Omega Race
| Industry | Video game development and publishing |
|---|---|
| Products | Omega Race (arcade game) |
Omega Race is a shoot 'em up arcade video game created by Ron Haliburton and launched in 1981 through Midway. Notably, it stands as Midway’s sole arcade title utilizing vector graphics technology.
In 1982, Commodore adapted the game for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 platforms. The following year, CBS Electronics released versions tailored for the ColecoVision and Atari 2600 consoles.
Gameplay
Set in the year 2003, players pilot an Omegan Fighter spacecraft along a rectangular course aiming to eliminate hostile droid ships. The control scheme involves a spinner to rotate the ship, a thrust button for movement, and a laser button to fire weapons. Adversaries consist of drone ships, commander ships, two varieties of space mines, and shooting star ships. When struck, the player's ship rebounds off invisible boundaries at the screen edges. Additional ships are granted upon reaching scores of 40,000 and 100,000 points.
Ports
The Atari 2600 adaptation came with a "booster grip" controller that transformed the conventional single-button joystick into separate thrust and firing controls. This edition also incorporated an extra 256 bytes of RAM per cartridge—marketed by CBS as "RAM Plus"—which enhanced gameplay capabilities beyond typical Atari 2600 releases.
According to Consumer Guide in its How To Win At Video Games (1982), Omega Race enabled novices to achieve scores up to 20,000 points with ease. Production exceeded 35,000 units, each generating an average weekly revenue of $181 during its peak. The title frequently appeared within the top ten highest-earning arcade games on a weekly basis. Michael Blanchet’s How to Beat the Video Games (1982) commended its deceptively straightforward design that nonetheless delivered engaging challenges.
The VIC-20 port received acclaim from Compute!, which labeled it "a real winner," while BYTE highlighted its rapid gameplay, vibrant visuals, and sound effects, emphasizing how it preserved the arcade original’s strengths. Ahoy! characterized it as "quite faithful to the arcade version and highly thrilling." This release for the VIC-20 was honored with a Certificate of Merit for "Best Solitaire Computer Game" at the 4th annual Arkie Awards.
Legacy
In 1982, a clone titled Space Race was developed for the TRS-80 Color Computer, inspired by Omega Race.
Temporary Sanity Designs proposed an updated iteration for the Atari Jaguar, but this project did not progress beyond the concept phase; documentation of this proposal is maintained by community member joekorali on AtariAge.