GravitreX Arcade
GravitreX started as a contender in the Swedish Game Awards Warm-up competition "80’s Warm-up", which had 80’s as its theme. GravitreX won that competition, and was later ported to Android. After a few years on Android, it was then turned into an arcade cabinet. Two or three cabinets still exist today, in different barcades in the Phoenix Arizona region. It has now come time to complete the circle and port it back to PC and Steam.
This 2D physics simulation has you trying to land two ships on their respective platform. Like the old classic Lunar Lander, but much more difficult and more heavily physics based.Features:
- Two ships to land, even in singleplayer
- Ships are equipped with a grabber which can be used to lift boxes or other ships
- Ships are also equipped with an AutoHover System which can be activated by holding down the Switch Ships button (B)
- Ships have lots of systems that can be damaged
- When damaged, a classic synthetic voice will say what systems are damaged
- The voice warnings can be acknowledged (muted) by pressing a button
- As this is the Arcade version, every play you will start on level one
- Extra ships are awarded every 30k points
- 35 levels of increasing difficulty. We are not kidding on this one.
- Perfect for Arcade Cabinets, can even be set up to accept coins (See ‘If you happen to have an arcade cabinet’ section below)
- Steam achievements
- Classic arcade style highscore with initials, with online entries from your Steam friends (All-time), and Global (Today).
- The first five players to beat the game will make it onto the "Prime Five" list on the web page
Controls:XBox 360 Controller:
Bumpers = Thrusters
(A) = Grabber
(B) = Switch Ships / AutoHover (hold)
(X) = Acknowledge warnings (until something else breaks!)
(Y) = Self Destruct
Keyboard:
Left/Right Control = Thrusters
Left Shift = Grabber
Right Shift = Switch Ships / AutoHover (hold)
TAB = Acknowledge warnings (until something else breaks!)
X = Self Destruct
P2 keyboard controls:
F/H = Thrusters
R = Grabber
U = Switch Ships / AutoHover (hold)
E = Acknowledge warnings
I = Self Destruct
Note: Playing two players on one keyboard will likely be crowded, these are more meant to be mapped to from an I-PAC or similar arcade button to keyboard key converter.
Whoever first starts the game will become Player 1. Whoever next pushes a control will become Player 2. If Player 1 has switched ships Player 2 will control Ship 1 only until the end of the level. Starting next level, Player 1 controls Ship 1.Tips and tricks:
- A Ship that’s been turned upside-down can usually be rescued using the grabber and the other ship. Don’t immediately Self Destruct!
- Firing both thrusters simultaneously will stop the ship’s rotation. If the ship is rotating to the right and you press both thrusters, only the right thruster will fire first, until the rotation has stopped. Unless, of course, the stabilizing system on that side is damaged.
- If both ships are destroyed at the same time, the level will be reset. Sometimes you will need to reset a level by self destructing both ships. If one ship is destroyed and you realize the level will need to be reset, Self Destruct the other ship quickly before it respawns, otherwise it will cost an additional life!
If you happen to have an arcade cabinetThis only applies to cabinets with a PC inside of them of course. In the Options screen you will find an option that may interest you:
Coin Handling:
- None: This is the normal PC setting. There is no concept of coins, and players can jump in from any controller
- Freeplay: No coins needed to play, just press 1P or 2P start.
- Internal: This is the normal Cabinet setting. Inserting coins increases the credits (‘5’ on the keyboard or Select on the controller).
- External: This is if you have an external coin mechanism with its own credit counter. It should send keypresses to tell the game the credits situation: ‘0’ for No credits (‘INSERT COIN’ will be displayed), ‘8’ for 1 credit (‘Press 1P Start’ will be displayed), or ‘9’ for Multiple credits (‘Press 1P or 2P Start’ will be displayed). Also, Multiple Credits can be pressed again and again to play the coin inserted sound effect.
In all coin modes except ‘None’, pressing 1P start (‘1’ on the keyboard, or Start on Controller 1) will start a 1P game and P1 then controls the game either from keyboard or controller 1. Pressing 2P Start will start a 2P game, with P2 controlling Ship 2 from P2 keyboard controls or controller 2. In the ‘None’ mode, pressing any input on any controller will start a game with P1 controlling the game from that controller, and the second controller to receive a button press will join as P2.
If you have a cabinet with default Mame key assignments, replace the "KeyMap.cfg" file with the "KeyMap_MAME.cfg" file. If you have different keys assigned, edit the file and adjust accordingly. Because many cabinets only have three buttons, in this config the stick is used for three of the buttons. Left=Mute, Down=Self Destruct and Right=Switch ships/Autohover. Feel free to change these if you have more buttons and want to use them.
