''Stardust'' is a single screen

multidirectional shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...

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, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

, released by the Finnish company Bloodhouse in 1993. The game is essentially an ''

Asteroids 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. ...

'' clone with enhancements, such as

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chos ...

s, shields, a high-energy techno module soundtrack, vivid use of colors and the occasional tunnel section that revolves around a sphere. The game's

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

drew critical acclaim for the aforementioned tunnels and the liberal use of ray-tracing. The company has since merged with Terramarque to form

Housemarque Housemarque Oy is a Finnish video game developer based in Helsinki. The company was founded by Ilari Kuittinen and Harri Tikkanen in July 1995, through the merger of their previous video game companies, Bloodhouse and Terramarque, both of which ...

. In a not atypical bout of Finnish humor, the developers gave several things ludicrous names in their own language, which were (and still are) highly obscure in the international market. The

damsel in distress The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...

is named after a brand of

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

, and the final confrontation takes place over the planet

Imatra Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk ...

Ports

The game was ported to

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few oper ...

, but not by the original programmers. This version was buggy, scant on details found in the Amiga version and severely lacking in both control and

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...

polish. A conversion was made for the

Atari STE The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pe ...

by Aggression demoscene crew, published in 1995 by Daze Marketing. It is one of the few STE exclusive games, and uses the machine's updated capabilities.

Legacy

An enhanced sequel was released for AGA Amigas,

Amiga CD32 The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on Ju ...

, and finally for the

IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones ...

platform as well. Named ''

Super Stardust ''Super Stardust'' is a 1994 game developed by Bloodhouse and published for the Amiga (AGA) and Amiga CD32 by Team17. The game was ranked the 26th best game of all time by '' Amiga Power''. The CD32 version featured CD-DA soundtracks composed b ...

'' (or ''Super Stardust '96''), the game features a CD soundtrack from

Slusnik Luna Slusnik Luna are a Finnish electronic music duo formed in Helsinki in 1994, composed of Niko Nyman and Nicklas Renqvist. The pair play and produce trance and house tracks. They also produced soundtracks for the Amiga CD32 version of the vide ...

, FMV cut-scenes, high speed gameplay and completely new levels and enemies. In April 2007,

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

released '' Super Stardust HD'' as a downloadable

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smar ...

game for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

. In February 2012, ''

Super Stardust Delta ''Super Stardust Delta'' is a twin-stick multidirectional shooter video game for the PlayStation Vita handheld console. It is part of the ''Stardust'' series of games developed by the Finnish company Housemarque. Gameplay Using the PlayStation ...

'' was released on the

as a downloadable title for the

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international terri ...

References

External links

''Stardust''
at the

website
''Stardust''
at Atari Mania * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stardust (Video Game) 1993 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Amiga CD32 games DOS games Europe-exclusive video games Multidirectional shooters Video games developed in Finland Video game clones Single-player video games