What is the name of this arcade game?

[tiki tidalwave]

I am looking (have been for 4 hours) for the name of a RARE arcade space shooter from the early 80's. Here is a description to the best of my abilities: You control a spaceship that is flying freely around the game screen in outer space. You need to shoot at what I believe to be a number of small planets not much larger than your ship moving randomly about the playing field. I believe they each take multiple shots to take them out. The planets have satellites/moons orbiting around them. I can't recall how the enemies attack your ship, but I want to say that they use either bolts of lightning or perhaps they use the surrounding moons to attack. The planets with their moons remind me of the nucleus of an atom with the electrons circling them if that is of any assistance. So, this could be a more accurate description of the game; shot a variety of different elements as opposed to planets. The manufacturer of the game seems to be a smaller company, somewhere along the lines of Exidy, Universal, or maybe Stern. The graphics were very crisp and vibrant for their time, and yet I'm almost certain it was released between '82-'85. I hope there's someone out there who can crack this mystery because it is driving me nuts.

[VectorGamer]

The only thing that comes to mind is Gyruss:

 

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8060

[Crazy Climber]

Lightning Bolts, flying killer planets, crisp graphics, smaller company...maybe Terra Force? (Nichibutsu)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i9xGBnpokY

[DaveD]

This almost certainly is Mad Planets. It's not exactly rare but it's not as well known as others. It's a super fun game though.

[tiki tidalwave]

Mad Planets. That's it! Give that man a cigar. Thanks a bunch DaveD. I don't know why this game popped into my mind since I've never heard of it until someone on the 2600 forum had asked if it was possible to replicate this game on the Atari. It was posted earlier this year (March or April) or so I thought. As I searched through 40 pages with no luck to its whereabouts it became an obsession and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I finally gave in and figured there must be somebody here who could lend a helping hand. There was a link to a You Tube video within that topic and when I saw the game in motion I fell in love with its theme and concept. So, thanks again to all who assisted me with this search.

[DaveD]

You're welcome, glad I could help.

 

I think the real unique thing about the game was the ability to move in any direction while firing in a completely different direction. The combo trigger joystick/spinner made for very precise control which was a big part of the gameplay. I'm sure a dumbed up variation would be possible on the 2600 but probably wouldn't be worth it. With the limited contros you'd probably end up with something that played closer to Asteroids or Berzerk.

[Chris++]

Parker Bros. actually planned to release a home version of Mad Planets, although no prototype is known to exist (unless I'm mistaken). It would have been for the 5200 -- talk about bad controls!

[Crazy Climber]

Ah, Mad planets. The answer seems so obvious now. Thats what happens when I overthink stuff

[+Psionic]

Parker Bros. actually planned to release a home version of Mad Planets, although no prototype is known to exist (unless I'm mistaken). It would have been for the 5200 -- talk about bad controls!

Mad Planets was probably just included in the deal when Parker Brothers obtained the Q*bert license from Gottlieb. I don't believe any versions of the game were even started by PB, much less completed.

 

There was a rip-off called 'Crazy Comets' developed for the Commodore 64...

http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=556&title=crazy%20comets