Strikeforce, the Video Game by Midway Mfg. Co. [Schiller Park, IL, USA]

Type of the machine : Video Game
Strikeforce © 1991 Midway.

Saurian lizard men have overrun all twenty-two planets that form the New Earth Solar System colonies, capturing and mutating the resident human colonies into reptiles to use as slave labour at their stronghold base, the Saurian Mega-Star Apocalypse

In the 3rd game in Midway's seminal "Defender" series, Strikeforce again has the player flying a spaceship over the surface of a series of two-way, horizontally scrolling planets, destroying enemy waves and rescuing humans from the alien invaders; with rescued humans hanging from the underside of the player's ship. Once these tasks have been completed, the mothership arrives to pick up the player's ship, together with any humans they have rescued. Players can decide which planets to attack, when to purchase additional firepower and when to attack the Apocalypse.

Strikeforce's graphics differ from the minimalist, stylish appearance of the first two games in the series; with full colour sprites, multi-layer scrolling and colourful, visceral explosions giving the game its own distinctive look and feel.

Midway Y Unit hardware

Main CPU : TMS34010 (@ 6.25 Mhz)
Sound CPU : M6809 (@ 2 Mhz)
Sound Chips : YM2151 (@ 3.57958 Mhz), DAC (@ 3.57958 Mhz), HC55516 (@ 3.57958 Mhz)

Screen orientation : Horizontal
Video resolution : 400 x 255 pixels
Screen refresh : 53.20 Hz
Palette colors : 256

Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 3

Released in February 1991.

If you look at the Today's Victors part of the high score screen, you should see the initials DEF for rank 5, END in rank 6, and ER in rank 7; they spell out the word, 'DEFENDER' (as in the game, "Defender").

* To reach the ultimate bad guy without having to go through the entire enemy starship, you just play the LEFT player, and get yourself killed at the far LEFT end of the starship (the very beginning). When you reincarnate, you'll be at the far RIGHT end of the board, past the wall (or IN the wall if you weren't far enough left). The boss will not appear until you move to the left past where he should be (though things will start firing at you immediately). Kill the boss, get your free credit, start again. ;)

* Strategy Tip : kill dreadnaughts with one timewarp and one cluster bomb. You always get the time warp back, plus other goodies.

* Score Hogging Tip : clear out all the planets but one, and then fly around from starbase to starbase waiting for dreadnaughts to appear. Pick 'em off using the above method. This gets boring after a while, of course...

1. Defender (1980)
2. Stargate (1981)
3. Strikeforce (1991)
4. Defender 2000 (1996, Atari Jaguar)

Programmers : Todd Allen (TRA), Eric Pribyl (ELP)
Artists : John Vogel (JCV), Jim Gentile (JPG)
Music and Sounds : Chris Granner (C G), Rich Karstens (R K)

Staff : Sheridan Oursler (S O), Mark Penacho (MDP), Tim Coman (TIM), John Tobias (JON), Jack E. Haeger (JEH), Eugene Jarvis (EPJ), Ray Czajka (RAY), George N. Petro (GNP), (BUN), (LOF), Al Lasko (A L), Cary Mednick (CMM), Steve Ritchie (SSR), Larry DeMar (LED), Mark Turmell (M T), (MTN), (NLN), (JTK)

Game's rom.
Machine's picture.