<s>
Astrosmash	B-Application
is	O
a	O
fixed	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
console	O
,	O
designed	O
by	O
John	O
Sohl	O
,	O
and	O
released	O
by	O
Mattel	B-Operating_System
Electronics	I-Operating_System
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
million	O
copies	O
sold	O
,	O
Astrosmash	B-Application
is	O
among	O
the	O
top	O
five	O
best	O
selling	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
free	O
by	O
mail	O
offer	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
purchase	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
,	O
boosted	O
Astrosmash	B-Application
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
port	O
was	O
released	O
under	O
Mattel	O
's	O
M	O
Network	O
label	O
as	O
Astroblast	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
game	O
catalog	O
features	O
the	O
exciting	O
caption	O
,	O
"	O
Spin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
drop	O
into	O
hyperspace	B-Application
to	O
avoid	O
a	O
killer	O
asteroid	O
shower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astrosmash	B-Application
resembles	O
a	O
cross	O
between	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
and	O
Asteroids	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
missile	O
reaches	O
the	O
ground	O
,	O
it	O
may	O
disappear	O
,	O
or	O
it	O
may	O
continue	O
to	O
track	O
left	O
or	O
right	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
avoided	O
by	O
entering	O
hyperspace	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hyperspace	B-Application
option	O
moves	O
the	O
gun	O
to	O
a	O
random	O
location	O
,	O
which	O
may	O
or	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
safer	O
than	O
the	O
starting	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astrosmash	B-Application
was	O
conceived	O
when	O
a	O
game	O
called	O
Meteor	O
!,	O
an	O
Asteroids	B-Application
clone	O
,	O
did	O
not	O
fill	O
up	O
the	O
ROM	O
space	O
of	O
an	O
entire	O
cartridge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
game	O
was	O
cancelled	O
at	O
the	O
last	O
minute	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
concerns	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
too	O
similar	O
to	O
Asteroids	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
variation	O
,	O
retitled	O
Astrosmash	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mattel	O
released	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Renamed	O
Astroblast	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
faster	O
play	O
than	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astrosmash	B-Application
was	O
reviewed	O
in	O
1982	O
by	O
Video	O
magazine	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
an	O
obvious	O
attempt	O
to	O
provide	O
Intellivision-ites	O
with	O
a	O
solitaire	O
arcade-style	O
target	O
game	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
color-coding	O
of	O
stages	O
corresponding	O
with	O
difficulty	O
level	O
and	O
player	O
score	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
not	O
a	O
bad	O
idea	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
reviewers	O
noted	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
greyish	O
blue	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
1000-to-4999-point	O
range	O
is	O
especially	O
odious	O
"	O
and	O
described	O
this	O
hue	O
as	O
"	O
assaulting	O
the	O
optic	B-Application
nerves	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
lackluster	O
review	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
ultimately	O
recommended	O
as	O
"	O
probably	O
worth	O
a	O
try	O
"	O
for	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
users	O
seeking	O
a	O
new	O
experience	O
because	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
"	O
traditionally	O
lacks	O
arcade	O
programs	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
eight	O
months	O
later	O
in	O
Videos	O
1982	O
Guide	O
to	O
Electronic	O
Games	O
,	O
Astrosmash	B-Application
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
probably	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
action	O
game	O
produced	O
by	O
Mattel	O
for	O
play	O
on	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
June	O
1983	O
the	O
game	O
shipped	O
984	O
,	O
900	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
third	O
most	O
widely	O
distributed	O
Intellivision	B-Operating_System
game	O
behind	O
Major	B-Application
League	I-Application
Baseball	I-Application
and	O
Las	O
Vegas	O
Poker	O
&	O
Blackjack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Astrosmash	B-Application
T-shirts	O
are	O
worn	O
by	O
the	O
characters	O
Cisco	O
Ramon	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
season	O
of	O
The	O
Flash	O
,	O
and	O
Sheldon	O
Cooper	O
,	O
in	O
various	O
episodes	O
of	O
The	O
Big	O
Bang	O
Theory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
updated	O
version	O
of	O
Astrosmash	B-Application
was	O
announced	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
six	O
games	O
included	O
with	O
the	O
Intellivision	B-Application
Amico	I-Application
console	O
.	O
</s>
