Mars God of War
About This Machine
Mars God of War, designed by John Buras with art by David Moore, was released by Gottlieb in March 1981. Built on the Gottlieb System 80 platform, this widebody four-player machine draws its theme from ancient mythology and holds the distinction of being the first Gottlieb game with speech, generated by a Votrax SC-01 chip.
Key gameplay features include four flippers, four pop bumpers, a single slingshot, and two sets of four-bank drop targets, plus a spinning target and a standup target. The machine's standout feature is its Last Chance option, which an operator can enable to release locked balls into play when the last ball drains via either outlane, supporting multiball action.
The machine's playfield, plastics, and backglass depict spaceships strikingly similar to a preliminary snowspeeder concept drawing by Star Wars artist Joe Johnston, created in February 1978 for The Empire Strikes Back; an image of that drawing was published in June 1980, shortly before Mars God of War's release. With 5,240 units produced, Mars God of War remains a notable early-System 80 Gottlieb title valued for its speech feature and striking artwork.
Images (24)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Mythology
- Model Number:
- 666
- MPU:
- Gottlieb System 80
- Notable Features:
- Flippers (4), Pop bumpers (4), Slingshot (1), 4-bank drop targets (2), Kick-out holes (2), Spinning target (1), Standup target (1), Multiball. Has Speech. The Last Chance feature (operator option) releases locked balls into play when the last ball dra ins via either the left or right outlane rollover.
Credits
- Designer:
- John Buras
- Artist:
- David Moore
- Software:
- John Buras