Dropzone Review

By Chris Wilkins Published 5 November, 2007

Defending at home.

Version tested: Retro

Defender was widely acknowledged by many as an instant classic upon its release into the arcade. Fans of the game held their breath in baited anticipation as they waited for the first home versions to appear in the shops. Surely the bespoke controls of Defender parent could never be replicated on the humble Competition Pro Joystick. Could it?

Archer Maclean released Dropzone on the C64 in 1985 (Initial development of the game took place on an Atari 800 that reportedly ran 2 ½ times faster than its C64 counterpart) - a tight, challenging and finely balanced shooter that perfectly exemplified how a complex game could be controlled by a stick and a single button.

All aspects of the Defender game mechanics are unashamedly present including the hovering alien types awaiting their fate, the end-of-wave re-spawning enemy should the player dawdle too long and even the cloak from Stargate makes an appearance for good measure.

Archer introduces a number of subtle game play nuances in Dropzone that necessitate a change of tactic by the Defender player. The added challenge of transporting the stranded scientists back to base whilst the hyperactive aliens insistent on homing in on your ship ensures the player has an intense, demanding and often tiring gaming experience. The games control mechanism is sublime and superbly responsive - you know that if you die, and you will, you only have yourself to blame.

'Dropzone' Screenshot 1

The aliens initially appear pretty clueless as wave after wave are shot down with ease. A subtle malice about their actions is soon realised a few levels in and despatching them in a timely fashion is far from straight forward.

Although not as flashy, brash or complex as many other shooters, Dropzone delivers exactly what it says on the tin and achieved a whopping 95% score in Zzap!64 magazine in the process. This is surely the best home version of Jarvis' legendary arcade with a few extra knobs for good measure, and is every Defender fan's dream come true.

9 / 10

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About Chris Wilkins

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Comments (10) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • turk182 #1 4 years ago

    rocks!

  • markopoloman #2 4 years ago

    Chris - Review is spot on! Fantastic game that plays as good now as it did back then.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #3 4 years ago

    Ahh the memories.

    Sat in my bedroom playing defender with my optimus prime stood there watching me.

    Games and robots rock !

  • jetbootjack #4 4 years ago


    The Atari 800 version was released at the same time as the C64 version - this review makes it sound like it was never released...

    And yes it was MUCH better than the C64 version!!!

    sTeVE

  • sabreman #5 4 years ago

    Archer has always insisted to me that the Atari version was THE version to play. This review pays respect to the C64 version :-)

  • Crunchikins #6 4 years ago

    Got to agree with jetbootjack (another great game on the Atari, kudos for the name there) about the Atari version being superior to the C64 effort.
    If the C64 version gets a 9 then the Atari version has to be a 10.
    I always though the Atari version was the first, out in '84, with the C64 port coming out later in '85 but I'm probably wrong.
    Either way it's definitely the best 8-bit Defender by miles.

  • Mayhem64 #7 4 years ago

    The Atari version was out first. But the C64 version is still an unbelievable brilliant game (and one of my all-time favourites for the machine).

  • neuromancer #8 4 years ago

    Excellent review Chris - great to see EG's Retro section up and running at last; I for one applaud all the hard work you, and the entire team of contributors, are putting into this.

    Great also to see support for the Atari 8bit on this thread! As I recall Archer designed DZ to take advantage of all the hardware the Atari had to offer - including tricks that even the C64's mighty VIC-II couldn't match (not that I want to re-ignite *that* debate which raged on and on on another forum not so long ago...)

    Breath-taking game, still thrills today.

  • StringBeanJean #9 4 years ago

    I used to have Super Dropzone on the Snes. That was fecking awesome! Never played the orginal though.

  • merman #10 4 years ago

    I've always preferred Dropzone to Defender... the controls were much easier to get the hang of, the graphics were great and the ranking system helped draw you in to try and get a higher score...