| Stargunner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | WizardWorks |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Windows |
| Release | November 19, 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Stargunner is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game published by Apogee Software in 1996 for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows.[ citation needed ]Stargunner was released as freeware on June 22, 2005. [1]
The player controls a flying craft from a side-view perspective. Enemies can approach from in front, from behind, from below or from above. They can be either lone flyers or formation ships.
Many elements are similar to the 1994 Raptor: Call of the Shadows . [2]
The game has two separate storylines; those being the one described in the official manual included with the CD-ROM copy and the one on the 3D Realms/Apogee website and portrayed in the game itself.
The manual tells of the Barakians who entered Amdaran space in huge carrier ships with the notion of allying with the Amdarans. The peaceful people of Amdara helped the Barakians colonize a nearby planet after which the people of Barak revealed themselves to be a race out for blood and conquest. The Amdarans find themselves in a losing battle, their final hope are the titular Stargunners who are tasked with assaulting key Barak locations and fleets with the hope of crippling the enemy and turning the tide of the war.
The in-game story is about the Zilians planning an assault on the people of Yitima. The Yitimans plan to preemptively strike at key Zilian strongholds before their forces can be mobilized.
According to David Pevreal, Apogee had intended to develop an Amiga version of the game first and then port it to IBM PC compatibles, but those plans were scrapped and only the latter version was released. [3]
The game was programmed in C++. The artwork was done on a Amiga using Deluxe Paint. [3]
Rise of the Triad: Dark War is a first-person shooter video game, developed and published by Apogee Software in 1995. The player can choose one of five different characters to play as, each bearing unique attributes such as height, speed, and endurance. The game's story follows these five characters who have been sent to investigate a deadly cult, and soon become aware of a deadly plot to destroy a nearby city. Its remake was designed by Interceptor Entertainment and released by Apogee Games in 2013. The shareware version of the game is titled Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins.
Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold is a first-person shooter for DOS created by JAM Productions and published by Apogee Software on December 5, 1993. The following year, a sequel called Blake Stone: Planet Strike was released, which continues where Aliens of Gold leaves off. Some copies of the game provided a Command Control Gravis Gamepad.
Crystal Caves is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Apogee Software for IBM PC compatibles. The game is divided into three episodes with the first distributed as shareware and the other two available for purchase. Designer Frank Maddin said the method worked "pretty well" for the time. Crystal Caves was inspired by the 1982 Atari 8-bit family game Miner 2049er.
Tyrian is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Eclipse Software for MS-DOS and published in 1995 by Epic MegaGames. Tyrian was programmed by Jason Emery, illustrated by Daniel Cook, and its music composed by Alexander Brandon and Andras Molnar. The game was re-released as freeware in 2004. A free and open-source port of the game started in April 2007.
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a platform game developed by Sunstorm Interactive, produced by 3D Realms, and published by Arush Entertainment. It was released on Microsoft Windows on May 14, 2002, in North America and on June 14, 2002, in Europe. A port of the game would be released for the Xbox 360 on June 23, 2010, by 3D Realms directly, followed by an iOS port on January 9, 2014.
Raptor: Call of the Shadows is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Cygnus Studios and published by Apogee Software. Its working title was "Mercenary 2029". It was released on April 1, 1994 for MS-DOS compatible systems. The first episode of the game, "Bravo Sector", was distributed as shareware. The other two episodes were sold commercially.
Kroz is a series of Roguelike video games created by Scott Miller for IBM PC compatibles. The first episode in the series, Kingdom of Kroz, was released in 1987 as Apogee Software's first game. It was also published on Big Blue Disk #20. Kroz introduced the scheme of the first episode being free and charging money for additional episodes, a technique which defined the business model for Apogee and was adopted by other MS-DOS shareware publishers.
Duke Nukem II is a 1993 platform game developed and published by Apogee Software. The game consists of four episodes, the first available as shareware. It is the follow-up to 1991's Duke Nukem, and followed by Duke Nukem 3D in 1996. Todd Replogle was the primary designer of all three games.
Bio Menace is a 1993 game developed and published by Apogee Software for MS-DOS. A 2D multidirectional scrolling platform game, it was built on a licensed version of id Software's Commander Keen game engine. Apart from the engine and music, all in-game content was created by the game's designer, Jim Norwood. In 2014, the game was re-released on Steam, and in 2015 on GOG.com with support for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Monuments of Mars is a third-person puzzle-platform game developed by Scenario Software for MS-DOS and compatible systems. It was published by Apogee Software. The game consists of four 20-level episodes, the first episode being shareware, the rest being commercial software. It is similar to the games Arctic Adventure and Pharaoh's Tomb but uses an unrelated engine.
Secret Agent is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Apogee Software. The first episode is shareware, while the remaining two are sold directly by the publisher. Secret Agent uses the same game engine as the earlier Crystal Caves.
Boppin' is a puzzle-oriented video game created by Jennifer Diane Reitz in 1991, developed under the company name Accursed Toys and published by Karmasoft for the Amiga computer. Around that time Karmasoft held a level design contest. The game sold poorly with 284 copies, so Jennifer got it republished by Apogee Software with up to 256 colors on screen. Due to mature content containing blood and seppuku, Apogee included a disclaimer in the manual that the game contained potentially offensive imagery, as well as part of a manifesto from Accursed Toys stating that their games were produced for an audience of adult gamers who are mostly 25 and older.
Alien Carnage, originally released as Halloween Harry, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Interactive Binary Illusions and SubZero Software, and distributed by Apogee Software. The game features 256-colour VGA graphics and background music in MOD format. Alien Carnage is composed of four episodes. The first episode was released as shareware, and the rest were distributed commercially. In May 2007, John Passfield and 3D Realms released Alien Carnage as freeware. In 2014, the game was re-released with Windows support.
Pharaoh's Tomb is an MS-DOS platform game created by George Broussard and published by Apogee Software.
Arctic Adventure is a platform game written for DOS, published by Apogee Software. It is the sequel to Pharaoh's Tomb. The protagonist, Nevada Smith, is an archaeologist searching for a Viking treasure in the Arctic. It was re-released on Steam in 2015 with support for Windows and macOS.
Dark Ages is a platform game written for MS-DOS, published by Apogee Software. It was the first shareware game to feature music for the AdLib sound card.
Realms of Chaos is a platform game written for DOS, published by Apogee Software as shareware in November 1995, with the full version released later that month. The game was authored by Keith Schuler, who had previously designed Paganitzu, and was originally to be a sequel entitled Alabama Smith and the Bloodfire Pendant. It is still sold by Apogee. Like previous platform Apogee games, this one utilized the FAST engine. The game was re-released in 2013 on GOG.com with support for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Xenomorph is a 1990 video game developed and published by Pandora for the Amiga and the Atari ST, and later ported for the Commodore 64 and DOS.
Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons is a three-part episodic side-scrolling platform video game developed by Ideas from the Deep and published by Apogee Software in 1990 for MS-DOS. It is the first set of episodes of the Commander Keen series. The game follows the titular Commander Keen, an eight-year-old child genius, as he retrieves the stolen parts of his spaceship from the cities of Mars, prevents a recently arrived alien mothership from destroying landmarks on Earth, and hunts down the leader of the aliens, the Grand Intellect, on the alien home planet. The three episodes feature Keen running, jumping, and shooting through various levels while opposed by aliens, robots, and other hazards.