Defender

Defender is a sci-fi shooter game originally released for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It was developed by Williams Electronics and became one of the system's most popular games, acclaimed for its innovative gameplay and challenging difficulty.

In the game, the player controls a spaceship that must defend a series of cities on an alien planet from attacks by enemy ships. The player must use their ship to destroy enemy ships before they can destroy the cities. additionally, the player must rescue survivors abducted by the alien invaders before they are taken to the planet's surface and killed.

Defender is known for its innovative gameplay which involves utilizing a wide variety of controls to operate the player's ship. In addition to standard movement controls, the player can activate a number of buttons to fire, drop bombs, use a protective shield, and teleport the ship to a different position on the screen.

The game also features challenging gameplay with enemy ships appearing from all sides and with different behaviors. Some enemy ships may fire at the player's ship, others may attempt to abduct survivors, and still others may attempt to destroy the cities. Furthermore, the game features an advanced artificial intelligence system that causes enemy ships to react to the player's actions, making each match unique and exciting.

Defender became an Atari 2600 classic because of its innovative gameplay and challenging difficulty. The game inspired a number of sequels and imitators, and remains one of the most popular and influential games in the shooter genre to this day.

Eugene Jarvis

1981