TI Invaders
| TI Invaders | |
|---|---|
 TI Invaders Manual (Front Cover) | |
| Publisher(s) | Texas Instruments |
| Original Retail Price | $39.95 |
| Programmer(s) | Garth Dollahite |
| Part# | PHM 3053 |
| Format(s) | Solid State Software Command ModuleTM |
| Release | 1981 (4th Quarter) |
| Genre(s) | Shooter, Space |
TI Invaders is a Space Invaders clone (perhaps the most cloned video game in history),[1] that was produced for the TI-99/4A home computer system. TI Invaders was programmed by Garth Dollahite, and was released in the 4th quarter of 1981 via Solid State Software Command ModuleTM with part # PHM 3053. The original retail cost for TI Invaders was $39.95. It was distributed and published by Texas Instruments.
Gameplay
Like all Space Invader's clones, the player in TI Invaders controls a laser cannon that moves back and forth, horizontally on the bottom of the screen shooting at an army of descending aliens. Occasionally during the game, a space saucer will hover across the top of the screen which is worth varying points, depending on how close to center it's hit, if hit by the player's laser cannon.
TI Invaders presents several unique features not found in the original Space Invaders arcade game. First off, after a player defeats a wave of enemy aliens, TI Invaders inserts a bonus level where the player shoots at a UFO. With each hit, the saucer changes directions and increases in point value, shrinks in size, and moves upward away from the laser cannon.
Another change from the original is that the aliens change from wave to wave of enemy attacks. The bottom row is replaced on each level with the level above it, and a new top level appears. Each different alien type takes two rows of identical aliens. As the game progresses, the newer aliens become more difficult to hit either by becoming slimmer or by becoming invisible at time, only being able to be hit while visible.
