Cosmic Monsters was a Space Invaders rip-off that barely strayed from the basic Invaders gameplay formula with little new to offer.
The monsters would march from side to side in formation until they reached a screen edge, dropping a notch closer to the player and dropping bombs the entire time. The player had several bunkers to hide behind for protection and a high scoring flying saucer would appear overhead at times. Getting hit by a monster’s bomb would destroy the player’s laser base and the game would end when they had no more bases in reserve.
Aside from the monsters looking different (as well as the bunkers) from the original Space Invaders, the only a few differences between the two is that shooting the saucer had a higher sense of urgency this time around, as there was a bunker for it to hide inside once it appeared; if the player didn’t destroy it once it came out after taking refuge in the bunker, then it would explode and add an entire new row of monsters to the top of their formation.
Also, players did not receive an extra laser base until a score of at least 3,000 points, which is pretty high for most Invaders games, and the flying saucer was also worth way more as well, with it having a higher end value of 600-1000 points.
Scoring[]
- Bottom row monsters: 10 points each
- Middle row monsters: 20
- Top row monsters: 30
- Flying saucer: mystery amount
Controls[]
- Two way joystick (left/right)
- Fire button
Links[]
Killer list of video games page entry