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Back in gamings infancy, when the Atari name was synonymous with video games and
Nintendo was a little Japanese company no one really knew about, a simple yet addictive
shooter came out for the young Atari 2600. That shooter was Asteroids. At the time it
represented the height of design and gameplay - a basic concept with straightforward execution
and a very addictive quality. The player controlled a small, triangular ship that shot little white
bullets at massive, semi-round clumps of pixels that represented asteroids. In retrospect,
Asteroids formula seems extremely basic and straightforward - so straightforward that many of
us who enjoy the current crop of games may find the Asteroids formula a bit drab and mundane.
That being the case, Asteroids Hyper 64 does little to deviate from the originals formula. As a
result, the game comes off as the same old Asteroids, albeit dressed up quite nicely.
You need only look at the PlayStations Greatest Hits line to see that retooled classics are big
money makers for publishers and developers alike. Hasbros Frogger as well as Midway and
Namcos classics compilations have sold at a brisk pace and have proven that classic games with
minor facelifts equate hits. The popularity of retooled classic games was obviously not lost on
Syrox, Crave, and Activision as the trio has brought Asteroids to the N64 in splendid, or not so
splendid, 64-bit glory.
Graphically, Asteroids Hyper 64 looks respectable. The backdrops for the game consist of
different space scenes - complete with planets, meteor belts, stars, and gas clouds. Unfortunately,
most of the Asteroids youve got to destroy are dark in color, so the dark space-themed
backdrops often obscure said asteroids when theyve been blown from full-size to little bits. This
means collisions galore and cries of, What?! I got blown up HOW?! What hit me?!. The
various asteroids, enemy ships, and power-ups all look incredibly uninspired and yawn-inducing.
As for the music, there really isnt any. Theres one bizarre track that plays at the main menu,
but there is absolutely no in-game music. All you hear are the high-pitched blip! sounds of
your ship firing at asteroids, generic explosion sounds, and some miscellaneous sounds when
you acquire various power-ups. Again, this is very uninspired and seems to show a clear lack of
effort on the part of developer Syrox. Its possible Syrox didnt feel that any in-game music was
necessary, but it wouldve helped break up the monotony that is the gameplay.
Speaking of gameplay, as youve probably ascertained at this point, there are no significant
differences in Asteroids Hyper 64s gameplay and that of the classic Asteroids we all know and
some of us love. Asteroids Hyper 64 contains a slew of additions to the tried and true
original - all of which are extremely superfluous. There are new types of asteroids to blow up,
space debris, flaming comets, and a multitude of enemy ships to contend with. Nevertheless,
you still only move about a small area and shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. As for new
weapons, there are Homing Missiles, Mines, a defense satellite (known as a GunSat), and a
spinning laser attack (called Armageddon). Six different zones, each containing quite a few
stages, are included as well. The stages are ultimately no more than words on the screen since
all advancing from one stage to the next entails is destroying everything. So, if youre on stage
one in zone one and you blow everything up, a brownish hole will appear in the middle of the
screen and swallow up your ship. Thats it. For those die-hard Asteroids junkies out there the
classic version of Asteroids has been included as an Easter-Egg. Simply destroy the green object
on the 15th level of the first zone and voila, you can play classic Asteroids.
Unless you really, really love Asteroids youd probably be best passing Asteroids Hyper 64 up
and spending your money on something a little less average. Its not that theres anything
glaringly wrong with the game, its just that it doesnt add enough in the way of substantive
features to make it a worthwhile purchase. The other factor that really works against it is that the
extremely basic Asteroids formula hasnt aged too well. The days when mashing one button and
flying around in circles was entertaining have gone and likely wont be returning. Buy Asteroids
Hyper 64 if you really, really adore the classic Asteroids, but all others are advised to either rent
it or forget about it entirely.
Graphics: 6
Sound: 3
Gameplay: 5
Value: 4
Reviewers Tilt: 5
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Curve: 30 Minutes
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