Star Wars
Star Wars is a first-person shoot 'em up based around the original Star Wars film. You take on the role of Luke Skywalker, aiming to destroy the Death Star - which, as any fan knows, involves attacking the…
Star Wars is an arcade developed by Atari, released 1 May 1983 on Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision and Acorn Electron. The main story takes about 1 hrs to finish.
What Star Wars is
Star Wars is an arcade game developed by Atari and released in 1983. It is available on Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Acorn Electron, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Arcade, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST/STE, BBC Microcomputer System, Commodore C64/128/MAX, DOS, Mac and ZX Spectrum.
The premise, in the publisher's words
Star Wars is a first-person rail shooter designed by Mike Hally and released as an arcade video game in 1983 by Atari, Inc. It uses 3D color vector graphics to simulate the assault on the Death Star from the 1977 film Star Wars. There are three connected gameplay sequences: combat against TIE fighters in space, flying across the surface of the Death Star, and the final trench run. The sequence then repeats with added complications and the Death Star regenerating. The player's X-Wing fighter has a shield which only protects against damage a certain number of times, then the next hit ends the game. Speech synthesis emulates actors from the film.
How it plays
It is played from a first person perspective. Its themes are action and science fiction. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component.
Where it sits in the Star Wars series
Star Wars is the third of 334 entries we hold in the Star Wars series. The next entry was Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Death Star Battle in 1983. Its critic score of 90 is 19 points above the series average of 71. The highest-rated entry is Angry Birds Star Wars II at 100.
How it was received
Star Wars holds a critic score of 90 out of 100. That places it above 95% of the 2,164 rated arcade games in our database, which average 70. Games released in 1983 averaged 75, so it scored 15 points above the year average.
How long it takes, and what that costs
The main story runs about 1 hrs.
What it launched against
Star Wars launched on 1 May 1983, within three weeks of Jetpac and Manic Miner. It reviewed better than 1 of the 2.
Released around the same time: Jetpac, Manic Miner.
Cheats and codes
We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Star Wars yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.
Official trailer
Sourced from the publisher’s YouTube channel.
Screenshots
All media
Quick answers
Star Wars — frequently asked questions
When did Star Wars come out?
How long does it take to beat Star Wars?
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