Defender put players in charge of a ship sent to protect mankind from wave after wave of attacking alien forces.

Armed with smart bombs and the ability to use hyperspace to move quickly around the planet, the player ship must fight against Bombers, Pods, Swarmers, Baiters, and Landers - that can capture the humanoids and transform them into deadly and relentless Mutants. Fail to save the humanoids from freefall or Mutant transformation, and the planet is destroyed.

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Alternate Titles

"Earth Attack" -- Zellers title

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Part of the Following Groups

Merchant	Title
	Defender
	Defender
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User Reviews

A great game from the Atari era.	Atari 5200	Dark Lord (46)
The Apple II version of Defender had none of the appeal of the arcade game.	Apple II	Droog (463)

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The Press Says

The Video Game Critic	Atari 8-bit	Jan 28, 2003	A	100
The Video Game Critic	Intellivision	Sep 22, 2002	A-	91
The Video Game Critic	Atari 5200	Aug 17, 2004	B+	83
Commodore User	VIC-20	Jun, 1984		80
Pixel-Heroes.de	Commodore 64	Mar, 2007	8 out of 10	80
Games Radar	Xbox 360	Dec 21, 2006	6 out of 10	60
Game Chronicles	Xbox 360	Dec 18, 2006	5.6 out of 10	56
Micro 7	Commodore 64	Apr, 1984		50
UOL Jogos	Xbox 360	Nov 24, 2009		40
The Video Game Critic	Atari 2600	Jul 14, 2002	D	25

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Trivia

Arcade success

The original Defender arcade was slow to become a hit when it was released as many thought it was too difficult due to its control configuration of five buttons and a joystick. It ultimately gained many fans and remained popular throughout the 1980s. Defender has been described in Gamasutra as "quite possibly, the hardest significant game there is".

Board game

In 1983, Entex adapted this video game into a board game.

Comic

Atari's 2600 release of Defender included the comic book Atari Force #1. Here is that comic at AtariAge.com

Development

Game creator Eugene Jarvis cites Space Invaders and Asteroids as major influences on the design of Defender.

[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 55]

Legacy

Eugene Jarvis, creator of both Defender and its sequel Stargate, says that although the gameplay and coding of Stargate is more refined, he prefers the relative simplicity of the original Defender.

[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 55]

References to the game

Defender a song inspired by it on the full-length Pac-Man Fever album - The Defender.
In the 1983 episode Smaller Than Life from the TV series Magnum P.I., a kid is seen playing Defender on an Atari 800.