Defender (2002 video game)

Defender (subtitled For All Mankind outside North America) is a shoot 'em up video game developed in October 2002 for the PlayStation 2, and Xbox, and was ported to the GameCube the following month, followed by a port to the mobile phone version published by THQ in 2003. The game was also rereleased for Xbox 360's Live Arcade in November 2006. It is a remake of the 1981 game of the same name. Featuring three-dimensional (3D) graphics, the game is set on multiple planets and moons within the Solar System where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts.

Defender
North American box art
Developer(s)7 Studios (PS2)
Inevitable Entertainment (GC, Xbox)
Outlook Entertainment (GBA)
Lavastorm (Mobile)
Digital Eclipse (Xbox 360)
Publisher(s)Midway Games
THQ (Mobile)
Director(s)George Collins
Producer(s)Matthew Candler
Christine Thomas
Designer(s)Robert Berger
Richard Bisso
Jeffery Gardiner
Michael Kirkbride
Programmer(s)Brian Hawkins
Artist(s)Miguel Lleras
Writer(s)Robert Berger
Michael Kirkbride
Margaret Stohl
Composer(s)Michael Cohen
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, mobile, Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: 21 October 2002 (PS2)[1]
  • NA: 4 November 2002 (GC, Xbox)[2]
  • NA: 7 November 2002 (GBA)[2]
  • EU: 24 March 2003
Mobile
13 June 2003
Xbox 360
15 November 2006
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up

A separate version of the game was released for the Game Boy Advance. Despite sharing a name, box art and a release date with the console versions, it is a different game.

Gameplay

The player picks up humans, who are in danger from aliens, and brings them to a drop zone for extraction. The enemy landers are attacking them, and will constantly try to pick them up for themselves. Once a human is stolen, the player has a short amount of time to blast the lander and catch the slowly falling human. If the player fails to free the human, they are absorbed into the lander and the lander is transformed into a much more difficult enemy. If the human hits the ground from falling they will die. The enemies are a handful of other alien craft, including some ground units that can turn humans into zombies.

Game Boy Advance version

A separate version of the game was released for the Game Boy Advance. It contains a faithful recreation of the 1981 Defender, and an updated version with digitized sprites and new game modes.

Development

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms except the Game Boy Advance version, which received "unfavorable" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[9][10][11][12][13]

References
  1. "Midway Press Release: PR 2002-10-21 A". 11 November 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2006. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. "Midway Press Release: PR 2002-11-04 A". 11 November 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2006. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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  8. "Defender for Xbox 360". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  9. "Defender for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  10. "Defender for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
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  12. "Defender for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  13. "Defender for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
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