Star Raiders
Shooter, Simulator
Release Dates:
Average Rating:
Developers/Publishers:
Atari Corporation, Atari
March 1, 1980, December 31, 1987, December 31, 1988, December 31, 1986, December 31, 1982
Atari ST/STE, Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200
Platforms:
Videos
No Videos
Repetitive Elements: Star Raiders may become repetitive after extended play, especially in the Shooter genre.
Content Gaps: Some areas of Star Raiders feel underdeveloped or lacking in content.
High Difficulty: The steep difficulty curve in Star Raiders can be daunting for new players.
Why To Avoid
High Replay Value: Star Raiders offers numerous reasons to replay, thanks to its Shooter elements.
Beautiful World: Explore the stunning world of Star Raiders, a visual treat for fans of Shooter.
Innovative Mechanics: Star Raiders introduces new and innovative mechanics in the Shooter genre.
Why To Play
Star Raiders is a first-person space combat simulator for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. It was written by Doug Neubauer, an Atari employee, and released as a cartridge by Atari in 1979. The game is considered the platform's killer app. It was later ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari ST.
The game simulates 3D space combat between the player's ship and an invading fleet of alien "Zylon" vessels. Star Raiders was distinctive for its graphics, which, in addition to various map and long range scan views, provided forward and aft first-person views, with movement conveyed by a streaming 3D starfield as the player engaged enemy spacecraft.
While there had already been target-shooting games using the first person perspective (including 1978's Cosmic Conflict), Star Raiders had considerably higher quality visuals and more complex gameplay. It inspired imitators throughout the 1980s as well as later-generation space combat simulation games including Elite, Wing Commander, and Star Wars: X-Wing.
In 2007, Star Raiders was included in a list of the 10 most important video games of all time, as compiled by Stanford University's History of Science and Technology Collections.