Game developer and publisher Atari has announced that its classic title "Asteroids" will be making a comeback as a multiplayer PC game titled "Asteroids: Outpost," according to Venture Beat.
"Asteroids: Outpost" will deviate heavily from the original's game play experience and will feature an open-world setting.
"Asteroids" first debuted in 1979 as a space-themed arcade shooter. The objective of the game is to shoot the asteroids on the screen by controlling a spaceship.
For "Asteroids: Outpost," on the other hand, players will no longer take on the role of a space vessel pilot. Instead, they will play as miners who have been deployed to an asteroid belt to extract its resources, PC Gamer reported.
According to the new game's storyline, industries have exhausted the resources found in Earth-bound mines. As a solution, they turn to space to set-up new mining facilities in an effort to gather valuable materials.
During the start of the game, players will only be equipped with basic mining tools. They can then upgrade their equipment and customize their outposts based on the resources they are able to extract from the asteroids.
Through the upgrades, they can either attack other players or improve their outpost's defenses. They can also forge alliances with other players or miners to increase their chances of survival.
Although "Asteroids: Outpost" seems like a totally different game from 1979's "Asteroid," it still features certain game play aspects that are similar to the original title. Aside from the threat from other players, asteroid showers will also occur from time to time. Since the falling space rocks can cause damages to their bases and characters, players will have to use their weapons to shoot and destroy them.
Atari has not yet announced an official release date for "Asteroids: Outpost." However, the game publisher noted that the game will arrive on Steam's Early Access in the near future. The development team behind "Asteroids: Outpost" is Salty Games, a studio based in Los Angeles.
