<s>
Gorf	B-Application
is	O
an	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
released	O
in	O
1981	O
by	O
Midway	O
Manufacturing	O
,	O
whose	O
name	O
was	O
advertised	O
as	O
an	O
acronym	O
for	O
"	O
Galactic	B-Application
Orbiting	I-Application
Robot	I-Application
Force	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
fixed	O
shooter	O
with	O
five	O
distinct	O
levels	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
which	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
and	O
another	O
on	O
Galaxian	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
makes	O
heavy	O
use	O
of	O
synthesized	B-Application
speech	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Gorfian	O
robot	O
which	O
teases	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
powered	O
by	O
the	O
Votrax	B-Application
speech	O
chip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gorf	B-Application
allows	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
buy	O
two	O
additional	O
lives	O
per	O
quarter	O
before	O
starting	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
for	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
seven	O
lives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
home	O
ports	O
omit	O
the	O
Galaxians	B-Application
stage	O
for	O
copyright	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gorf	B-Application
is	O
a	O
fixed	O
shooter	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
players	O
take	O
control	O
of	O
an	O
unnamed	O
starship	O
from	O
the	O
Interstellar	O
Space	O
Force	O
with	O
a	O
mission	O
to	O
prevent	O
the	O
Gorfian	O
Empire	O
from	O
conquering	O
Earth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ship	O
is	O
capable	O
of	O
moving	O
freely	O
in	O
all	O
directions	O
around	O
the	O
lower	O
third	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
under	O
the	O
control	O
of	O
a	O
joystick	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
a	O
departure	O
from	O
older	O
vertically-oriented	O
linear	O
shooters	O
,	O
including	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
and	O
Galaxian	B-Application
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
only	O
horizontal	O
movement	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
ship	O
controlled	O
by	O
left	O
and	O
right	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
input	O
and	O
two-dimensional	O
movement	O
were	O
still	O
unusual	O
enough	O
that	O
contemporary	O
video	O
game	O
guides	O
noted	O
them	O
as	O
distinctive	O
features	O
of	O
Gorf	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
advance	O
through	O
the	O
ranks	O
of	O
Space	O
Cadet	B-Device
,	O
Space	O
Captain	O
,	O
Space	O
Colonel	O
,	O
Space	O
General	O
,	O
Space	O
Warrior	B-Application
and	O
Space	O
Avenger	O
,	O
which	O
increases	O
the	O
speed	O
and	O
difficulty	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
introduces	O
more	O
enemy	O
patterns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Robot	O
warriors	B-Application
,	O
seek	O
and	O
destroy.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Astro	O
Battles	O
:	O
A	O
clone	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
;	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
mission	O
that	O
takes	O
place	O
on	O
Earth	O
instead	O
of	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
formation	O
contains	O
three	O
yellow	O
enemies	O
that	O
attempt	O
to	O
dive-bomb	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
a	O
white	O
gunner	O
that	O
fires	O
a	O
single	O
laser	O
beam	O
stream	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
red	O
miniature	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Gorf	B-Application
robot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Galaxians	B-Application
:	O
As	O
the	O
name	O
implies	O
,	O
this	O
mission	O
is	O
a	O
clone	O
of	O
Galaxian	B-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
key	O
differences	O
being	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
enemies	O
and	O
the	O
way	O
enemies	O
fire	O
against	O
the	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flag	O
Ship	O
:	O
The	O
Flag	O
Ship	O
is	O
protected	O
by	O
its	O
own	O
force	O
field	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
one	O
protecting	O
the	O
player	O
in	O
Mission	O
1	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
flies	O
back	O
and	O
forth	B-Application
firing	O
at	O
the	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gorf	B-Application
was	O
originally	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
tie-in	O
with	O
Star	O
Trek	O
:	O
The	O
Motion	O
Picture	O
but	O
after	O
reading	O
the	O
film	O
's	O
script	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
designers	O
realized	O
that	O
the	O
concept	O
would	O
not	O
work	O
as	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
ship	O
still	O
resembles	O
the	O
Starship	O
Enterprise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
