Developer(s) Maxwell Technology Genre Bat-and-ball games | Initial release date 1988 | |
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Platforms Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, AmigaOS, DOS, IBM PC DOS Publishers Addictive Games, Prism Leisure Corporation Modes Single-player video game, Multiplayer video game Similar Gary Lineker's Superstar, Gazza's Superstar Soccer, HATE: Hostile All‑Terrai, Super Scramble Simulator, Gazza II | ||
HotShot is a pinball/breakout game published in 1988 for 8-bit and 16-bit platforms.
Two competitors play with a ball, in an arena which is split into two halves with breakable blocks on both sides. The aim is to get a higher score than your opponent by breaking more blocks on your side than your opponent does. Competitors are in the form of humanoids, robots and aliens, all of which have a 'gun' of some sort enabling them to take control of the ball. The range of arenas have several pinball-style flippers which make the ball bounce off at unpredictable angles. The game can be played as one player versus a computer player (controlled with good AI for its time), or as two players competing against one another. Players can suck the ball into their gun then fire it at their blocks for points, or deliberately shoot the ball into their opponent to make them lose points. When hit, players disintegrate but instantly re-spawn with control of the ball going to the opponent.
There are six characters to choose from: Maxx, a humanoid armed with a magnetic gun to control the ball; Wobbly, an alien blob of slime with eyes on stalks who sucks in and fires the ball with his elephant-like trunk; Triffid, a tripedal robot with a magnet gun built into his head; Killer, a bipedal robot with a magnet gun for a head; Tojoi, a humanoid holding a magnet gun in a spacesuit with large 80s shoulder pads; Yuri, physically identical to Maxx but with different abilities.