Monster Smash

Monster Smash is an action game written by Dave Eisler and released by Datamost in 1983 for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64. The Atari 8-bit version features music written by Gary Gilbertson that was praised by the reviewers. An early version of a game was titled "Monster Mash" and published by The Software Farm in 1982.
Gameplay.
The aim of "Monster Smash" is to capture all the monsters that are roaming around a local graveyard. The player must trap the monsters by opening and closing various gates and then smash them using the gravestones. If any monster reaches the right side of the screen it escapes, and if the player lets too many of them escape, as shown by a meter, the game ends. Once a certain number of monsters have been captured the player moves to the next level. In higher levels human visitors are introduced and the player must allow them to safely pass through a graveyard, while busy smashing the monsters.
Music.
A title theme of the Atari 8-bit version of "Monster Smash" was composed by Gary Gilbertson using Philip Price's Advanced Music Processor. Price and Gilbertson later collaborated on the "Alternate Reality" games.
Reception.
Steven A. Schwartz writing for "Electronic Fun with Computers & Games" praised the graphics and sound of the Apple II version but concluded: "All the features aside, however, it's mostly a test of manual dexterity and often an exercise in frustration." Jim Short in issue 15 of "Page 6" praised the music of the Atari 8-bit version of a game: "The outstanding thing about "Monster Smash" is the opening title tune. It is, without any shadow of doubt, the best musical score I've ever heard in a computer game. It is almost worth purchasing the game just to listen to the music. Yes, it is that good!"