| Defender 2000 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Llamasoft |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Corporation |
| Producer(s) | John Skruch |
| Programmer(s) | Jeff Minter |
| Composer(s) | Alastair Lindsay |
| Series | Defender |
| Platform(s) | Atari Jaguar |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Defender 2000 is a 1996 scrolling shooter video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar. Part of Atari's 2000 series of arcade game revivals, it is an update of Eugene Jarvis' arcade game Defender (1981). The premise takes place in a future where the Alpha Promixian empire attack mining settlements on distant resource planets. Gameplay is divided into three modes, with the player acting as part of the System Defense Team commanding the Threshold ship to defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting humans.
In 1994, Atari and Williams Entertainment announced a joint venture to remake popular arcade games on the Jaguar and PC, including Defender, with Atari responsible for the Jaguar versions. Defender 2000 was programmed by Jeff Minter, who previously updated Dave Theurer's Tempest as Tempest 2000. The project came about when Minter approached Atari and suggested converting Defender to Jaguar. It was first planned as a cartridge release but was later moved to the Atari Jaguar CD add-on, however Atari changed course and decided to release the game on cartridge. The soundtrack was scored by English composer Alastair Lindsay, who also composed Tempest 2000.
The game garnered mixed reception from critics and retrospective commentators; praise was given to the "Classic Defender" mode for being a faithful adaptation of the arcade original, but others expressed mixed opinions regarding "Defender Plus" mode. Reviewers typically commented that Defender 2000, while reasonably fun, failed to update the original Defender to the point where its gameplay and graphics could stand out against contemporary shooters.