Defender
DOS - 1983
Also available on: Apple II - Atari 2600 - Atari 8-bit - ColecoVision - Commodore 64 - Intellivision - VIC-20
Description of Defender
Defender is Atari's excellent PC port of Williams' arcade hit - one of the most successful of all time designed by legendary Eugene Jarvis.
Your mission, as captain of the "Defender" ship, is to protect the humanoids stranded on the planet from their alien abductors. The scanner will help you determine a strategy to shoot down the alien ships before they reach the humanoids. If you destroy the aliens after they have captured their prey, you must return the humanoids to the safety of the planet or they will fall to their death. If an alien carries its victim out of your range, the humanoid will mutate, join the alien force, and take to assault with deadly vengeance.
Like the arcade version, the beauty of Defender PC is that challenge becomes ever more intense the more you play. You'll come across new, tougher enemies such as bombers, mines, and the cosmic "Baiter." The range of power-ups is also innovative for their time: you have a limited "smart bomb" power, and "hyperspace" puts you into an unknown space warp.
Defender is truly one of the timeless classics that is no less fun no matter how many times you have played it. A must-have, and an induction into our Hall of Belated Fame. If you like this game, also check out the less-known sequel called Stargate on this site.
Review By HOTUD
External links
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
dj 2020-04-05 1 point DOS version
One of the best memories of my childhood, playing Defender in the arcade. Still my favourite game.
Chris-DonPedro 2019-09-06 0 point
I remember playing this game as a kid, wasting all my pocket money in Game Saloon.
Alex 2015-09-11 2 points DOS version
@DEB
Try setting Aspect=True in DOSBox options, that might do the trick. You can also try setting fullresolution=original and windowresolution=original
Otherwise check the DOSBox wiki, it's full of resources.
deb 2015-05-23 0 point DOS version
it does download on windows 7 home. got it installed, downloaded stargate and ran it, but the resolution (I think) is wrong I know it's a old game but even full screen mode is too big, rather the letters needs to be smaller, to fit correctly in dosbox window does anyone know how to do that?
old 2014-10-29 1 point DOS version
I use to play this game when i was a kid. Best game in the world.
Write a comment
Share your gamer memories, help others to run the game or comment anything you'd like. If you have trouble to run Defender, read the abandonware guide first!
Download Defender
We may have multiple downloads for few games when different versions are available. Also, we try to upload manuals and extra documentation when possible. If you have additional files to contribute or have the game in another language, please contact us!
DOS Version
17 KBApple II Version
- Year: 1983
- Publisher: Atarisoft
- Developer: Williams Electronics, Inc.
Atari 2600 ROM
- Year: 1982
- Publisher: Atari, Inc., Sears, Roebuck and Co., Zellers
- Developer: Williams Electronics, Inc.
Atari 8-bit ROM
- Year: 1982
- Publisher: Atarisoft
- Developer: Williams Electronics, Inc.
ColecoVision Version
- Year: 1983
- Publisher: Atarisoft
- Developer: Williams Electronics, Inc.
Commodore 64 Version
- Year: 1983
- Publisher: Atarisoft
- Developer: Williams Electronics, Inc.
Intellivision Version
- Year: 1983
- Publisher: Atarisoft
- Developer: Williams Electronics, Inc.
VIC-20 Version
- Year: 1983
- Publisher: Atarisoft
- Developer: Williams Electronics, Inc.
Similar games
Fellow retro gamers also downloaded these games:
