Defender (subtitledFor All Mankind outside North America) is ashoot 'em upvideo game developed in October 2002 for thePlayStation 2, andXbox, and was ported to theGameCube the following month, followed by a port to themobile phone version published byTHQ in 2003. The game was also rereleased forXbox 360's Live Arcade in November 2006. It is a remake of the1981 game of the same name. Featuringthree-dimensional (3D) graphics, the game is set on multiple planets and moons within theSolar System where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts.
A separate version of the game was released for theGame Boy Advance. Despite sharing a name, box art and a release date with the console versions, it is a different game.
The player picks up humans, who are in danger from aliens, and brings them to a drop zone for extraction. The enemy landers are attacking them, and will constantly try to pick them up for themselves. Once a human is stolen, the player has a short amount of time to blast the lander and catch the slowly falling human. If the player fails to free the human, they are absorbed into the lander and the lander is transformed into a much more difficult enemy. If the human hits the ground from falling they will die. The enemies are a handful of other alien craft, including some ground units that can turn humans into zombies.
A separate version of the game was released for theGame Boy Advance. It contains a faithful recreation of the 1981Defender, and an updated version with digitized sprites and new game modes.[3]
The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms except the Game Boy Advance version, which received "unfavorable" reviews, according to thereview aggregation websiteMetacritic.[10][11][12][13][14]
^Gerstmann, Jeff (18 November 2002)."Defender Review (GC)".GameSpot. Red Ventures.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^abGerstmann, Jeff (31 October 2002)."Defender Review (PS2, Xbox)".GameSpot. Red Ventures.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^Gerstmann, Jeff (20 November 2006)."Defender Review (X360)".GameSpot. Red Ventures.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^Code Cowboy (30 November 2002)."Defender - GBA - Review".GameZone.Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved10 August 2022.
^Knutson, Michael (22 November 2002)."Defender - GC - Review".GameZone.Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved10 August 2022.
^Hopper, Steven (10 November 2002)."Defender - PS2 - Review".GameZone.Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved10 August 2022.
^Bedigian, Louis (18 November 2002)."Defender - XB - Review".GameZone.Archived from the original on 3 February 2008. Retrieved10 August 2022.
^Harris, Craig (19 November 2002)."Defender (GBA)".IGN. Ziff Davis.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^Roper, Chris (27 November 2002)."Defender (GCN)".IGN. Ziff Davis.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^Buchanan, Levi (21 April 2003)."Defender (Cell)".IGN. Ziff Davis.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^Roper, Chris (22 October 2002)."Defender (PS2)".IGN. Ziff Davis.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^Roper, Chris (31 October 2002)."Defender Review (Xbox)".IGN. Ziff Davis.Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved9 August 2022.
^"Defender (GC)".Nintendo Power. Vol. 165. Nintendo of America. February 2003. p. 156.
^Nation, Justin (29 November 2002)."Defender (GC)".Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC.Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved10 August 2022.
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