Cosmic Avenger

Cosmic Avenger[lower-alpha 2] is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Universal Entertainment Corporation and released in arcades by Universal in July 1981.[2] It is one of the first shooters with forced X-axis scrolling along with Konami's Scramble released earlier in the year. The final installment in Universal's Cosmic series,[2] players take control of the Avenger space fighter and use bullets and bombs to fight enemy forces.

Cosmic Avenger
North American Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Universal[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Universal
ColecoVision
SeriesCosmic
Platform(s)Arcade, ColecoVision
ReleaseArcade
  • WW: July 1981[2]
ColecoVision
  • NA: August 1982
  • EU: 1983
Genre(s)Horizontally scrolling shooter
Mode(s)
CabinetUpright, cocktail
Arcade system8106[3]
CPU1 × Z80 @ 4 MHz[2]
Sound2 × SN76496 @ 4 MHz[2]
DisplayRaster, 240 x 192 pixels (Horizontal), 32 colors

The game was ported to ColecoVision as one of its launch titles in North America when the system was released in August 1982. Versions for other platforms were in development and advertised but neither were officially released. The ColecoVision port proved more successful than the arcade original, garnering mostly positive reception from critics who praised the action, visuals, and sound effects.

Gameplay
Arcade screenshot

Cosmic Avenger is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up game reminiscent of Scramble, Super Cobra, and Vanguard, where players take control of the Avenger space fighter craft with the main objective of earning as many points as possible by fighting against enemy alien forces, while guiding it across a scrolling terrain and dodging obstacles along the way.[4][5] The joystick accelerates, decelerates, moves up, and moves down the ship, which uses a laser and bomb to destroy defenders, anti-aircraft missiles, tanks and UFOs. The ship is also equipped with a radar that allows to see incoming enemies within its range. In addition to the single-player mode, the game also features a two-player alternating mode, where each player takes their turn after one player has been defeated by enemy fire.[5]

The game is divided into three sections, each with a different style of terrain and different obstacles without an intermission between each section, as the game simply scrolls into the new terrain seamlessly. Unlike Scramble, Super Cobra and Vanguard, the ship does not rely on fuel that constantly depletes and needs to be replenished, allowing players to solely focus on the enemies. The enemies in the game exhibit their own behavior with their patterns and can also act in a stupid manner such as crashing into each other. When progressing further into the game, the difficulty increases with enemies acting more aggressively and firing at a much more faster rate. On occasions, an X station appears and if the players manage to destroy by timing their shot, it can destroys all enemies caught within its blast radius, awarding a high score as a result.

In addition of being able to fire against enemies, players can also counterattack enemy fire from tanks. Speed can also affect bombs before dropping them against enemies. If the player's ship is hit by enemy fire, crashes against the terrain, enemies or any explosion radius, a life stock is lost and they will be respawned into the nearest checkpoint reached but once all lives are lost, the game is over unless players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing, which forces to restart from the beginning.

Development and release
Originally an arcade game, Cosmic Avenger was ported to the ColecoVision.

Cosmic Avenger was first released in arcades by Universal on July 1981 and became one of the first titles with forced horizontal scrolling alongside the earlier Scramble by Konami.[2] The game runs on Universal's 8106 arcade board, which uses a 4 MHz Zilog Z80 and two Texas Instruments SN76496 sound chips, while its visuals are rendered at 240 × 192 pixels with 32 colors.[2][3]

The ColecoVision port from Nuvatec was one of the console's North American launch titles in August 1982, with a European release in 1983.[1] Coleco announced and advertised versions of Cosmic Avenger for both the Atari 2600 and Intellivision, but neither was released for unknown reasons[6][7]

Reception
Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame(ColecoVision) [8]
Arcade Express(ColecoVision) 9 / 10[9]
TeleMatch(ColecoVision) 3 / 6[10]
Tilt(ColecoVision) [11]

The original arcade release of Cosmic Avenger did not became a hit, but found success and a larger audience as one of the launch titles for ColecoVision, like some of the lesser known arcade games that gained popularity on the console such as Universal's Lady Bug.[12][13]

The ColecoVision version of Cosmic Avenger was reviewed in Video magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was described as "great fun" and as a game that "packs more than enough excitement in its three screens to satisfy any lover of arcade-style action games". Although reviewers noted that the game is "not as free-ranging as [those] in which the ship can scroll left as well as right", it was praised for its "beautiful graphics", and it was suggested that Cosmic Avenger might herald the coming of a "scrolling shootout" trend in home video games.[14]:26 In September 1982, Arcade Express reviewed the ColecoVision version and scored it 9 out of 10.[9] Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games said in 1983 that "Although Cosmic Avenger was not terribly popular in the arcades, Coleco's adaptation will do well in the home market" and a "nice addition" to the console's library.[12]

Legacy

As of November 17, 1982, the official world record for Cosmic Avenger is held by Wes Hupp with 117,290 points.[2]

Notes
  1. Ported to ColecoVision by Nuvatec[1]
  2. Japanese: コズミック アベンジャー Hepburn: Kozumikku Abenjā

References
  1. "Cosmic Avenger © 1981 by: Universal Co., Ltd". colecovision.dk. 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  2. "Cosmic Avenger (Arcade)". arcade-history.com. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  3. "Universal/UPL Game List". mikesarcade.com. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  4. "Arcade Action - Sea-Space Mission". Computer and Video Games. No. 1. EMAP. November 1981. p. 28.
  5. Cosmic Avenger cartridge instructions (ColecoVision, US)
  6. Goodman, Danny (Spring 1983). "Video Games Update: Coleco Cartridge Collection". Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games. Vol. 1 no. 1. Ahl Computing. p. 37.
  7. Yarusso, Albert. "Catalog - Coleco (R78216A)". AtariAge. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  8. Alan Weiss, Brett (1998). "Cosmic Avenger (ColecoVision) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  9. Worley, Joyce (September 26, 1982). "The Hotseat - Reviews of New Products: Cosmic Avenger/Videogame Cartridge (ColecoVision)/Coleco" (PDF). Arcade Express - The Bi-Weekly Electronic Games Newsletter. Vol. 1 no. 4. Reese Publishing Co., Inc. p. 7.
  10. "TeleMatch Test - Cosmic Avenger (CBS-Colecovision) - Jedem die Schlacht, die er verdient!". TeleMatch (in German). No. 3. TeleMatch Verlag. May 1984. p. 25. ISSN 0174-741X.
  11. "Tubes - Cassettes - Cosmic Avenger". Tilt (in French). No. 7. Jean-Pierre Roger. September 1983. p. 40.
  12. Linzmayer, Owen (Spring 1983). "Home Video Games: Colecovision: Alive With Five". Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games. Vol. 1 no. 1. Ahl Computing. p. 50.
  13. "Cosmic Avenger (Game)". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  14. Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (December 1982). "Arcade Alley: ColecoVision–The New State of the Art". Video. Vol. 6 no. 9. Reese Communications. p. 26, 112. ISSN 0147-8907.
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