Hover Strike

Did You Know?

• A remake titled Hover Strike: Unconquered Lands was released for the Jaguar CD add-on on October 23 of the same year, featuring improved graphics and additional levels.
• In 1996, the game's trademark was abandoned.
• In May 2017, the game's source code was made freely available on a Jaguar-dedicated Facebook group.

Gameplay

Hover Strike is a futuristic semi-open 3D shooter in which players pilot an armed hovercraft to complete 30 missions across different terrain types. The goal is to overthrow the Terrakian Pirates from a colonized foreign planet and rescue captured colonists before the Federation armada arrives. Before starting, players choose among three difficulty settings and may tackle missions in any order from the selection screen. Each mission requires destroying a specified number of enemies and structures; pressing the Option button during mission selection opens a setup menu for controls, sound, and saving progress. Once a mission begins, players fight enemies and destroy main objectives while collecting power-ups and ammo from destroyed carriers to replenish energy and shields. If the hovercraft is not re-energized, it self-destructs; enemy fire can also destroy it if shields are not regenerated. Losing all lives ends the game, but players can load a saved game to resume at the last mission reached, retaining the number of lives used. The action is viewed from inside the cockpit. The A button accelerates, B fires photon energy, and C brakes; left and right rotate the craft. Most enemies are low-flying aircraft that follow and shoot. Moving the reticle is done with up or down to aim photons. Pressing Option during gameplay cycles sub-weapons; 1 or 3 on the keypad fires them. Pressing 2 locks the reticle onto the nearest enemy, and 5 cycles between targets. Pressing 7 or 9 changes camera angles. Pressing up or down with both A and C engages forward or reverse modes.

Development and release

Atari Corporation began developing an update of Battlezone for the Jaguar as early as August 1993, when the system was publicly unveiled. Originally titled Battlezone 2000, it was one of the first fourteen titles greenlit for the Jaguar before launch, alongside Cybermorph and Tempest 2000. The game was intended for one player and was listed under its original title in video game magazines. Battlezone 2000 was first shown in a playable state at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in 1994, with visual differences from the final release. At some point during development, it was renamed Hover Strike, likely due to a change in direction. Its last trade show appearance was at Atari Corp.'s booth during the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in 1995, with plans for an early-year release. Production was spearheaded by ex-Atari vice-president Leonard Tramiel; Atari veteran Rob Zdybel worked as a programmer. Music and sound effects were created by Brad Wait. Lead tester and level designer Lance J. Lewis later spoke negatively of the game but said he had fun working on it. Hover Strike was first released in North America in April 1995, then in Europe in May, and later in Japan around the same time, distributed by Messe Sansao.