''Space Pirates'' is a live-action LaserDisc video game, released by

American Laser Games American Laser Games was a company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico that created numerous light gun laserdisc video games featuring live action full motion video. The company was founded in the late 1980s by Robert Grebe, who had originally created ...

for the arcade in 1992 and ported to MS-DOS computers in 1994 and the

3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...

in 1995. The game was re-released for several platforms by

Digital Leisure Digital Leisure, Inc. is a Canadian publisher of software. The company formed in 1997 with the aim to acquire, remaster and publish numerous classic video-based arcade games such as the Don Bluth-animated titles '' Dragon's Lair'', '' Dragon's La ...

around 2003, with updated sound and video, among other American Laser Games titles.

Plot

The player assumes the role of a star ranger (as in all American Laser Games releases except ''

Who Shot Johnny Rock? ''Who Shot Johnny Rock?'' is a live-action full-motion video laserdisc video game produced by American Laser Games and released for the arcades in 1991, and then for the DOS, Sega CD, 3DO and CD-i platforms around 1994. As part of a series of si ...

'', the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

's name is not given, and he is referred to throughout the game as "Star Ranger") who picks up and responds to a transmission by Ursula Skye, the commander of a

starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

called Colonial Star One. The

SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...

call lets the star ranger know that the ship has been invaded by an evil group called the Black Brigade, led by Captain Talon. As the entire colony on board the ship is in danger, the player answers the distress call. Following a short target practice tutorial, consisting of shooting at fast-moving

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s, the player heads out to the Black Dragon to defeat the space pirates. After the star ranger succeeds in freeing the captives aboard, including Commander Skye, the next task is to find and assemble the Star-Splitter Cannon, which, aside from its main component, requires three crystals to work: the Aqua Blue, the Crimson Red and the Emerald Green. Each of the components can be found on a separate planet, bringing the total of planets the player can visit in any order up to four. However, the crystals must be placed in the weapon in a specific order, which is given to the star ranger by Commander Skye. On the four planets, the star ranger encounters heavy opposition, but once the elements are collected, the final task is to destroy the Black Dragon with the Star-Splitter Cannon, then eliminating its captain.

Gameplay

''Space Pirates'' is similar to all other

full motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...

releases by American Laser Games in that the player rarely makes decisions other than selecting a planet and shooting villains. The action is propelled automatically, and only stops when one fails to kill a foe - who, in such cases, does not spare the player - or hits an innocent

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

or colonist. When this happens, energy units are deducted from the Star Ranger's life-support system, and a short clip is shown in which an old man - played by Ben Zeller, the

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

and

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

driver in ''

Mad Dog McCree ''Mad Dog McCree'' is the first live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games. It originally appeared as an arcade game in 1990. The game gained considerable attention for its live-action video style, bearing similarities to ...

'' and '' Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold'', respectively - gives general advice and scolds the player for the mistake made. The Star Ranger's weapon of choice is a

laser gun A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers. After decades of R&D, directed-energy weapons including lasers are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-perfo ...

, which also happens to be used by the Black Brigade. The energy in the gun is limited, but can be quickly restored an infinite number of times. The gun is also used to choose paths and make simple decisions like shooting the appropriate spot in order to free prisoners. In the PC and 3DO versions of the game, the player can use either a

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

or a light gun to control the action; the 3DO version is also compatible with standard gamepads. The PC version lacks a two-player mode.

Reception

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' gave the 3DO version a mixed review. They criticized that the targeting is inaccurate whether using the standard controller or Gamegun, though they nonetheless felt the gameplay to be "mindless fun". They particularly praised the game's futuristic setting, saying that the imaginative characters and scenery make the game much more visually appealing and atmospheric than most

games. ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' complained that American Laser Games' usage of the same basic format for all their games was becoming tiresome, but acknowledged that the game had good quality video and enjoyable acting and gameplay. They scored it two out of five stars, deeming it "entertaining enough, in a brain-dead sort of way".

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1992 video games 3DO Interactive Multiplayer games American Laser Games games Arcade video games Digital Leisure games DOS games DVD interactive technology Full motion video based games LaserDisc video games Light gun games Single-player video games Video games about pirates Video games developed in the United States Video games set on fictional planets