Defender

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Description

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.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "Earth Attack" -- Zellers title
• "ディフェンダー" -- Japanese spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Console Generation Exclusives: Xbox 360
• Defender games
• Defender variants
• Genre: Scrolling shoot 'em up
• Video games turned into board / card games

User Reviews

A classic	VIC-20	Katakis | カタキス (43211)
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 (522)

Critic Reviews

neXGam	ColecoVision	Jul 27, 2012	8.3 out of 10	83
Digital Press - Classic Video Games	Atari 5200	Feb 14, 2004	8 out of 10	80
The Atari Times	Atari 2600	Sep 02, 2002	80 out of 100	80
Micro 7	VIC-20	Jun, 1984		67
GameSpot	Xbox 360	Nov 20, 2006	6.6 out of 10	66
Atari HQ	Atari 2600	2001	6 out of 10	60
Retro Archives	Atari 8-bit	Mar 07, 2022	10 out of 20	50
PC Magazine	PC Booter	May 29, 1984	9 out of 18	50
Retro Archives	ColecoVision	Mar 07, 2022	9.5 out of 20	48
360 LIVE	Xbox 360	Dec, 2006	Unscored	Unscored

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Arcade version of Defender appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

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.

Information also contributed by LepricahnsGold, Nélio, PCGamer77, Pseudo_Intellectual and FatherJack

Related Web Sites

• Defender's Wikipedia page (Here you can find all sorts of info about Defender.)
• X360A achievement guide (X360A's achievement guide for Defender.)