"Space Cavern" was released for the Atari 2600 in 1981, by Apollo.  So let's get in to what makes "Space Cavern" a great Atari game.


GRAPHICS: 8/10  - The graphics in "Space Cavern" are very colorful and flashy (in a good way), and very good for 1981.


SOUND: 8/10  - Sound is pretty good, especially when you blast the Electrosauri (I'll cover them in a bit).  Also, when you get hit and your guy

gets fried, Atari and Stern used that sound effect when they made Berzerk for the Atari, a year later.  The sound itself may take some getting

used to.


ADDICTIVENESS: 9/10  - Very addicting, at least for it's day, it's definitely unique for a shooter.  So you control your astronaut guy with LEFT

and RIGHT, you use the FIRE BUTTON to shoot up, where the Electrosauri fly, or weave, you press UP to shoot the Marsupods, coming at
 
you from the sides. 


STORY: 10/10  - "You are in command of a Mark XIV intergalactic star-cruiser in an uncharted quadrant of outer space.  You land on a

mysterious planet riddled with a subterranean maze of tunnels and caverns inhabited by savage Electrosauri whose horns generate
 
electro-molecular charges capable of disintegrating you and your crew.  Your photon ray pistol is activated by the joystick and fire button.

The iridescent eyes of the Electrosauri light the cavern walls as they stalk you, their horns crackling and sizzling.  If even one blast of

electro-molecular energy strikes you, your skeleton will glow inside your body as the bio-molecular compounds of your body disintegrate.

WARNING: Beware the savage attack of shaggy marsupods."  It even follows a similar story to another Apollo game called "Spacechase",

I like that.


DEPTH: 8/10  - With 48 game variations, changing difficulty, the patterns of the Electrosauri, the ability to steer shots, number of players,

and/or the number of Electrosauri, or marsupods.


DIFFICULTY: 6/10  - As you might guess it gets harder, the further you go.  I mean, "Space Cavern" was made when you couldn't always beat

home console video games, it's infinite.


OVERALL: 9/10  - "Space Cavern" is an awesome Atari game, and a very under-rated one.  Yes, "Pitfall!" was awesome, but so was

"Space Cavern", it was also my first Atari game I got with it's ORIGINAL PACKAGING!  So, I hope this review is better than any of my previous

ones.