Blasto

Blasto
Blasto
	Blasto Manual (Front Cover)
Publisher(s)	Milton Bradley
Original Retail Price	$24.95
Programmer(s)	Elaine Henshon & Bob Harris
Part#	PHM 3032
Format(s)	Solid State Software Command ModuleTM
Release	1981 (1st Quarter)
Genre(s)	Shooter, Puzzle

Blasto is a port of the 1978 Sega/Gremlin arcade game ^[1] of the same name.^[2] Blasto was programmed by Elaine Henshon and Bob Harris. It was published by Milton Bradley, although it was distributed by Texas Instruments. Blasto sold for $24.95 originally, and was made available during the 1st quarter of 1981. It was released on Solid State Software Command Module^TM.

Gameplay

Although a port of an arcade game, Blasto for TI-99/4A has some singular differences that set it apart from the original Sega/Gremlin Blasto. The original Blasto was in black and white (more a product of the era due to technological limitations), versus full color for the TI version. The original featured a spaceship while the TI port portrays tanks blasting away at mines. Besides those two changes, the Texas Instruments port and the original are for all intents and purposes, identical.

One Player Mode

In one player mode, the player attempts to clear the entire field (playing area) of large blue mines. The field is also littered with small green mines. The small green mines don't have enough power to affect the tank, however; getting too close to a large blue mine when it explodes will send the player's tank into a spin-out returning it back to its starting point. The goal is to completely clear the field of all large blue mines in the allotted time.