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War of the Worlds
世界大战
War of the Worlds is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Cinematronics, loosely inspired by H.G. Wells' science fiction novel. The player controls a ground-based cannon and must defend against waves of descending Martian tripod war machines. Using a rotational aiming mechanism, players fire projectiles upward to destroy the alien attackers before they reach the ground. The game uses vector graphics, consistent with Cinematronics' style during that era. Enemy machines increase in speed and aggression as the player progresses through successive attack waves, raising the difficulty steadily. The single-player game ends when the player's defenses are overwhelmed. Scoring is based on the number of enemies destroyed across each wave.
- Developer
- Cinematronics
- Released
- 1981
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 1P
- Rating
- 4.8 / 5 (5K)
- Last updated
War of the Worlds Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for War of the Worlds on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
War of the Worlds Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of War of the Worlds on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"War of the Worlds" Arcade longplay 1981
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was War of the Worlds released?
War of the Worlds was released in 1981 for the Arcade.
Who developed War of the Worlds?
War of the Worlds was developed by Cinematronics, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does War of the Worlds support?
War of the Worlds is a single-player Action game for the Arcade.
What type of game is War of the Worlds?
War of the Worlds is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play War of the Worlds for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — War of the Worlds runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play War of the Worlds in the browser?
No. War of the Worlds streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in War of the Worlds?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does War of the Worlds work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play War of the Worlds this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of War of the Worlds. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
