Play Meteor Storm
Rotate, thrust, and learn to live with momentum.
Score
0
Best
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Controls
- Left / Right to rotate
- Up or W to thrust
- Space to fire
- On touch: tap the sides to turn, the middle to thrust
About Meteor Storm
The original 1979 cabinet built its entire reputation on one design decision: the ship has inertia. Every other arcade game of the era moved your avatar directly, and this one made you accelerate, coast and fight your own velocity. It is the reason the game still feels distinct almost fifty years later.
That physics turns shooting into a two-part problem. Your facing and your motion are separate, so you are constantly deciding whether to point at a threat or away from it, and a panicked burst of thrust in the wrong direction is how most runs end. Experienced players barely thrust at all.
Splitting is the other half. Every large rock you destroy becomes two medium ones and then four small ones, so a full clear means creating far more danger before there is less of it. Scoring rewards this — the small fragments are worth five times the big rock they came from.
Waves get larger and faster indefinitely. The screen wrap means there is no corner to hide in, which is the point.
Tips for a higher score
- Tap thrust rather than holding it. Building speed is easy; shedding it is not.
- Point where you want to shoot, not where you want to go. Rotation and travel are independent.
- Break big rocks at the edge of the screen, not the middle — the fragments spread away from you rather than around you.
- The wrap is a tool. Shooting off one edge to hit something on the other is often the safest angle.
- When the screen fills with fragments, stop shooting and fly. Clearing space beats clearing rocks.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my ship keep drifting?
It has momentum. Thrust adds velocity in the direction you are facing and there is only light damping, so you have to thrust the other way to slow down.
Are small rocks worth more?
Yes — twenty points for a large rock, fifty for a medium and a hundred for a small one, which is the original scoring order.
How do I play on a phone?
Tap and hold the left or right third of the screen to rotate, the middle third to thrust. Every tap also fires.