Defender (Xbox 360)

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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

Alternate Titles

• "Earth Attack" -- Zellers title

Part of the Following Groups

• Defender games
• Defender variants
• Genre: Scrolling shoot 'em up
• Video games turned into board / card games

User Reviews

There are no reviews for the Xbox 360 release of this game. You can use the links below to write your own review or read reviews for the other platforms of this game.

The Press Says

GameSpot	Nov 20, 2006	6.6 out of 10	66
Games Radar	Dec 21, 2006	6 out of 10	60
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Nov 25, 2006	6 out of 10	60
Game Chronicles	Dec 18, 2006	5.6 out of 10	56
IGN	Nov 16, 2006	5.5 out of 10	55
UOL Jogos	Nov 24, 2009		40

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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.)