "SHL", the initials of programmer Stephen H. Landrum.
Reviews
Games
STORY
Aliens from the communist planet of Rooskee are invading peaceful, democratic planets and turning their inhabitants into "Communist Mutants." The communist mutant armies are controlled by the Mother Creature, a strange alien who has gone mad due to irradiated vodka.
GAMEPLAY VIDEO
SCORES
ACHIEVEMENTS 1 set
Tracked by RetroAchievements and earned in an emulator that reports to it. A game tracked on more than one machine gets a set for each, because they are different lists earned on different hardware.
RELEASES 1 system
PHYSICAL RELEASES 1 box
