| Sinistar: Unleashed | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | GameFX |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Designer(s) | Marc Michalik, Walter Wright |
| Composer(s) | Mashi Hasu, Ruediger Huber, John Benshop |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Space shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Sinistar: Unleashed is a 1999 action space shooter video game for Microsoft Windows. It was designed by Marc Michalik and Walter Wright and developed at GameFX, a small studio composed of former members of Looking Glass Studios. Originally titled Out of the Void, development of the project began in 1997 and had no relationship with the Sinistar franchise. After licensing the franchise from Midway Games that year, GameFX shifted the focus of the game and developed it as a sequel to the original Sinistar, which was released by Williams in 1982.
Like the previous installment, Sinistar: Unleashed focuses on the destruction of the Sinistar, a large bio-mechanical machine, powered by machines called the Sporg. To achieve this goal, the player has a variety of starships, power-ups and weapons. Unlike its predecessor, the game has full three-dimensional graphics and a wider control scheme. Sinistar: Unleashed features 29 levels, five of which are hidden; each level has a Sinistar.
Sinistar: Unleashed received mixed reception when released. Critics lauded its audacity, as well as the addition of new features into the game. Several journalists felt that GameFX captured all the elements that represented a Sinistar game and stayed true to the franchise by feeling familiar to fans of the original game. However, critics faulted the boss designs and the repetitiveness of the gameplay.
- ^ Fudge, James (September 15, 1999). "Sinistar: Unleashed Released". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 30, 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2021.