Defender 2000 is an underrated gem

[Cobra Kai]

Defender 2000 is an acquisition of mine this year, playing it for the first time. I have owned Protector SE for many years and enjoy it greatly, but have yet to finish the game. I have instantly fell in love with D2K, I mean I was really hooked after the first game where I got my butt kicked and didn't even score enough points to gain a free life. I was like "ahh ok pal, let's try this again". Now I play at least one marathon session every week, and that marathon consists of a single game that takes 2 hours. My highest score currently is 3.4 million.

 

When you search for threads on this game at AtariAge, and read numerous opinions, it really seems like this game is actually one of the more polarizing of Jaguar titles among gamers here. There's really only a small few that profess to really dig the D2K mode, and actually openly prefer this game to Protector SE. I'm one of them now. I really think this game blows away Protector SE, and that's not to take away from that game, but D2K really feels like a high tech game the Jaguar should have had, as opposed to the very 16-bit (or less) Protector. Most of the people who play D2K come away hating the 2000 mode and praising the 'Plus' game, or just flat out hating every thing about D2K and loving Protector. I think both are great games and both worth owning.

 

I know the arguments against D2K, with the sprite size, the ultra fast motion, and the biggest gripe being the screen scrolls up and down. I agree that these aspects seem offputting on first impression. However, once I started grooving on the radar screen and just going with that, while intermittently scanning the playfield with my eyes looking for enemy bullets to dodge, my gameplay skills improved drastically. It makes the game kind of abstract but I still love it this way.

 

The soundtrack is another amazing gem which stays fresh by cycling every 5 stages, along with the gorgeous background graphics. The amount of on-screen enemies, pixel shatter, and the high speed scrolling would make you think this game would slow down. But, no matter how many enemies and bullets are flying around, you never encounter any slow-down! This game is ridiculous in that aspect, not even modern shmups seem to be able to eliminate slowdown these days (though some people will tell you that's all done on purpose). I know that Minter himself wasn't necessarily happy with the end result of D2K, but it's still programmed as an elite game, and highly polished in that regard. No glitches that I've seen, a big soundtrack running at all times, and tons of bullets and enemies exploding all over the place constantly.

 

Now, I think Protector SE is a nice game. You can see the entire playfield at once, it plays like classic Defender except with better controls. It has a nice powerup system, and a simply hypnotic rapid fire. It does seem to address all the issues that people hate about D2K. However, it doesn't show off anything that the Jaguar system can do. There's some nice looking background pictures, and some really nice enemy sprites, but when either of these are compared directly to D2K, that game wins hands down. Protector SE does have an edge in it's lighter learning curve though, and that has been a big gripe with D2K from what I've seen from past posts. D2K is just too damn hard for some, and I agree the game is damn hard! But I appreciate the challenge and the assumption that I'm not a novice gamer by the programmer.

 

Anyway, I love D2K, I like Protector SE. I recommend both.

[Atari2008]

It's nice to see a positive review of this game. I owned it back in the 90s when I had my Jaguar and it was one of my favorite titles. I thought it was cool that Atari was updating the old school catalog of games, and I found Defender 2000 to be a lot of fun! I remember staying up late, playing this game for hours on end. The graphics are awesome. The backgrounds are beautiful - detailed and rich with color. And I agree, the soundtrack kicks ass! I really got into it. It could've been because I was a kid and a hardcore gamer at the time but I don't remember finding the game impossibly difficult. I remembered getting quite good at it and being super excited the night I reached some warp level, it was pretty cool. The music was killer in that stage. Don't know what I'd think of it now, but it was definitely one of my favorites back in the day. I think I got the Jag in 1996 for my 13th birthday, and Defender 2000 was one of those titles I acquired shortly thereafter.

[Willard]

I think many people dislike the game because it is easy to think you understand it on the first few tries without actually understanding how to play it.

 

there is actually a bit of a learning curve involved in properly navigating the playfield and using the map effectively.

