In many ways it plays more like an action game, but the concept of having to fulfill a quest remains. The quest idea of Adventure became the defining characteristic of later adventure games. The original was also considerably more difficult than this version, though this port does, however, manage to retain much of the action of the original. As the asteroids move, they begin to move laterally as well, so that over time they move directly over the center of the screen and into the path of the player's ship. The player's ship can be moved, but it does obey inertia, and movement in one direction must be compensated for by accelerating in the opposite direction in order to stop.
Asteroids is a simple shooter, pure in all respects, with concentrated, uncomplicated gameplay.
I personally have been known to play for an hour and a half straight, which is pretty good game time for anything besides Dark Forces or Colonization. A radar display at the top of the screen indicates the location of other vehicles relative to the tank. Battlezone's first-person perspective, which was an uncommon feature in its time, not only made Battlezone a unique game, but it also enhanced gameplay, making it a more interesting game as well. There are two primary modes, a side-view air combat mode, but, more notably, an overhead tank battle. The game allowed many options, including invisible tanks and richocheting bullets.