Major Stryker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Major Stryker

Developer(s)	Apogee Software
Publisher(s)	Apogee Software
Platform(s)	DOS
Release date	January, 1993
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	OFLC: G
Media	Floppy disk
Input methods	Keyboard and mouse, or joystick

Major Stryker is a 2D vertical scrolling shooter game written for MS-DOS, by Apogee Software (now 3D Realms).

The game was originally distributed as shareware. It consists of three episodes, with only the first episode distributed as shareware, and the rest available commercially. The episodes are:

Lava Planet
Arctic Planet
Desert Planet

The game features PC Speaker and Sound Blaster sounds, and the AdLib music is similar in style to Bobby Prince's other songs. The game uses EGA graphics and draws three backgrounds.

Major Stryker was re-released as freeware in March 14, 2006. See also list of commercial games released as freeware.

[edit] Gameplay

There are three difficulty levels, each of which has drastically different levels of powerups, enemies, and enemy fire.

The only named heroes are the titular hero and Fleet Admiral Yoshira, a very attractive, often flirtatious woman who briefs the character between levels, and seems to be in love with him as well.

Powerups available include laser powerups (boxes marked "00," "01," etc.,) which affect the pattern and number of shots fired; speedups; holding patterns, which stop the screen and release a fleet of enemies (which can be helpful in clearing an area if the player has a wide spread of shots;) screenwide explosions; and extra lives. Hostages can also be rescued.

At the end of each level, the player is awarded additional points on the percentage of enemies destroyed and the percentage of hostages rescued.

A player with upgraded firepower is lowered to single shots upon being hit; a player with basic firepower is killed instantly. Being crushed by a wall also causes instant death regardless of firepower.