Major Havoc
Encyclopedia
Major Havoc is an upright cabinet vector-based arcade game
made by Atari
in 1983
.
The game was initially released as a dedicated cabinet in 1983 and then one year later as a conversion kit for older vector arcade games like Tempest.
Dedicated versions of the game used a roller control for left-right movement, while conversion kits used their native controller hardware, such as the Tempest rotary spinner knob.
The game also featured a "warp system" that allowed the player to skip levels and gain bonus points. The warps were activated by a Breakout clone at the bottom-right of the screen, where there would be two- or three-digit numbers. The player would have to move the joystick until the number matched the number required to warp. For example, the red warp required the number 23, so the player would move the joystick to the right or left until the first digit matched 2, then the player would click the fire button, the Breakout ball would start moving, so the player would have to play the breakout while moving the joystick to the 3 at the same time. When the player finally entered the warp code, the player would be transported to a higher level.
Extra lives were earned not only by achieving a certain number of points, but also by completing the Breakout mini game.
At the current moment (according to the timeline of the game), the Empire has since collapsed. However, numerous Vaxxian space stations, all blindly controlled and defended by robots, still remain in the galaxy, mindlessly pursuing their original orders.
The small band of scientists who initially escaped managed to clone the great human hero Major Havoc, in order to fly his Catastrofighter through a wormhole in space, so that he may lead a clone army against the dreaded Vaxxian robots, and to liberate the remnants of humanity by destroying the enemy reactors. The player controls Major Havoc, the leader of this very band of clones.
. In July 2010, the game was re-released on Microsoft's
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Games for Windows Live. In March 2011 a port was released on Nintendo DS and iOS as part of the Atari's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 collection.
, Ettore Ciaffi, of New York
, NY, scored a world record 1,940,078 points on June 28, 1985 at the Broadway Arcade during the 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament
.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
made by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
in 1983
1983 in video gaming
-Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong...
.
The game was initially released as a dedicated cabinet in 1983 and then one year later as a conversion kit for older vector arcade games like Tempest.
Dedicated versions of the game used a roller control for left-right movement, while conversion kits used their native controller hardware, such as the Tempest rotary spinner knob.
The game also featured a "warp system" that allowed the player to skip levels and gain bonus points. The warps were activated by a Breakout clone at the bottom-right of the screen, where there would be two- or three-digit numbers. The player would have to move the joystick until the number matched the number required to warp. For example, the red warp required the number 23, so the player would move the joystick to the right or left until the first digit matched 2, then the player would click the fire button, the Breakout ball would start moving, so the player would have to play the breakout while moving the joystick to the 3 at the same time. When the player finally entered the warp code, the player would be transported to a higher level.
Extra lives were earned not only by achieving a certain number of points, but also by completing the Breakout mini game.
Storyline
According to the story provided by the game's original cabinet, long ago the evil Vaxxian Empire overran the galaxy. Most of humanity was enslaved and abducted to the Vaxxian homeworld. A few humans, who were scientists, managed to escape.At the current moment (according to the timeline of the game), the Empire has since collapsed. However, numerous Vaxxian space stations, all blindly controlled and defended by robots, still remain in the galaxy, mindlessly pursuing their original orders.
The small band of scientists who initially escaped managed to clone the great human hero Major Havoc, in order to fly his Catastrofighter through a wormhole in space, so that he may lead a clone army against the dreaded Vaxxian robots, and to liberate the remnants of humanity by destroying the enemy reactors. The player controls Major Havoc, the leader of this very band of clones.
Gameplay
The player controlled the titular character, Major Havoc, first in the "shoot-'em-up" style game, in which the player operated Major Havoc's spaceship, the Catastrofighter, against the numerous robot ships who defend the enemy reactors. The ships are encased in a sort of "buckyball" force-field shield which must be shot first before the ship can be killed. In the next phase, the player would land on the robot space-station by centering the Catastrofighter in between the moving white line and Major Havoc would exit his ship and enter the space-station. The roller-knob controlled left and right character movement and a "jump" button permitted the player's character to leap over obstacles. Thus, a minor amount of "gravity" interacted with the player. The object was to get to the core of the space-station unmolested and sabotage the reactor. Once the charge was set, the player had to get out, back into the space-ship and MSD (minimum safe distance) before the space-station went critical and exploded. Red arrows lead the players direction in and the word out, also in red, points the direction out. The "mazes" get gradually more complicated to navigate in difficulty as the player progresses. Upon a successful mission, the next space-station became more difficult and the time allotted (both in and out) was accelerated.Ports
Major Havoc was not ported to any gaming consoles or home computer systems of the day, but in more recent years it was re-released as part of compilations of older Atari games, such as Atari AnthologyAtari Anthology
Atari Anthology is a collection of 85 Atari, Inc. games released in 2003 as Atari - 80 Classic Games in One! for Microsoft Windows, and in 2004 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. It reproduces both Atari arcade games and titles from the Atari 2600 game console. The Windows version features a slightly...
. In July 2010, the game was re-released on Microsoft's
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Games for Windows Live. In March 2011 a port was released on Nintendo DS and iOS as part of the Atari's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 collection.
In the Competitive Arena
According to Twin GalaxiesTwin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...
, Ettore Ciaffi, of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, NY, scored a world record 1,940,078 points on June 28, 1985 at the Broadway Arcade during the 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament
Video Game Masters Tournament
The Video Game Masters Tournament was an event that was created in 1983 by Twin Galaxies to generate world record high scores for the 1984 U.S. Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records . It was the most prestigious contest of that era and the only one that the Guinness book looked to for...
.