During my research into this game, I came across a YouTube comment where someone said “Imagine being a kid and desperately wanting Star Fox 64 only to have your parents come home with this.” That kind of sums up my thoughts on Asteroids Hyper 64.
I know there are people out there who enjoy arcade re-releases but I hated this stuff as a kid. I wanted games with depth and story and content. Playing arcade stuff drove me nuts because I felt like I was never actually working towards anything. I’ve since grown to appreciate arcade titles more over the years. I actually really like Jetpack, that game you have to play in DK64, but this game seems like a letdown waiting to happen.
2/9 – Asteroids Hyper 64
Hello and welcome. My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s video game of the day.
Today’s game is Asteroids Hyper 64 for the Nintendo 64. Developed by Syrox Interactive in 1998, Asteroids Hyper 64 is a revamped version of the classic arcade Asteroids made for the 64-bit console.
Much like the original game, Asteroids Hyper 64 has players pilot a space ship, shooting asteroids into smaller and smaller chunks until they are completely destroyed. As each asteroid is broken up, they become faster and more numerous. If the player is hit by any of the debris, they are destroyed and lose a life. The player must completely destroy all debris in a level in order to proceed.
Unlike the arcade game, players can choose between four different ships with different stats such as rotation speed, thrust and firepower. The game features 3D models and graphics for all ships, asteroids and backgrounds but it is still played with a top-down 2D perspective. There are also power-ups that randomly appear on stages that can give different weapons or abilities for a limited time.
Perhaps the biggest addition is that of a multiplayer mode. There are a number of versus options for up to four players that let players compete for points or to clear the map of their colored asteroids. There is also a co-op mode that allows players to try and get through all 50 levels together.
Asteroids Hyper 64 was critically panned upon release and hasn’t received much attention in the years since. While there were a number of arcade re-releases during this era, most contained new, game-changing features or came in packs with multiple games. Asteroids Hyper 64 was seen as too much of the same. While the graphical prowess was improved, some reviews said they actually preferred the old school graphics, since the asteroids blended into the dark backgrounds. Some reviewers praised the multiplayer modes but said it was too little to justify this full price game.
Thank you so much for listening. If you liked the show, please leave a review on Amazon. It’s really the best way for us to reach new people and spread the word. Also, if you have any suggestions for the show or want to suggest a game, reach out to us at videogameoftheday.com where we have archives of all past episodes, transcripts and personal thoughts on each game. We also have links to our social media accounts! Check back here tomorrow for another video game of the day.
Music Provided By:
In Love by FSM Team feat. < e s c p > | https://www.free-stock-music.com/artist.fsm-team.html
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Video Game of the Day 