Variations

There are no variations for this game; hitting any key on the “SELECT GAME” screen takes you right into the action.

In Satellite Attack, you control a flying saucer-style spaceship as you attempt to fend off a storm of “asteroids”, represented by “X” and “+” characters alternating to represent them “spinning”.

Asteroids can be destroyed either by ramming them while a shield is visible around your ship, or shot down with a gun. The direction in which you fire gradually rotates clockwise around your ship as you move, stopping its rotation when it reaches the direction you are currently pushing on the joystick. Firing temporarily drops your shields, however, so you cannot ram an asteroid and fire at the same time.

If two asteroids collide, they become a “magnetic asteroid” which homes in on your ship. Enemy satellites sometimes appear and fly diagonally across the screen, firing a laser diagonally if the player crosses their path. These can be destroyed with the gun to score points, or avoided as they cross the screen.

Destroying asteroids that are close to each other causes chain reactions of explosions that score increasingly more points the more you chain together. Destroying the satellites is worth the most points of any individual action, but puts you at most risk.

Satellite Attack offers the ability to temporarily register your high score with a name of up to six characters. Resetting or removing the game loses this, however, as the cartridge has no means of permanently storing user data.