War of the Worlds

Defend Earth from a Martian invasion in War of the Worlds, a unique shooter released by Cinematronics in 1981. Players control a tank positioned at the bottom of the screen, tasked with eliminating advancing Martian walkers that steadily move towards their position. Each walker requires multiple hits to destroy, targeting its legs to bring it down. A shield button provides temporary protection from enemy fire, but usage is limited due to a finite timer. Drawing inspiration from H.G. Wells' classic science fiction novel, War of the Worlds utilizes vector graphics for a distinctive visual style. This one-player game offered a simplified take on the gallery shooter genre, initially conceived as a 3D evolution of Space Invaders. The cabinet art depicts a ruined cityscape and Martian walker legs, while the monitor overlay added color to the black and white display. Despite its visually striking design and unique gameplay, only a handful of War of the Worlds arcade units were ever produced. Created using discrete circuitry and a 5 MHz CPU, this rare title represents one of Cinematronics’ final attempts at vector-based arcade games.