Planet Smashers

Planet Smashers is a vertically scrolling shooter released by Atari Corporation for the Atari 7800 in 1990. In the game players control a spaceship with the goal of defending Earth from incoming aliens.

While exploring a far-off region of space, your best friend's starship is ambushed! From this encounter, players learn that an invasion force known as the Planet Smashers are heading to Earth; the goal of the game is to prevent any alien ships from reaching the planet in order to save it!

The game screen in Planet Smashers is a vertically scrolling starfield; the player controls an airplane-like ship which can move around the bottom third of the screen. Various types of aliens appear at the top of the screen and attempt to make it past the player's ship at the bottom. The player's goal is to destroy attacking ships before they reach the bottom of the screen; the Earth has a shield, and any aliens that make it past the player attack and deplete the shield. If the Earth's shield is destroyed, the game is over. The player's ship also has a limited shield capacity — if it is depleted, a life is lost and the game also ends if player's have no more lives remaining.

The player's ship is equipped with lasers for destroying attackers; additionally, destroying alien cargo ships will release capsules containing various power ups. Power ups include improved weapons, increased shields, cloaking ability, galaxy warp, and extra ships. Points in the game are earned for shooting enemies, collecting capsules, and destroying bosses at the end of each area. Planet Smashers includes two skill levels (Easy and Hard) and allows for 1 or 2 players to play (in 2 player games players take turns and each player can optionally select a different skill level).