PLAQUE ATTACK
1983
n Perhaps the only dental hygienerelated videogame,Plaque Attackis often unfairly described as aSpace Invadersderivative. The only aspect of that comparison that holds true is that it’s a fixed-screen shooter with stationary targets that your opponents can cause damage to. Otherwise,Plaque Attackis an entirely original title. You control a tube of toothpaste that squirts short bursts of minty paste at food that falls downwards or rises upwards towards a set of teeth. These foodstuffs can’t harm your tube, but they turn individual teeth yellow and then disintegrate them if not blasted with toothpaste before or soon after they make contact. Once you destroy a wave of food a new wave appears with a different attack pattern from the last. Points are scored for blasting edibles, and bonus teeth are awarded once you reach set scores, but if all the teeth get eroded then it’s game over.