 

It is easily one of my favorite jaguar games as it really shows off the Jaguar's 2D potential, sounds great, and has a very unique playstyle too. I like Zero 5 for similar reasons, but unlike D2K, most people will probably dismiss Zero 5 because they don't understand it on the first few tries but would really like if they understood how to play it

[CD-i]

Yeah, another user who prefers D2K over Protector. I love the 2000 mode, and exactly: you have to learn to play it and often use the radar, then the game begins to kick ass. I got around 4.1 mio to Level 71. The game is extremly challenging, especially when you lose all humans and get to the "underworld". But it has the same unique appeal then Tempest 2000 and you can't stop playing, when you're "in the flow"

[SoundGammon]

D2K reminds me when the original Defender hit the arcades, people would try it, walk away, then come back later to give it one more try, then they were hooked. It was one of the games where it more fun to watch a great player play it, soaring around, reversing, blasting and they rarely used smart bombs. Just watching their hands on the controls was a sight, like watching your favorite guitarist do a great solo!

[twoquickcapri]

You should show your love for Defender 2000 by submitting a score for this round of Jaguar HSC.

[jerseystyle]

I'm with you- this is one of my favorite Jag games. I love that feeling of euphoria you get when you have the shields, power ups, and a long sting of miners hanging from your ship and you have basically turned into a wall of death. Great times. My only gripe (and it's a small one) is the bonus stage: I loved the variety to the bonus stages on tempest 2K, and was bummed when I realized that here they were the one stage )and it was a cleaner version of my least favorite one from T2K). Other than that, absolutely a kick ass title. I used to use this to introduce people to the jag, because of the sheer madness of it.

[Vintagebreed]

Sadly D2K is one of the titles i have yet to try.Been looking to get it though i have read so many mixed things on it that i never made it a must have.But after reading this post i think i will pick it up and try it never tryed the protector either is that game just basicly a clone of the defender game?

[Robocop2]

I love Defender 2000 as well. Sure the ship is huge but honestly to me that makes it easier to play and the 2000 mode is excellence incarnate. Regular and plus are pretty great but 2000 really makes the game.

[Cobra Kai]

Yeah, I think the Plus version actually feels unfinished. Sure the graphics are psychedelic, but the enemies are enormous, your ship is enormous, and the Stargates are nearly unavoidable from being so large. Couple that with the screen having no vertical movement makes for a very claustrophobic playfield. I mean, many people complain about Defender 2K mode having large sprites, but everything is exaggerated twice over on Defender Plus. I haven't liked Plus mode on either D2K or Tempest 2K.

[RJ]

The best part is the music for the 1st bonus round.

[the.golden.ax]

Still one of my favorite if not thee favorite title for me on Jaguar. I've logged more hours on it than Tempest 2K easily.

 

Back in the 90's I even made a cassette tape for the car of this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opUlG-KaIzM

[+Cafeman]

I never played Defender 2000. I don't own a Jag any more, but it got lackluster reviews so I never even picked it up for PS2 or Xbox. Should I ? I wasn't aware people like it.

[+save2600]

D2k is only available for the Jaguar... you're maybe thinking of the 3D version of Defender for XBox and PS2? Totally different game.

[the.golden.ax]

I never played Defender 2000. I don't own a Jag any more, but it got lackluster reviews so I never even picked it up for PS2 or Xbox. Should I ? I wasn't aware people like it.

 

You like Genesis and 16 bit in general, there are more than a dozen reasons to own a Jaguar just based on knowing that. People expected 64-bit to be a Saturn / PS1 or N64 and it wasn't. It's a nice 16-bit generation machine. Go in to it with that expectation and you won't be disappointed.

 

 

[+Cafeman]

No, no. I meant "should I get Defender 2000 for PS2 or Xbox, of which I own the console".

 

by the way, I did own the Jag at one time. Favorites were Raiden, Rayman, and Tempest 2000. I sold it off eventually because I had stopped playing it.

[the.golden.ax]

Ah, yeah, not on any other platform. If you don't want to pick it up on Jag at least get the emulator. I hear it works pretty good these days (but I've not tried it).

[Isgoed]

Yeah, D2K is a GREAT game for all the reasons already mentioned

I also like Protector/SE very much, and even though they (Protector and D2K) seem like similar styled games, I can't compare them with each other because they both offer such a different gaming experience.

 

Also, I recommend T2K plus mode to anyone who likes a fun 2-player game, good stuff!