| Video Mode | |
| Developers | Midway/Bally (original) FarSight Studios, Inc. (re-release) |
| Publishers | Midway/Bally (original) FarSight Studios, Inc. (re-release) |
| Systems | Pinball (original) Android (re-release on The Pinball Arcade) iOS Kindle Fire OS X Ouya PC PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita Xbox 360 |
| Release Dates | 1995 (original) 2013 (re-release) |
| Modes | Single player 1-4 players alternating |
| Media | Blu-ray Disc Digital download DVD PlayStation 3 game disc ROM file |
Background[]
Attack from Mars is a solid state pinball machine that was released in 1995 by Midway (although under the Bally label). Players had to utilize the ball to hit various targets in certain orders to strike back at attacking Martians in order to defend planet Earth.
Video Mode is the mini-game that, when unlocked, was a simple bottom of the screen shooter that would appear on the video display on Attack from Mars’s backboard.
Unlocking the game[]
The Stroke of Luck Award on the Attack from Mars playfield is automatically lit with the start of every game. The Super Jets on the pinball machine must be activated first via hitting the bumpers at the top right of the playfield 100 times by the ball. The player must then shoot the ball into the front of the Scoop at the top right of the playfield (below the bumpers) while the Stroke of Luck is lit to access the Video Mode. (If the Stroke of Luck becomes unlit, the inlanes next to the flippers can be relit by having the ball roll down the lanes, relighting the Stroke of Luck that way.)
Gameplay[]
Video Mode screen.
The player controls a ship at the bottom middle of the screen that continually fires at Flying Saucers that descend from the top of the screen. If a Saucer lands on the ground or on the player's ship then Video Mode ends.
Once 30 regular Saucers have been destroyed, a Saucer with an EB in its center will appear; if the player is able to destroy it, this will earn them an extra ball.
The Ball Launcher button from the Attack from Mars machine will deploy a smart bomb that will destroy all onscreen Saucers, which can only be used once during Video Mode.
If the player is able to destroy 40-50 Saucers, a Mothership will appear. If the player is able to shoot it 80 times, it will be destroyed and Video Mode will then end.
Additional Mode[]
Occasionally when the player scores either a Big-O-Beam (by shooting the left ramp with a ball) or a Tractor Beam (right ramp) on the pinball game, a cow will appear on the video display. When this happens, if the player presses the Ball Launcher several times, hears cows mooing, and then activates the Video Mode, the Saucers will be replaced by cows once Video Mode starts and the Mothership will be replaced by an even larger cow.
Controls[]
- Turn ship–flipper buttons (left/right)
- Smart bomb–Ball Launcher button
Scoring[]
Flying Saucer/Cow–3,000,000 points
Trivia[]
- Video Mode was re-released on the JunkYard pinball machine in 1996 as a bonus game, although it was renamed to Saucer Attack Video Mode. Being able to play the game was totally redone, however, along with the Saucer point values and the additional cow mode and smart bomb features were left out.
- Video Mode was re-released on multiple platforms in 2013 on The Pinball Arcade game when the Attack from Mars table was made available for the package, then in 2014 when the JunkYard table was made available (as Saucer Attack Video Mode).
This article was featured from July - August, 2017.