Achieved at : 2025-03-16
Rank : 2
(24% worse)
Lups : 214
Approved :
Yes
Voting completed : 2025-03-23
| General Rules: |
Play with default settings unless otherwise specified. No use of trainers, cheats, saved game files, auto-fire (when not default present in-game), emulator save states, or other emulator advantages. No use of code modifications that give the player an advantage over other players. 1 player only. No continues. It is discouraged and may lead to voters not accepting your score to - excessively point farm - use glitches or other game exploits |
| Specific Rules: | Play the game in 1 player mode with default settings |
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TGP
Astra Phantasm is a vertical shooter from Ad Astra. Released in 1983, it was written by John Owen.
Astra Phantasm is a game a lot like Megamania. Streams of enemies cross the screen in various directions and you have twenty seconds to survive each wave. Occasionally a UFO like object crosses the screen. It is difficult to shoot but it will award a bonus - in this game it gave extra lives, but I'm not sure if other awards are possible. You can move your ship up and down as well as left and right - a bit like Gorf.
I could not find much information on this game, the author or the software house. The other few games from Ad Astra also appear to have been written by John Owen, so I suspect Ad Astra may have been John's own home-based software house. Maybe this was one of those software houses that appeared in the backs of magazines? If you know, I'd love to be updated.
The game is a fast-paced shooter. It is fun, but not as good as games like the aforementioned Megamania. The graphics are simpler and the monochrome colouring is a bit dull. The game also seems a bit glitchy with the screen jerking a bit under certain conditions and sometimes you die for no apparent reason. Easy at first, each wave is faster than the one before, so eventually it is just too hard to survive. There are plenty of better shooters on the Atari than this one, but also plenty that are worse.
The date of this run was the 16th March 2025. The emulator is Pantheon on PC. The skill level chosen was Novice (the default) and the score reached was 2,850 points.
Time stamps:
00:30 Title screen, Novice selected.
00:33 Game start.
02:42 The UFO gets shot and a bonus life is awarded.
03:52 First life lost.
04:34 Second life lost.
04:54 Third life lost.
04:59 UFO shot, and a bonus life is awarded.
05:32 Fourth life lost.
06:32 Fifth life lost.
07:14 Sixth life lost.
07:18 Seventh life lost. Game Over! Final score 2,850.
Astra Phantasm is a game a lot like Megamania. Streams of enemies cross the screen in various directions and you have twenty seconds to survive each wave. Occasionally a UFO like object crosses the screen. It is difficult to shoot but it will award a bonus - in this game it gave extra lives, but I'm not sure if other awards are possible. You can move your ship up and down as well as left and right - a bit like Gorf.
I could not find much information on this game, the author or the software house. The other few games from Ad Astra also appear to have been written by John Owen, so I suspect Ad Astra may have been John's own home-based software house. Maybe this was one of those software houses that appeared in the backs of magazines? If you know, I'd love to be updated.
The game is a fast-paced shooter. It is fun, but not as good as games like the aforementioned Megamania. The graphics are simpler and the monochrome colouring is a bit dull. The game also seems a bit glitchy with the screen jerking a bit under certain conditions and sometimes you die for no apparent reason. Easy at first, each wave is faster than the one before, so eventually it is just too hard to survive. There are plenty of better shooters on the Atari than this one, but also plenty that are worse.
The date of this run was the 16th March 2025. The emulator is Pantheon on PC. The skill level chosen was Novice (the default) and the score reached was 2,850 points.
Time stamps:
00:30 Title screen, Novice selected.
00:33 Game start.
02:42 The UFO gets shot and a bonus life is awarded.
03:52 First life lost.
04:34 Second life lost.
04:54 Third life lost.
04:59 UFO shot, and a bonus life is awarded.
05:32 Fourth life lost.
06:32 Fifth life lost.
07:14 Sixth life lost.
07:18 Seventh life lost. Game Over! Final score 2,850.