While I’m a big fan of the work Willis did during the golden age of arcades, I wish they had spent a little more effort making all of their replacement overlays stand out. They certainly could do it, as evidenced by the amazing Galaga, Phoenix and Space Invaders Deluxe overlays. So why didn’t they? I can only speculate, but I would guess they had time constraints, budget limitations, inexperienced artists or a combination of all the above. In any case, what could have been a fun overlay for the beloved Atari Missile Command, is instead a practical but very boring replacement. It has instructions for game play and clearly labeled controls, but the vague geometric pattern and toothpaste tube missiles leave a lot to be desired. The overlay still has the same quality production features, such as die cuts for the controls and 3M materials, but this particular overlay suffers from delamination and I’ve not found a Willis Missile Command overlay that didn’t have the problem. This makes it difficult to find one in excellent condition and I rarely see them come up for sale. The Missile Command overlay is marked with © WILLIS INDUSTRIES 1982, but is missing a part number and also lacks the “Willis Men” for P1 and P2. I suppose they would look out of place on this overlay, but I like seeing them. I imagine that if I found this overlay on a game I would remove it in favor of the original artwork.
From the original Tokens Only post…
Nope! 1st time posting about this overlay.
I’ve never had an “in the wild” siting of this particular overlay, so if you have one installed on your game, please share! Even better, if you have one of these in excellent shape and are willing to part with it, drop me a line. I have plenty of stuff I can trade!
