Cosmic Ark

Cosmic Ark is an action arcade shooter for the Atari 2600, developed and published by Imagic.

The game alternates between two stages. First, players defend the ark from meteor showers approaching from all four sides of the screen, firing in the direction selected with the joystick. Next, they pilot a shuttle to a planet and use its tractor beam to collect life forms while avoiding planetary defenses.

A hit near the planet's surface releases one captured specimen, requiring another retrieval attempt. When a klaxon signals renewed meteor activity, players must return to the ark and resume defending it.