1. Gameplay

2. Reception

3. References

4. External links

The original was well received in its time for innovating the "space combat simulation" genre with higher quality graphics and a more complex game play and inspired other titles such as the Wing Commander and X-wing series.

The game pays tribute to the original Star Raiders with the objective being to destroy the same enemy and by incorporating many "familiar battle elements", but diverges from the original with a new storyline. Its other additions to the original game are customizable ships and multi-player gameplay, with co-op campaigns, a team-based multi-player mode, and online play.

Gameplay

Star Raiders features a storyline very similar to that of the 1979 classic. The Zylons, an alien race bent on humanity’s destruction, are moving their forces towards earth, and it is up to player to repel their assault and save the human race. The player’s ship is a small space fighter, but with the capability to transform itself to deal with a variety of situations.^[1] The forms include a dogfighting ship, capable of close and quick battles with other Zylon dogfighters, an assault form that is good at destroying larger, more powerful enemy ships, and a turret form, for destroying the largest Zylon ships from the inside.^[4]

All of these forms will be needed, as the Zylon’s dramatically outnumber the player, both in numbers and size of their ships. Aside from fighters of similar size, the Zylons have cruisers and frigates to confront the player, as well as their largest ship, the Basestar. Players can defeat the other 3 types of ships with conventional weaponry, but have to travel inside the Basestar and destroy certain key points to finally eliminate it.^[4]

The gameplay unfolds along a galactic map, as players choose which missions they want to undertake to defeat the Zylon threat. Missions involve the players dogfighting with Zylon forces in a variety of settings, from an asteroid field to gigantic space elevators, and end when all the Zylon ships are eliminated. Once the mission is completed, players can return to the area if they so choose, to find ore for upgrading their weapons and shields.^[1]

Reception

The game received generally poor reviews. Metacritic gave the game a score of 35 out of 100.^[7] Some comments about the game included "Star Raiders gets boring way too quickly and fails to motivate you to play on." by GamingXP and "A mediocre, boring space shooter. Some ideas are interesting, but clunky controls and uninspired visuals makes this title a complete waste." by Multiplayer.it.^[7]

A summary of the main points of the review from GameSpot states that the game has "woefully inadequate tutorials, dull dogfights, bland visuals and annoying sound effects". Also one of the main actions in the game, which is destroying capital ships, is painfully tedious.^[8]

References

External links

• Atari, Inc. page
• Atari’s Legendary Star Raiders to be Re-Imagined for a New Generation
• Star Raiders blasts off in early 2011
• Star Raiders Q&A - First Details

• 1992 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team
• 1992 US Open - Men's Doubles
• 1992 US Open - Women's Singles Qualifying
• 1992 US Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
• 1992 US presidential election
• 1992 U.S. Pro Indoor - Doubles
• 1992 U.S. Pro Indoor - Singles
• 1992 Utah Utes football
• 1992 Utah Utes football season
• 1992 Vanderbilt Commodores football
• 1992 Vanderbilt Commodores football season
• 1992 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
• 1992 Virginia ballot measures
• 1992 Virginia Cavaliers football team
• 1992 Virginia Slims of Chicago
• 1992 Virginia Slims of Florida
• 1992 Virginia Slims of Houston
• 1992 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles
• 1992 Virginia Slims of Oklahoma
• 1992 Virginia Slims of Philadelphia
• 1992 Virginia Tech Hokies football
• 1992 Virginia Tech Hokies football season
• 1992 Volkswagen Cup Damen Grand Prix
• 1992 Volta a Catalunya
• 1992 Volvo Women's Open