Cosmic Conflict

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Cosmic Conflict!
DeveloperPhilips
PublishersMagnavox, Philips
DesignerSam Overton[1]
PlatformsOdyssey²/Videopac
Philips Videopac+
ReleaseOdyssey²
Videopac+
GenreShoot 'em up
ModeSingle-player

Cosmic Conflict!, known in Europe as Videopac 11 - Cosmic Conflict, is a 1978 first-person shoot 'em up video game created by Sam Overton for the Magnavox Odyssey², also known as the Philips Videopac G7000. It was published by Magnavox and Philips and later rereleased for the Philips Videopac+ G7400. The player is a commander of the Centurion, an Earth Federation starship that guards a remote corner of the galaxy and defends against an invading alien fleet trying to enslave the Earth. It is frequently criticized for being too easy and for ending after only fifteen enemies are destroyed.

Gameplay

Cosmic Conflict is a 2D shoot 'em up played from a first-person perspective set in outer space. The player controls the reticle of a laser cannon and must shoot down as many enemy ships as they can before the ship's energy supply runs out.[4] The player encounters two different types of enemy ships, transports, which travel across the screen either horizontally or diagonally, and starfighters, which can teleport using a warp drive and rush the player head on.[4] In total, there are ten transports and five starfighters. Energy supplies tick down over time but are also spent if the player fires their laser or gets shot by rushing starfighters.[4]

A screenshot of the player being rushed by an enemy starfighter

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Electronic Fun with Computers & GamesA[5]
Electronic Games 1983 Software Encyclopedia7/10[6]
Tilt2/3[7]

In the "Arcade Alley" column of Video magazine it was praised as "a classic space battle that brings the flavor of Star Wars to the home screen".[4]: 84  Arcade Alley awarded Cosmic Conflict with the title of "Best Science Fiction Game" of 1979 in their First Annual Arcade Awards.[8]

JoyStik: How to Win at Home Video Games considered the game to offer "little challenge to all but the most experienced players". They gave the game a five out of ten in gameplay, graphics, and longevity.[9] Paul Kupperberg writing for Video Action called the game "lots of fun."[10] French magazine Tilt in 1983 considered it to be enjoyable but outdated.[7] In 2011, Brett Weiss wrote in Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984 that it was "terribly easy" and that it "offers little in the way of challenge or longevity."[11]

See also

References

  1. Crookes, David (2016). "Philips Videopac G7000". Videogames Hardware Handbook. Imagine Publishing Ltd. p. 106. ISBN 978 1785462399.
  2. "Philips Videopac 11 - Cosmic Conflict". Centre for Computing History. Cambridge, UK. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  3. Bunch, Kevin. "Magnavox Odyssey2 Game Release Dates". Atari Archive. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  4. Kunkel, Bill; Laney, Frank T. II (January 1980). "Arcade Alley: Magnavox Odyssey²". Video. 3 (3). Reese Communications: 72, 73, and 84. ISSN 0147-8907.
  5. "Video Game Explosion!". Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. Vol. 1, no. 2. Fun & Games Publishing. December 1982. p. 15.
  6. "Odyssey²". Electronic Games 1983 Software Encyclopedia. Reese Publishing Company, Inc. January 25, 1983. p. 43.
  7. "Aux Commandes Du G7200". Tilt (in French). No. 3. Editions Mondiales S.A. January–February 1983. p. 40.
  8. Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (March 1980). "Arcade Alley: The 1st Annual Arcade Awards". Video. Vol. 3, no. 4. Reese Publishing Company, Inc. p. 75. ISSN 0147-8907.
  9. "Cosmic Conflict". JoyStik: How to Win at Home Video Games. Vol. 1, no. 3. Publications International, Ltd. December 1982. p. 61.
  10. Kupperberg, Paul (February 1981). "A Guide to Home Video Games". Video Action. Vol. 1, no. 3. Video Action, Inc. p. 35.
  11. Weiss, Brett (2011). Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide. McFarland. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-7864-8755-4.