Dropzone


Dropzone is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Archer Maclean for the Atari 8-bit family and published in 1984 by U.S. Gold. It was Maclean's first commercial game. It was ported to the Commodore 64, then later released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Gear and Game Boy Color.
Dropzone is similar in gameplay and style to the arcade game Defender and borrows many elements, including the same style of font, aliens, and title screen.

Plot

On the surface of Jupiter's moon, Io, a human scientific research base is under attack by aliens. The player dons a jetpack armed with a laser, a cloaking device and three smart bombs, to rescue the scientists and return them to the base.

Gameplay

The gameplay is in the style of Williams Electronics' Defender, with some influences from Scramble and . Players control the hero trying to rescue the scientists on a horizontally-scrolling game field. Players must elude or engage various aliens—some slow, others faster—and return the scientists to the base's eponymous dropzone. The aliens capture scientists walking along the ground. The player must shoot the enemy aliens and catch the falling scientists. Sometimes the aliens will carry lethal androids instead, which must be avoided.
The ranks awarded to players at the end of a game are:
  1. Not Listed - practice recommended
  2. Dextral Dodger
  3. Trekie
  4. Moon Cadet
  5. Planetsman
  6. Ace
  7. Planet Marshal
  8. Planet Lord
  9. Star Warrior
  10. Solar Prodigy
  11. Megastar - mission completed
There are 99 levels of gameplay, each increasingly difficult. After level 99, the levels repeat starting level 95.

Development

Maclean purchased an Atari 800 as soon as they were officially launched in the UK in 1981 and started writing what would eventually evolve into Dropzone. Maclean converted the game to the Commodore 64 himself:
The name Dropzone was not settled on until shortly before the game went gold.
Maclean entered into a publishing deal with U.S. Gold for the European distribution of the game. After 18 months, however, they stopped paying him royalties claiming that the game was no longer selling. In addition, Maclean saw it for sale in areas outside of Europe and even in the United States. Four years of legal wrangling with the publisher followed, until they finally settled out of court for copyright infringement. With the proceeds from the settlement, Maclean bought his first Ferrari.

Reception

The Commodore 64 version of the game was awarded a Gold Medal in issue 3 of Zzap!64 magazine, with an overall rating of 95%.

Legacy

The sequel, Super Dropzone, added new weapon types and end-level bosses. It is available for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance and PlayStation. Only the Game Boy Advance version saw a North American release; the others were European exclusives.