Asteroids, released by Atari in 1979, put the player in command of a ship floating with real inertia in the vacuum of space, firing at rocks that fragment into smaller, faster pieces. Its minimalist, precise vector screen became one of the most recognizable images of the arcade's golden age. Half a century later it remains a lesson in refined design: few rules, mounting tension, and that feeling of always being one second from disaster that made it a standard survival shooters are still measured against.
If you liked this one
