Galaxy Invasion

written by Matthew Reed

Title:Galaxy Invasion
Author:Bill Hogue and Jeff Konyu
Publisher:Big Five Software
Released:1980
Compatibility:Model I and III, disk and tape
Sound:Yes
Voice:No
Joystick:Yes

The first advertisement in 80 Microcomputing


Many people thought that Galaxy Invasion was based on Space Invaders (including a reviewer for 80 Microcomputing), but this was a common misconception. Galaxy Invasion was based on the arcade game Galaxian, which was released by Namco in 1979.

Galaxy Invasion was the first Big Five Software game to feature sound and music. In addition to the tune that plays during the title screen, there are many different sounds during the transitions between screens and when shots are fired.

Title screen

Instructions

The game starts with your ship at the bottom of the screen and a formation of different kinds of aliens at the top. You move your ship from side to side and you can fire up (although only one shot at a time). The aliens periodically attack by swooping down and dropping bombs on you. You receive points for shooting an alien, and double points if you shoot it while it is attacking. What makes the game interesting is the distinctive behavior of the aliens. Each type of alien has a slightly different role and behavior. For instance, one type of alien acts as a bodyguard to the Flagship.

Start of game

The Flagship makes an approach

Galaxy Invasion features the return of the Flagship, last seen in Super Nova. If you don’t destroy one of the Flagships on screen within a set time, then a “Flagship Attack Alert” starts. An continuing alert sound signals to you that a Flagship must be destroyed.

If the “Flagship Attack Alert” expires before you can destroy a Flagship, then all of the Flagships on screen will fire lightning bolts at you. Unlike the lightning bolts in Super Nova, these are always fatal.

Flagship Attack Alert!

The Flagships strike!

After you pass 200,000 points, the “Flagship Attack Alert” is on all the time that a Flagship is on screen. As your score increases, more Flagships fill the top row of the screen until they occupy it completely.

Higher scores mean more Flagships

All the Flagships strike!

Galaxy Invasion is one of my favorite TRS-80 games. It takes full advantage of the limited resolution of the TRS-80 screen and actually makes that work to its advantage. In my opinion, the combination of smooth gameplay and clever sounds makes it one of the best example of a TRS-80 game ever written.

Categories: Arcade Games, Software

Comments

An old gamer says:

Hello. I remember “Galaxy Invasion Plus”.

Jax says:

I remember playing this game on a friend’s system 80 (trs-80 clone) and once (and only once) we had a ‘flagship attack alert’ lightning strike miss the ship which was not destroyed. So (either by bug or intention) the lightning strike is NOT ‘always fatal’, but so close to always that it might as well be…

Csaba Márkus says:

Interesting comment by Jax. Maybe the linghtning strike missed because it is aimed at the lower left corner of our ship? And maybe only when the flagship is in the top left corner and we are in the lower right corner? I have to try that!

Galaxy Invasion is definitely one of the best games ever written. I loved it when I was 14 and I love it now at 41. :)

Markus says:

I also loved that game. I got that game in 1982 in the age of 17 and played it day and night :-)

Finally I was so good at that game that I got more than 1 mio. points and quitted playing just because I got too tired.

Greetings from Germany

Markus