Arcade Pak #7: Moon Patrol

A single patrol ship faces countless invading aliens, dropping relentlessly from the top of the screen. The pilot maneuvers desperately over jagged terrain between blasts from alien ships, trying to stop as many as possible from landing. How will it end? The same way most computer simulations of lone heroism against countless invaders: not well for the pilot, but perhaps a high score for the player.

Moon Patrol joined the countless clones of the coin-operated arcade games invading home computers in the 1980's. There are no astronauts to protect, just invading saucers to shoot, but the aliens keep shooting back even after they land on the hardest difficulty. Consequently, the terrain becomes a real hazard as you drop low to blast saucers on the ground. Fuel is a limiting factor, even though there is always enough to get you to the next landing pad. The problem is that you only have one pass at the pad; there is no reverse, and while you can slow down, there is no stopping. Four levels of difficulty from alien ships that do not shoot back to aliens shooting at you when coming down and after landing.