Reactor (video game)
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Products | Reactor (arcade game) |
Reactor is an arcade title launched in 1982 by Gottlieb. The gameplay centers on managing the temperature of a nuclear reactor core while evading clusters of subatomic particles that attempt to push the player's vessel into the reactor’s boundaries. Created by Tim Skelly, notable for his work on vector graphic arcade games at Cinematronics, Reactor holds the distinction of being the first arcade game to display its developer's name on the title screen. That same year, Charlie Heath adapted the game for the Atari 2600, with Parker Brothers handling its publication.
Gameplay
The player pilots a ship inside a nuclear reactor, utilizing a trackball alongside two buttons labeled Energy and Decoy. Particles move in swarms, colliding with each other, the player's ship, and the reactor core. Any contact with the surrounding "kill wall" results in the destruction of involved objects. Activating the Energy button during collisions accelerates particles away more forcefully.
As time progresses, the reactor core expands, reducing available maneuvering space. Extending from the kill wall are two groups of control rods; successfully directing particles into every rod within one group causes the core to contract temporarily before resuming growth. Players begin with a limited supply of decoys, which serve to attract particles toward kill walls, control rods, or two bonus chambers. Clearing both sets of control rods rewards players with an additional decoy.
Points accumulate by eliminating particles or steering them into bonus chambers. Each stage requires a specific quota of particle destruction to advance.
In advanced stages, a growing vortex replaces the core and poses a lethal threat to the ship upon contact. Bonus chambers may intermittently close, and the kill wall can become invisible.
Players lose a life if their ship touches either the kill wall or vortex. The game concludes when all lives are depleted, awarding bonus points based on remaining decoys.
Ports
The Atari 2600 edition allows control via joystick or trackball, although only joystick use is mentioned in its manual. Control sensitivity can be modified through difficulty switches. This version omits voice effects and conceals the bonus counter from view.
An Intellivision adaptation was authorized and developed but ultimately never released.
Reception
Tilt magazine gave Reactor a 93% rating, describing it as "a classic Gottlieb title that delivers satisfying gameplay through physics-based mechanics."
A 1983 review in Hi-Res highlighted that the primary drawback was the Atari joystick’s lack of precision compared to the original trackball controller, which limited control accuracy.
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1982 video games
- Action games
- Arcade video games
- Atari 2600 games
- Cancelled Intellivision games
- Multiplayer and single-player video games
- Gottlieb video games
- Parker Brothers video games
- Trackball video games
- Video games about nuclear technology
- Video games developed in the United States
- Multiplayer hotseat games