''Steel Talons'' is a 3D

combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and milit ...

arcade game released by

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation, known as Midway Games West Inc. after 1999, was an American producer of arcade games. It was formed in 1985 when the coin-operated arcade game division of Atari, Inc. was transfered by Warner Communications to a join ...

in 1991. The player takes on the role of a pilot for an "AT1196 Steel Talons combat helicopter". ''Steel Talons'' was ported to the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

, Atari Lynx,

Atari Falcon The Atari Falcon030 (usually shortened to Atari Falcon), released in 1992, was the final personal computer product from Atari Corporation. A high-end model of the Atari ST line, the machine is based on a Motorola 68030 CPU and a Motorola 56001 ...

, and the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...

. A

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

port was announced, but never released.

Gameplay

''Steel Talons'' is an air combat arcade game. The player flies a helicopter equipped with a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entire ...

s, and a limited number of air-to-surface guided missiles. It originated as a two-player cockpit arcade cabinet with both cooperative and competitive modes. In single-player mode or cooperative two-player mode, there are 19 missions. In competitive mode, players attempt to destroy each other's helicopter. The arcade version has a

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

, analog collective lever on the left side that controls the altitude of the helicopter, and rudder pedals. The back of the seat has a speaker thumps when the player's helicopter is hit. It has a button called "real heli mode" which makes flying more difficult, but also allows more freedom of movement and can be an advantage during multiplayer games.

Development

Release

The game's date of publication is listed by the

United States Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that maintains records of copyright registration, including a copyright catalog. It is used by copyright title searchers who ar ...

as August 23, 1991. In September 1991, ''Steel Talons'' was shown at the 1991 Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) expo in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

. In November 1991, the game was released internationally, by Sega in Japan and by Atari in Europe. It was ported to the

, Atari Lynx,

, and the

. A

port was announced, but never released.

Reception

In the United States, it topped the ''RePlay'' arcade charts for dedicated arcade cabinets in October 1991, and then the deluxe cabinet charts from November 1991 to February 1992, before topping it again in April 1992. In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Steel Talons'' in its March 15, 1992 issue as the third most-successful upright arcade unit of the month. Upon its AMOA 1991 debut, '' The One'' magazine compared the arcade game favorably with

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It ...

's 3D helicopter simulation '' Air Inferno'' (1990), stating "Atari has gone even further, making it a lot easier to play, without compromising the complexity of the controls." They said that, despite "the complexity of the controls, the game is a classic". '' Sinclair User'' listed it among several games making the "best use of 3-D technology" at the show, and later gave it an 87% score upon its European release.

Julian Rignall Julian "Jaz" Rignall (born 6 March 1965, London, England) is a writer and editor. He has also produced content for corporate websites such as GamePro Media, publisher of ''GamePro'' magazine and ''GamePro.com'', marketing collateral and adverti ...

of ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' gave it a 96% rating. The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) nominated the game for the "Most Innovative New Technology" award in 1992. ''

GameFan ''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its ex ...

'' reviewed the Sega Genesis version, scoring it 172 out of 200.

References

External links

''Steel Talons''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databas ...

''Steel Talons''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' ma ...

''Steel Talons''
at

Killer List of Videogames Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pl ...

''Steel Talons''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

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