Missile Command: Victor Sandberg Breaks 30-Year-Old Arcade Record With 81 Million Points

Man Breaks 30-Year-Old Arcade Game Record With 56 Hour Game

The classic arcade video game Missile Command has a new record - for the first time in 31 years.

Atari's classic game involves intercepting missile attacks against the player's six cities. Ballistic warheads fly endlessly at you from the sky, occasionally splitting into multiple warheads, and you have to move a set of crosshairs across the screen with a trackball and destroy the missiles.

It's very difficult, and regarded as a classic. The previous record of 80.3 million points was set by Victor Ali in 1982, and was often thought to be unbeatable.

But no more: Victor Sandberg, a dedicated player of the game recently spent 56 solid hours racking up a score of 81,796,035 points - in the process destroying a record which stood for 31 years. He even broadcast the attempt live online, though he failed to make the 100 million points target he set for himself.

One tactic involves building up extra lives, so that he can step away from the machine for up to six minutes at a time for breaks.

The record still has to be officiated by Twin Galaxies, the recognised home of arcade records. We hope it stands - this really is a feat for the ages.

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