Where to get it

Steam

1993 · Apogee Software · Arcade · Shooter

Major Stryker

In the not-so-distant future, the calamity of World War III led to eventual world peace. But, it didn't last. Earth was invaded by alien marauders - the Kretons. Earth's united military force, still depleted after the mighty onslaught of WWIII, was not nearly sufficient to repel the numerous Kreton attacks.

Released: 1993
Platforms: MS-DOS Windows macOS
Genres: Arcade Shooter
Developers: Apogee Software
Publishers: Apogee Software
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: United States
Languages: English
Time to beat: 6hmain story6hcompletionist

About

Major Stryker is a 2D vertically scrolling shooter video game written for DOS by Apogee Software. Its working title was "Strike Force" and was released in January 1993. It consists of three episodes, with the first episode distributed as shareware, and the rest available commercially. The three episodes are set on a Lava Planet, an Arctic Planet and a Desert Planet. The game was re-released as freeware on March 14, 2006, and on Steam with support for Microsoft Windows and macOS in 2014.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

There are three difficulty levels, which have drastically different levels of powerups, enemies, and enemy fire. Because of the greater number of enemies, much higher scores are possible on the harder difficulty levels.

At regular intervals, Stryker's allies deliver numbered boxes containing firepower upgrades, which affect the pattern and number of shots fired. A player with upgraded firepower is lowered to single shots upon being hit. A player with basic firepower instantly loses a life. Hitting a wall also loses a life regardless of firepower. Three different types of shields exist: two side shields that protect the jet left and right until it is damaged, two temporary small wave shields that rotate around the jet and a temporary invincibility orb shield.

Story

After a third world war, ending with only eight years of peace, Earth is attacked by the alien Kretons. Major Harrison Stryker, a World War III veteran, goes on a mission to wipe out the Kreton military installations on the three elemental planets within their galaxy. The only named characters are the eponymous hero and Fleet Admiral Yoshira, an attractive, often flirtatious woman who briefs Stryker between missions.

Development

The game uses PC speaker and Sound Blaster audio. The AdLib music is similar in style to Bobby Prince's other songs. The EGA graphics have three layers of scrolling backgrounds ("triple-parallax scrolling").

Originally the game was going to include other Apogee characters including Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, and Snake Logan, but was scrapped in favor of a more original storyline.