SpaceWar: The Next Generation

SpaceWar!

Steve Russell developed this unique space-combat video game in (wait for it) 1962. Two players control spaceships, nicknamed "the needle" and "the wedge," engaged in a dogfight while manoeuvring within the gravitational pull of a central star. Sounds simple. It is, but it was groundbreaking back then.

Fast-forward thirty years, and along comes Howard Jones (no, not that Howard Jones, so don’t expect any pop/synth music), who decided that the Atari ST definitely deserved a slice of this historic action. His 1992 remake keeps the soul of the original while sprinkling in some extra ST magic. And if you’re lucky enough to have an STe, you even get enhanced DMA sound effects to really crank up the atmosphere.

The gameplay is dead simple: two ships, one star, and a cargo hold of torpedoes. The needle/wedge is replaced with something that looks kinda like Grav, but the game itself remains the same. You’re locked in a frantic tug-of-war with gravity, constantly fighting against the star’s relentless pull while trying to line up your shots. Matches are fast and chaotic, with extra options to tweak gravity, add ship functions, and more.

Visually, it's fairly minimal, but also excellent because the gravitational field doesn’t just drag your ship around – it bends pixels in a way that feels almost T2K hypnotic. As for the audio, the STe’s DMA is brilliant with loads of crunchy shots/blasts/death, but even on a regular ST, the sound effects are great.

SpaceWar honours the original very well, and for such a simple idea, it’s incredibly addictive!

• Atarimania has the download, including the documentation.
• Check out YouTube if you're wondering what a game from 1962 looked like.
• SpaceWar proudly blasts its way into the Enhanced Games list.

Tinker with the game, bounce mode is fun, but I preferred wrap.

Red is trying to catch up, but is getting a bit too close to the star.

Death to all blues!

Woo, getting a bit too close there!

Weeeee, we love to fly!

Death!