''Star Raiders'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

for the

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, and

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. Developed by

Incinerator Studios Incinerator Studios was an American video game developer, based in Carlsbad, California, known for developing several racing games, three based on the animated film franchise ''Cars'' and one ''MX vs. ATV'' game, with all four of them featuring ...

, it was published in May 2011 by

Atari SA Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. Be ...

. It is a re-imagining of 1979's ''

Star Raiders ''Star Raiders'' is a first-person space combat simulator for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. It was written by Doug Neubauer, an Atari employee, and released as a cartridge by Atari in March 1980. The game is considered the platform's kille ...

'' which was the killer app for

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

's new

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

of home computers. The remake is an action, first-person spaceship combat game in which the player travels through a starfield in pursuit of the enemy Zylons. It adds a new storyline, customizable ships, and multiplayer gameplay with several modes.

Gameplay

''Star Raiders'' features a storyline very similar to that of the 1979 video game. The Zylons, an alien race bent on humanity's destruction, are moving their forces towards Earth, and it is up to the 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. The forms include these: 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. All of these forms are needed, as the Zylons 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 three types of ships with conventional weaponry, but have to travel inside the Basestar and destroy certain key points to finally eliminate it. 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.

Reception

The game received generally poor reviews.

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gave a score of 35 out of 100. GamingXP said, "''Star Raiders'' gets boring way too quickly and fails to motivate you to play on." Multiplayer.it said, "A mediocre, boring space shooter. Some ideas are interesting, but clunky controls and uninspired visuals makes this title a complete waste." ''GameSpot'' says the game has "woefully inadequate tutorials, dull dogfights, bland visuals and annoying sound effects". One of the main actions in the game, which is destroying capital ships, is described as "painfully tedious".

References

{{Reflist

External links

Atari's Legendary Star Raiders to be Re-Imagined for a New Generation

2011 video games Atari games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Network games Space combat simulators Video game remakes Video games developed in the United States Windows games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Multiplayer and single-player video games Incinerator Studios games