Most arcade frontends can be tricked into launching PC games, usually by creating a dummy "Emulator" called PC, and maybe a dummy file as the "rom". This way GravitreX can coexist with all your other arcade games! If your cabinet does not have internet access, set Highscores to local in the options, and it will save highscores locally to a file instead (local highscores can also be selected from the options menu).
If you have a cabinet (or plan to build one), and want to put it somewhere public and actually charge real money from people, get in touch with us about getting a commercial license and a customized non-steam version of the game.
Game Discussion
Steam User 18
Information / Review English
GravitreX Arcade falls under the Category 2D Physics simulation, which was developed by Martin Hjerne and Onnie Qvickström.
Gameplay / Story
Lunar Lander is the Name of various Computer games that are sometimes also known in the German-speaking world as the Moon landing. The aim of the Game is to Land a Lunar module safely on the Moon in a given target Area. The Player has to align the Space shuttle accordingly and maneuver the vehicle through thrust and counter-thrust. Due to the low Gravity on the Moon, the landing module is only accelerated slowly in free fall. Although there is a vacuum on the Moon, a slight drag in the air is included in the Game.
Heard enough History and now back to the Game and the Gameplay briefly explained:
Your task in GravitreX Arcade is that you have to Control two Ships at the same Time and that they Land on their assigned landing Platforms. That Sounds easy, but it isn't as this Game is much more physics-based than other Games in the Genre, making it more Difficult and Challenging. Of course you don't just have to fly onto the Platforms, because all your Skills will be asked. You have to avoid obstacles like Astroids for example. If you don't, the Ship will be damaged and if you take too much Damage it will naturally crash and your Mission will fail. A Spokesman will let you know as soon as you take Damage and will keep you informed the more critical it gets. In the Background there is matching Music in Arcade style, which fits very well into the Game and has that certain something. You can play with either a Keyboard or a Controller. Both tax variants work well.
Pro
+ Coordination training
+ great Pieces of Music in the Background
+ Long-term Motivation
+ several Control options
+ some setting Options
+ Achievements
Contra
- Levels are sometimes really Difficult
Conclusion
GravitreX Arcade offers you a great 2D Physics Simulation with long-term Motivation. Clear buy recommendation in this Genre.
PS: First of all, many thanks to the developer who made this key available to us for the group. Here you can find more good reviews from others and me at
Information / Review Deutsch
GravitreX Arcade fällt unter das Genere 2D-Physiksimulation, welcher von Martin Hjerne und Onnie Qvickström entwickelt wurde.
Gameplay / Geschichte
Lunar Lander ist der Name verschiedener Computerspiele, die im deutschen Sprachraum zuweilen auch unter dem Namen Mondlandung bekannt sind. Ziel des Spiels ist es, eine Mondlandefähre sicher auf dem Mond in einem vorgegebenen Zielgebiet zu landen. Dabei muss der Spieler die Raumfähre entsprechend ausrichten und das Fahrzeug durch Schub und Gegenschub manövrieren. Aufgrund der geringen Gravitation auf dem Mond wird das Landemodul im freien Fall nur langsam beschleunigt. Obwohl auf dem Mond ein Vakuum besteht, wird in dem Spiel ein leicht bremsender Luftwiderstand mit eingerechnet.
Genug Geschichte gehört und nun zurück zum Spiel und das Gameplay kurz erklärt:
Deine Aufgabe in GravitreX Arcade ist, dass du zwei Schiffe gleichzeitig steuern musst und das diese auf ihre zugeordnete Landeplattformen landen. Das hört sich leicht an, ist es aber nicht, da dieses Spiel viel mehr physikbasierter ist als andere Spiele in diesem Genre und es dadurch schwieriger wird und eine Herausforderung darstellt. Natürlich musst du nicht nur fliegen auf die Plattformen, denn dein ganzes Geschickt wird gefragt. Du musst Hindernissen ausweichen wie als Beispiel Astroiden. Falls du dies nicht tust, wird dann Schiff beschädigt und wenn du zu viel Schaden erleidest stürzt es natürlich ab und deine Mission ist fehlgeschlagen. Ein Sprecher teilt es dir mit, sobald du Schaden erleidest und hält dich auf dem laufenden, desto kritischer es wird. Im Hintergrund läuft passende Musik im Arcadestyle, welche sehr gut in das Spiel passt und das gewisse etwas mitbringt. Gespielt wird entweder mit Tastatur oder Controller. Beide Steuervarianten gehen gut von der Hand.