underlying	O
hardware	O
platform	O
for	O
Gorf	B-Application
allowed	O
arcade	B-Application
operators	O
to	O
easily	O
swap	O
the	O
pattern	O
,	O
CPU	O
and	O
RAM	O
boards	O
with	O
other	O
similar	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Wizard	B-Application
of	I-Application
Wor	I-Application
,	O
since	O
only	O
the	O
game	O
logic	O
and	O
ROM	O
boards	O
are	O
specific	O
to	O
each	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gorf	B-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
in	O
February	O
1981	O
and	O
,	O
notably	O
,	O
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
titles	O
to	O
use	O
synthesised	B-Application
speech	I-Application
(	O
powered	O
by	O
the	O
Votrax	B-Application
speech	O
chip	O
)	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
games	O
to	O
feature	O
multiple	O
screens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gorf	B-Application
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
,	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
,	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
5200	I-General_Concept
,	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
ColecoVision	B-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
and	O
VIC-20	B-Device
by	O
multiple	O
developers	O
between	O
1982	O
and	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
copyright	O
issues	O
,	O
the	O
Galaxians	B-Application
mission	O
was	O
removed	O
from	O
almost	O
all	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Commodore	O
64	O
port	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
one	O
that	O
features	O
synthesized	B-Application
speech	I-Application
via	O
the	O
Magic	O
Voice	O
Speech	O
module	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	B-Application
version	O
reached	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
US	O
Play	O
Meter	O
arcade	B-Application
charts	O
in	O
September	B-Application
1981	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
received	O
a	O
Certificate	O
of	O
Merit	O
in	O
the	O
category	O
of	O
"	O
Best	O
Solitaire	O
Video	O
Game	O
"	O
at	O
the	O
4th	O
annual	O
Arkie	O
Awards	O
,	O
and	O
received	O
the	O
"	O
1984	O
Best	O
Computer	O
Game	O
Audio-Visual	O
Effects	O
"	O
award	O
at	O
the	O
5th	O
Arkies	O
the	O
following	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
5th	O
Arkies	O
the	O
judges	O
pointed	O
out	O
that	O
the	O
Atari	O
versions	O
had	O
out-polled	O
both	O
the	O
ColecoVision	B-Device
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
suggested	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
"	O
varied	O
action	O
"	O
that	O
"	O
keeps	O
players	O
coming	O
back	O
again	O
and	O
again.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Regarding	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
version	O
,	O
Electronic	O
Games	O
wrote	O
that	O
"	O
this	O
fast-moving	O
colorful	O
entry	O
is	O
a	O
must	O
...	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
games	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
"	O
,	O
and	O
Ahoy	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
stated	O
that	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
version	O
"	O
still	O
has	O
my	O
vote	O
for	O
the	O
best	O
of	O
the	O
bunch	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
Gorf	B-Application
is	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
2010	O
book	O
1001	O
Video	O
Games	O
You	O
Must	O
Play	O
Before	O
You	O
Die	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
planned	O
sequel	O
,	O
Ms.	O
Gorf	B-Application
,	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
programmed	O
in	O
the	O
programming	O
language	O
Forth	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
,	O
an	O
unlicensed	O
port	O
of	O
Gorf	B-Application
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
Jaguar	I-Device
CD	I-Device
by	O
hobbyist	O
developer	O
3D	O
Stooges	O
Software	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
hobbyist	O
clone	O
for	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Advance	I-Device
was	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
independent	O
developers	O
have	O
also	O
created	O
titles	O
influenced	O
by	O
Gorf	B-Application
on	O
other	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
8	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
Matthew	O
Garrett	O
set	O
a	O
new	O
world	O
record	O
score	O
in	O
Gorf	B-Application
of	O
1,543,160	O
points	O
,	O
recognized	O
by	O
Twin	O
Galaxies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Garrett	O
holds	O
the	O
world	O
record	O
for	O
both	O
the	O
arcade	B-Application
3	O
&	O
6	O
life	O
settings	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
person	O
recorded	O
to	O
reach	O
mission	O
500	O
(	O
having	O
beaten	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
5	O
individual	O
levels	O
100	O
times	O
)	O
without	O
losing	O
a	O
life	O
.	O
</s>
