| Classic vertical scrolling shoot-em-up Rambo-style video game from the mid-eighties. Inspired by Commando, Ikari Warriors represents the pinnacle of its gaming genre. Ikari Warriors was one of the very first of its kind. If you wondered just precisely when it was that we all became tormented and deranged by images of on-screen violence, this was it, baby.
Released on the Atari 2600, 7800, Commodore 64, AmstradCPC, Amiga, AtariST, NES (including versions I, II, and III), NeoGeo+pocket, PC, and Game Boy Color, Ikari Warriors has enjoyed a solid history of re-releases. Its coin-op version used rotary joysticks, which were turned clockwise or counterclockwise to control your player's direction. Needless to say, these types of controllers died quickly and are next to impossible to find in working order today.
The game is set in a jungle, and can be played 1- or 2-player, cooperative. The objective is to kill lots and lots of the enemy, using your pistol, grenade launcher, and bare hands. Simple, straightforward, to the point... You can also take over tanks and use them to run over the unwashed heathens. You start out in a wrecked aircraft, and your mission varies depending on which re-write you're playing. Generally, you're trying to rescue one of your commanding officers, and you were originally trapped in the jungles of Vietnam, IIRC.
The game was originally produced and published by SNK-Japan Corportation / Elite Systems, and was manufactured by Atari. The Amiga version was released in 1988, and there's an invincibility cheat code available for it. Apparently, if you type 'FREERIDE' at the high score screen, you get unlimited lives. Ahh, the Golden age of video games...
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