Liberator is commonly described as the opposite of Missile Command. The objective of Missile Command is to defend your bases from a space-based attack. Liberator's objective is the exact opposite, destroy enemy bases as you orbit their planet. Liberator was released by Atari in 1982. The arcade game was not very popular and only 762 arcade machines were ever made.
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Played as part of Atari 50.
Bravely asks "What if we did Missile Command... but not as good?"
The switch in perspective from defense to attack completely removes any of the tension present in MC, which was easily its strongest suit. Same goes for the removal of picking the base you're firing from--while it can be confusing at first, trying to keep that straight as you're frantically trying to shoot things down bumps up the tension sooo expertly in Missile Command, and here it's just, click where the objects are going to be in a bit. It's also, like, not really about cold war nuclear apocalypse anymore which is a bummer. It's still fine, but it does really just track as a worse version of a game which came out a couple years prior.
Bravely asks "What if we did Missile Command... but not as good?"
The switch in perspective from defense to attack completely removes any of the tension present in MC, which was easily its strongest suit. Same goes for the removal of picking the base you're firing from--while it can be confusing at first, trying to keep that straight as you're frantically trying to shoot things down bumps up the tension sooo expertly in Missile Command, and here it's just, click where the objects are going to be in a bit. It's also, like, not really about cold war nuclear apocalypse anymore which is a bummer. It's still fine, but it does really just track as a worse version of a game which came out a couple years prior.
A neat idea, but combat gets repetitive quickly. Some of the sound effects can also get annoying.
In its design, Liberator is quite literally "Missile Command in reverse"... without the terror, of course.
(Atari 50)
Compared to Missile Command, this is definitely a step up from a technical perspective, though operating with your bases at 4 corners of the screen is a lot more confusing than having them all at the bottom, I think ultimately that one's better.
Compared to Missile Command, this is definitely a step up from a technical perspective, though operating with your bases at 4 corners of the screen is a lot more confusing than having them all at the bottom, I think ultimately that one's better.
Ok, not gonna lie, this is actually pretty fucking cool. Yeah, it may be another space shooter, but the perspective change is greatly appreciated, and it can be really fun to shoot things up like this.
Game #194
Game #194
Liberator has you piloting 4 space canons attempting to destroy bases on the planets that decide to fire missiles at you. The way the the game works is each corner has a cannon that you use to destroy these red squares (bases) on the planet, before they launch missiles at you (which they will). Once one of your cannons is hit, it's destroyed and you lose that missile for the rest of the levels until you get a certain number of points to regain said cannon. Though regardless its a fine game,
that can get tedious, but still fun, though I wouldn't come back to it personally.
Played on Atari 50.
that can get tedious, but still fun, though I wouldn't come back to it personally.
Played on Atari 50.