Solaris

Solaris is a space combat game for the Atari 2600 published in 1986 by Atari Corporation. It was developed by Doug Neubauer, who owns the copyright and the Solaris trademark. The game is a sequel to Neubauer's Atari 8-bit family game Star Raiders from 1979. Both games feature an enemy race known as Zylons, but Star Raiders uses a first-person perspective while Solaris is in third-person. Solaris was at one point going to be based on The Last Starfighter, while the Atari 8-bit version of The Last Starfighter was renamed Star Raiders 2.

Story

The Zylons are back, and are attempting another takeover of the galaxy! Your goal is to destroy all of the Zylon fighters you encounter, rescue cadets that are trapped on Zylon planets, and to find the planet Solaris to protect it from the Zylons. Your spaceship is equipped with a galactic map which can be used to warp to different sectors of the galaxy. The map shows the location of Zylon squadrons, Zylon planets, federation starbases, wormholes, clusters of stars, and Solaris when you find it. By warping to the correct sector, you can battle the numerous types of Zylon fighters to keep them from attacking federation bases and planets. Your spaceship has a limited amount of fuel; when you see the fuel gauge get too low, you will need to warp to a federation starbase to refuel (make sure you leave enough fuel to warp). When flying over a Zylon controlled planet, you will see your cadets on the surface. If you rescue all of the cadets as you fly past, you will receive bonus points and an extra spaceship. The Zylons have many different types of fighters which you will encounter, as well as some narrow corridors with blockades which you will need to clear in order to reach new locations in the galaxy.