Pro
+ Koordinationstraining
+ tolle Musikstücke im Hintergrund
+ Langzeitmotivation
+ mehrere Steuerungsmöglichkeiten
+ einige Einstellungsmöglichkeiten
+ Errungenschaften
Kontra
- Levels manchmal teils echt schwer
Fazit
GravitreX Arcade bietet dir eine tolle 2D-Physiksimulation mit Langzeitmotivation. Klare Kaufempfehlung in diesem Genre.
PS: Zunächst einmal vielen Dank an den Entwickler, der uns diesen Schlüssel für die Gruppe zur Verfügung gestellt hat. Hier findest du weitere gute Bewertungen von anderen und mir unter
Steam User 4
If you're into physics-based arcade games, this is a good one! Controlling 2 ships that you switch back and forth between is a nice twist on the classic "lander" forumla, and it allows for some neat puzzles. Very challenging, after 2.3 hours the best I've managed is level 20.
Steam User 10
Opening/ Information
Reading a review is not enough? Want to see some footage? Check
the link and watch some game footage for yourself and decide if this
game is worth your time:
GravitreX Arcade is a game, Germans would call it moon landing games and that's absolutely it, you play as two rockets who try their best to land on their spaces.
Gameplay / Story
Päch, keinär läbt mähr!
Did you ever play a moon landing game? Guess what I did when I was 8 years old, and it seems I have forgotten how much fun it can be. I started with an Amiga game, simply called moon landing, and it had voice-overs. A German guy speaking German with a forced American accent, because only America landed on the moon, so you know, they had to have this.
Let's get to the game itself, it's a pixel game, I think we called it voxel before this rather unknown game Minecraft destroyed it, oh my nice little voxels, you are no more and look so adult now.
Let's call the game simplistic, it's not 80's as everyone states on the store page, it is kinda retro but with some modern implements. E.g. the movement is not clumsy, its spot on and feels right, everyone who played games in 1992 know what I mean. Your ship can be damaged, and it can have horrible and rather funny damages, from fuel leaking to total disaster everything is in it. You hit to hart on your left thruster while landing? Well you are a Nazi now! The level difficulty curve starts low and increases moderately per level, and it's hilarious to play and get the levels done. But the real fun is the local co-op. You have to play both space shuttles. Its kinda awkward why its forced but once you play it you will see the endless chaos that you can do for your enjoyment. Crashing in to each other, using the grappling hook for stupid things its just great. This game is fun first and then a well-designed time killer with the level design and difficulties.
Pro
+ game mechanic is great
+ controls are fluent
+ level design fits the game
+ difficulty raises perfectly per level forcing to maneuver more and more complicated
+ coop fun for the whole family
Contra
- Artstyle and graphics are a bit to minimalistic
- only 3 life shared by two ships
- levels can't be restarted to train
- local coop only (coop is required for some levels)
Conclusion/ Who will enjoy the game?
GravitreX Arcade is a time killer, and it's good, this is a typical play for 30 minutes, get entertained and play it later. But it can take up to 90 minutes before you realize there are other games you wanted to play and just get your mind rested and your hands something to work. So it does exactly what it promises it's an arcade, and you can be lucky there is no slot for quarters or 50 pfennig
So who will enjoy this game? Everyone who loves the old Arcade games, similar to Lunar Lander.
Do you just want to have some fun without running along and chasing stats? This game is for you then.
I recommend checking the AWG group for more detailed reviews
Steam User 1
You have two ships that you have to move from one platform to another. You can only control one ship at a time but thanks to the grappling hook and auto-hover, they can interact with each other in a bunch of really interesting ways.
I haven't finished the game yet (I died at the last level... twice) but I did see all the levels. Some of them are quite frustrating and feel a bit cheap but overall I really like the game. I'm definitely going to try to finish it.
*I am also #1 on the single player leaderboards now. Take that STU.
not anymore :(
Yes anymore!
Steam User 0
Really enjoyed the game and will continue to try for that high score. Have seen it at 8-bit Aleworks in Avondale, AZ but had never tried it there. Once I saw it on Steam I knew it was time to give it a try. Highly recommend if you enjoy physics-based puzzle games. Don't acknowledge the warnings for an anxiety filled experience!
Steam User 1
This release seemed to somehow pass me by, but I had to buy it when I found it. I played the arcade version quite a bit a few years back in Arizona, but I never completed it then and I still haven't completed it now... Nice and challenging, fun to come up with crazy ways to complete the levels
Steam User 2
I like this game, even though it's not the kinda game I excel at (I have always done terrible at these lunar lander sort of games).. but the price is way too high in my opinion (A $17.99 USD asking price on launch today)
Again the price is way too high at $18 USD at launch, but I like the game here and the co-op option, so I will recommend it, especially if you can snag it on sale for under $5 or so. There's also a lot of effort put into this game by the developers for sure, so it gets my thumbs up.. if you have money to throw around. =D