82-T/A Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) I know this game doesn't get a lot of love... but I have to be honest, this game is totally awesome. I've been going through all my games, and most of them I've just put in, played for a few minutes and moved on to the next game. I knew though that as soon as I put in Defender 2000, I'd be hooked. Two hours later... my neighbor knocks on my door to beg for help moving something and it breaks my concentration... ~1,370,000 was the score I died at. But oh man, the music is awesome, the game is intense, and you can play the older arcade versions. Defender was by far, one of my favorite games back in the day. I have Protector and Protector SE... I've got to play those next because I've totally forgotten how they played compared to Defender 2000. If anyone on here doesn't have Defender 2000... I highly recommend it! Edited May 23, 2014 by 82-T/A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfman Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Ah Defender 2000, I got a love hate relationship with this game. I kind if enjoy the old school version, find the other version sooo fast. Love it somedays hate it others! ?? Saying that I totally love the fact that I picked this up for just £9.99 along with Breakout 2000 for £15. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I got a love hate relationship with this game. I kind if enjoy the old school version, find the other version sooo fast. Love it somedays hate it others! Same here.. I like it, but at the same time, when I get to a certain series of levels (somewhere in the 30s I think), it feels almost impossible to see what's going on and I just die over and over again until it's a game over. I don't have the same problem with Tempest 2000 (but I do have that issue with later Minter games). Definitely a love-hate thing for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfman Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Glad it's not just me then! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I love Defender 2000… the graphics, effects, music, style, effort put into it, etc. just don't happen to think it's much of a fun game to play. Original version included on the cart is of course, but the others… like above: got a love/hate thing going on. I'm thinking someday... *someday*, the 2000 and Plus modes will grow on me! The game definitely belongs in every good Jaguar collection for sure though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warzard Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I have like like relationship with this game(guess it's just me). Jeff should have added an updated version Attack of the Mutant Camels level as a bonus stage. The Kronix version is a good start : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LmMBbTg0Cg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoGeoNinja Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Theoretically, I *could* love Defender Plus the most - as it's a happy medium between both styles, however, I really can't see past the massive FAIL that is mixing up the 'climb' and 'descend' animations, respectively. I really is one of those annoying "I wish I could change..." aspects of the game. Obviously, it doesn't affect gameplay one bit. It's just a personal thang. Sorry Jeff x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82-T/A Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 You know, it's worth mentioning that Jeff Minter really put a lot of effort into these games. Especially with Tempest 2000 and Defender 2000, he went that extra mile of putting the "original" and "plus" versions of the games in there. There's something to be said for that... he probably didn't have to, and maybe no one really even asked him to do it... but he did it. Missile Command 3D has that too, or at least the original and 3D version. I don't suppose he had anything to do with that game? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoGeoNinja Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Missile Command 3D has that too, or at least the original and 3D version. I don't suppose he had anything to do with that game? Don't think so. You're right. Inclusions of variants and the classic originals is a nice touch. I'm going to presume, perhaps wrongly, that Atari requested it though...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Here's my take on Defender 2000... I think it was an unfortunate trend at that time (that continues to a degree in today's remakes, though typically more on the trippy F/X side) to take what were awesome, tasteful pixel graphics (like in the original Defender) and "modernize" them by making them chunky, overly detailed, too large, and downright gaudy. In any case, while these games can be enjoyable on their own, their lack of aesthetic appeal is definitely a turn off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I just ordered Protector SE. I'm curious to see how it compares. I used to have D2000 back in the day, and sorry I sold it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SabertoothRetro Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) I like Defender 2000. The gameplay is a little fast and the sprites overly large for the play field but once you get the hang of it, it's a fine game. I particularly like plus mode. IMHO all of the released "2000" games - T2K, B2K, D2K and MC3D - are well worth owning and comprise some of the best that the Jaguar has to offer. I would have loved to see a more complete Space War 2000 and playable Dactyl Joust. Edited May 25, 2014 by atariLBC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82-T/A Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 So, I finally hooked up one of my Jaguars to a semi-permanent spot, so I played a few games last night for about 30 minutes. I played Protector and Protector SE. I can't quite figure out what the difference is between them (yet), other than the SE sticker, and the title screen... but I think there's more baddies, more levels, more music, and a few other things that I just haven't gotten to yet. It's interesting because although you would think it's a Defender knock-off... the games really are completely different and have completely different strategy. Defender 2000 can largely be played by getting as many guns / upgrades as possible early on, and then playing it by looking almost entirely at the top RADAR screen. On Protector though, you can't simply look at the radar screen and shoot through blasting away because you'll die... and quickly. On Protector, it requires more strategy and you end up actually looking at the game to what you want to shoot. The navigation is a little different too because you can shoot and change directions, unlike Defender 2000 where you have to change directions first and then shoot. Definitely cool... going to play it again tonight after I help my daughter practice her Spanish and violin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariORdead Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Defender 2000 just has that horrible low budget shareware look to me, right down to the choice of title and fonts.. I do not find it appealing at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82-T/A Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 Man, you guys are all wrong, it's totally awesome, stop being mean or I'm going to tell my mom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isgoed Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 (edited) If you're heading to your mom, then tell her that I also think that D2K is awesome Edited June 1, 2014 by Isgoed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Jeff himself has been 'happy' to admit he was'nt as fond of Defender 2000 as he was Tempest 20000 and that's because (in part) of the fact he was then employed by Atari and they pushed him in a direction he did'nt want to go. Because at some point during it's development, Atari decided it was going to be a Jaguar CD game, they wanted a lot of hand-drawn artwork, big sprites (cue that horrendous over-sized ship etc) and parallax layers.Had Jeff been 'left alone' it'd been far more along lines of Defender Plus-Jeff would have kept the small visuals from the original Defender coin-op, but put plasma effects in the backgrounds (and had it been on CD, had FMV interviews with coin-op creators and other 'Historical info' stuff on there as bonus material). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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