Kill Dr. Phil is a graphical hack of the game, changing character sprites.
Kill Dr. Phil[]
This hack of Space Invaders plays exactly the same as the original version, just with a change of graphics. Kill Dr. Phil is in regards to Phillip Calvin McGraw, aka television's "Dr. Phil" who gives psychological advice to the television audience and/or guests he has on his show. It was created by Atari Age forum member known as Joey Bastard.
In this hack, the top three rows of invaders are made (somewhat) into a likeliness of Dr. Phil. The bottom three rows of invaders, when read vertically, spell out the word "HAM". The bunkers are now television sets, players' laser cannons have been changed, and the Command Alien Ship has now become a blimp.
Game variations[]
- Moving Shields--tv set bunkers move back and forth
- Zigzagging Laser Bombs--Phils' shots zigzag back and forth towards the earth
- Fast Laser Bombs--Phils' Bombs drop quickly
- Invisible Phils--Phils are invisible unless one (or the blimp) is shot, which they then briefly reappear
- Large laser cannon--flipping a difficulty switch on the 2600 console to the A position makes players' laser cannons twice as large
Game variations, player setup[]
There are two player alternating variations, along with variations to not only have both players onscreen at once, but there are also several competing variations as well, such as ones where if one player gets hit by Phils' fire, the other player is awarded 200 points. Others include alternating shots where if one player takes too long to fire their laser cannon then it will automatically shoot.
Other variations include ones where one player controls the cannon, along with one player can only move the cannon to the right, while the other player can only move it to the left. Other variations allow one movement and one shot per player, then the other player gets to do the same, and others have one player move the laser cannon while the other player fires.
Scoring[]
- Row 1 Phil--5 points
- Row 2 Phil--10 points
- Row 3 Phil--15 points
- Row 4 Phil--20 points
- Row 5 Phil--25 points
- Row 6 Phil--30 points
- Blimp--200 points, or 100 points in certain game variations
- Other player's laser cannon hit--200 points awarded to other player on certain competitive game variations
Controls[]
- Move laser cannon--joystick (left/right)
- Fire--button
Trivia[]
The original game came with several label variations, which are known as Picture, Text, Red, and Silver labels. This version comes as a ROM file only to be played on Atari emulators.
Links[]
Atari Age Kill Dr. Phil page
This article uses material from the Space Invaders article and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.