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| Star Raiders II | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Atari Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Corporation Electric Dreams (C64) |
| Programmer(s) | Gary Stark Bruce Poehlman[1] |
| Series | Star Raiders |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1986: Atari 8-bit 1987: Amstrad, C64, Spectrum |
| Genre(s) | Space combat |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Star Raiders II is a space combat simulator released in 1986 for Atari 8-bit computers as a sequel to 1979's Star Raiders, which was the killer app for the system. The game was originally developed as part of a tie-in with the movie The Last Starfighter, which featured an arcade game of the same name as part of its plotline.[2] Versions for the Atari 5200 and the Atari 8-bit computers were developed in 1984, although those were never released.[3][4] Later the tie-in was dropped, and the game converted into a sequel to Star Raiders by changing a number of gameplay elements. The gameplay remained different from the original Star Raiders.
Conversions for the ZX Spectrum,[5] Amstrad CPC,[6] and Commodore 64[7] were published under license by Electric Dreams Software in 1987.
In 2015 it was revealed that a true sequel, also called Star Raiders II, had been under development for some time by Atari programmer Aric Wilmunder. It was nearing completion when he was laid off during the massive downsizing of the company in early 1984. Although the programmer continued talks with Atari after its takeover by Jack Tramiel, no deal was ever forthcoming. The source code, largely complete but not polished for release, was posted publicly in December the same year. This version is far more faithful to the original version in terms of gameplay.[8]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
giantlistwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Denofgeek.com". 9 April 2018.
- ^ Reichert, Matt. "The Last Starfighter (Atari 5200)". AtariProtos.com. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
- ^ Reichert, Matt. "The Last Starfighter (Atari 8-bit)". AtariProtos.com. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
- ^ Star Raiders II at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
- ^ Star Raiders 2 at CPC Zone
- ^ Star Raiders 2 at Lemon64
- ^ Wilmunder, Aric (2015), The Authoritative Star Raiders II v0.3.pdf, atariage.com