Star Hammer

Released

November 1994 on DOS

Credits

3 people

Publishers

Homebrew Software

Developers

Silver Lightning Software

Moby Score: n/a
Players: (2)
Collected By: 4 players

Genre: Action
Perspective: Top-down
Gameplay: Shooter
Interface: Direct control
Vehicular: Space flight
Setting: Sci-fi / futuristic

Buy

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Description

You could think of Star Hammer as Wing Commander in 2D. You are the pilot of a combat space ship which has to destroy enemies or protect friendly shuttles. The game features 40 linear missions with the main goal to defeat an enemy alien race. In a topdown perspective you steer the ship through the space and shoot at enemies. Your ship has different weapons and a shield which decreases when enemies hit your ship. On the upper left corner is a mini map which shows friend and foe. Several in vector graphics animated cutscenes play during the campaign.

Screenshots

Credits (DOS version)

Design	Paul Turbett
Programming	Paul Turbett
Graphics	Paul Turbett Mark Way
Sound	Paul Turbett Mark Way
Animated Sequences	Mark Way
Music	Alex Lowe

Reviews

Critics

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 2 ratings with 1 reviews)

Fun game, but truly DOS-level difficulty

The Good
This is a truly enjoyable space dogfighting game. Missions are easy to understand (mostly consisting of flying to waypoints and shooting anything that moves on the way), controls are intuitive, and the sounds/graphics are satisfying in that unique way only games from the mid-90s can manage.

The Bad
Once the asteroid belts are introduced, the difficulty spike goes through the roof. Fast-moving, high damage asteroid sections with a limited field of view, one-hit failure escort missions (with friendly fire), battles against multiple ships that can kill you before you make your first maneuver... I'm a decent gamer, but some of these levels had me frustrated for hours. And that's just the ones I was able to beat!

The Bottom Line
A well-made space dogfighter that is an excellent challenge for someone who forgot that DOS games were some of the most impossibly difficult ever made.

DOS · by S-Train (2) · 2022