Atlantis (video game)

Atlantis
Atari 2600 cover art
Developer(s)Imagic
Publisher(s)Imagic[1]
Designer(s)Dennis Koble
Platform(s)Atari 2600, Intellivision, Magnavox Odyssey 2, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit computers
Release
August 1982
  • Atari 2600
  • August 1982
  • Intellivision
  • October 1982
  • Odyssey 2
  • May 1983
  • VIC-20
  • May 1983
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up[1]
Mode(s)Single-player, two-player

Atlantis is a fixed shooter video game released by Imagic in August 1982 for the Atari 2600. IThe game is set in the fabled city of Atlantis where the cities are under attack by invading Gorgon vessels who plan to destroy the city. The player controls sentries to fire a counter attack.

The game was designed by Dennis Koble. In comparison to his previous game Trick Shot which he described as giving him anxiety, Koble described the development of Atlantis as a far more positive experience. Atlantis was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, VIC-20, Intellivision, and Magnavox Odyssey 2. While the VIC-20 and Odyssey 2 versions of the game play similar to the original, the Intellivision version adds several elements of gameplay to the game.

Atlantis was a financial success for Imagic, being the second highest-grossing game for the company after Demon Attack (1982). A follow-up titled Atlantis II was given as a grand prize for winners of a video game competition, which featured the same general gameplay, but with higher difficulty.

Atlantis and its various ports received positive reviews from video game publications such as The Video Game Update, Video Games and The Logical Gamer. The game received a "Certificate of Merit", as a runner-up in the category "Video Game of the Year" category from Video magazine in 1983.

  1. ^ a b Drury 2021, p. 46.