Missile Command was released by Atari in 1980.
Aliens from the planet of Krytol have begun an attack on the planet Zardon. The Krytolians are warriors out to destroy and seize the planet of Zardon. Zardon is the last of the peaceful planets. The Zardonians are skillful and hardworking people. Their cities are built-up and rich in resources. It is truly a planet void of crime and violence. Zardon has built a powerful defense system. Several antiballistic missile bases have been established within the cities of Zardon. The Zardonians are ready for this attack, and are prepared to fight to save their cities. As base commander it is your responsibility to protect and defend six cities on the planet of Zardon. The Krytolians have begun firing interplanetary ballistic missiles. They are aiming at your cities and missile bases. Your only defense is to fire back with antiballistic missiles. But watch out, the Krytolians are sly, they also have cruise missiles. Cruise missiles look like satellites, but they are just as deadly as the interplanetary ballistic missiles. Use your antiballistic missiles (ABMs) to stop the enemy before your happy and harmonious planet is destroyed.
The object of the game is to defend your cities and missile bases. The enemy fires interplanetary ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, both of which are aimed to destroy your cities and missile base. There are only two types of cruise missiles; smart cruise missiles, which try to evade your anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs), and dumb cruise missiles, which fall in a straight path.
The enemy attacks in a series of waves that may vary in the number of attacking interplanetary ballistic missiles. Each consecutive wave moves faster. The faster the wave, the more difficult it is to defend the cities. So, the faster the wave, the higher the scoring.
With each wave you have 30 ABMs for defense. Your launching missile base, (bottom, centre of playfield) contains only 10 ABMs at a time. As each set of 10 ABMs is fired, you automatically receive 10 more from you underground missile dump (bottom, left corner). Once you have fired all 30 ABMs, you are defenseless until a new wave begins.
You must protect your launching missile base from enemy fire. Once it is hit, all of its contents are destroyed. However, you still have the remaining missiles in the underground dump. The game ends when all of the cities are destroyed. The high score of the game appears at the end of the game and is updated as higher scores are tallied in later games.
SCORING
You score points when you destroy interplanetary ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. You also score points for unused antiballistic missiles and saved cities. Because each wave of interplanetary ballistic missiles moves faster, the points for the higher numbered waves are multiplied. For example, waves 9 and 10 are worth 5 times their original point value.Interplanetary Ballistic Missiles .................... 25 points
Enemy Cruise Missiles .................... 125 points
Unused Antiballistic Missiles .................... 5 points
Saved Cities .................... 100 points
Table 1 - Scoring Multiplier
Waves 1-2 ..................... Single Scoring
Waves 3-4 ..................... Double Scoring
Waves 5-6 ..................... Tripple Scoring
Waves 7-8 ..................... Four Times Scoring
Waves 9-10 ..................... Five Times Scoring
Waves 11 and Above ..................... Six Times Scoring
Wave 13 is the most difficult!!
