Black Widow (video game)

Black Widow is a 1983 twin-stick shooter developed and published by Atari, Inc. as an arcade video game. The player controls a black widow spider using one joystick to move and one to fire, defending the web from insects.

Black Widow was offered as a conversion kit for Gravitar (1982), with both games using vector monitors. The kit uses the original Gravitar PCB with a few modifications and a new set of ROM chips.

Gameplay

To destroy certain enemies, the player must lure other enemies into destroying them. The Bug Slayer is a bug that helps the player eliminate enemies, with loss of potential points being the only consequence. The Bug Slayer can help the player in tough situations, but can also prevent the player from achieving the number of extra lives necessary to endure later, more difficult, rounds.

Other enemies appear on the playing field as eggs, laid by other enemies. The player can move these eggs off the playing field to both eliminate the enemy and receive points, before they reach maturity.