Mere words cannot describe the frenzy of four spinners and a guided missle bearing down on you as you dodge the ever increasing onslaught of colorful rocks. While spinners and missiles and UFOs add variety, your true enemy is the rocks themselves, the deadly weapons of a cruel universe. And here lies the secret of Astrosmash . In just about any other bottom scrolling shooter of the era, your enemies were aliens of some kind. Space Invaders , Galaxian , Galaga , Phoenix , Demon Attack all these games pitted you against various types of alien ships which have travelled through space to attack your lone outpost.
Space travelling aliens imply intelligence, and objectives.
There were methods to their madness. There were patterns to be found in the movement of the invaders. There were formations to be anticpated and strategies to be discovered. All of these invaders had a purpose, and a plan of attack. Figuring out that plan was the first step to victory.