''Warbirds'' is a 1991 first-person

combat flight simulation Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and milit ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed and published by

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when WarnerMedia, Warn ...

in North America and Europe exclusively for the

Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is a hybrid 8/16-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal disp ...

. Taking place in the 1910s during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, players assume the role of a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

aircraft pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

from the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

who joined the titular

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

taking control of a prebuilt

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

in order to win the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against the enemies. Its

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...

mainly consists of

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

s against either AI-controlled opponents or other human players using the Lynx's ComLynx system, with a main four-button configuration. ''Warbirds'' was written and designed by

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

veteran Robert Zdybel, who dedicated the project to his father. The game garnered positive reception from critics and reviewers alike who praised the presentation,

pseudo-3D 2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to a third dimension in a space that otherwise ...

visuals, sound design, controls and gameplay. Its multiplayer support received unanimous praise but the single-player offering was noted to be one of the title's negative points. It also served as an inspiration for

Beyond Games Beyond Games was an American video game developer. It was founded in 1992 by Kris Johnson. The first release from the company was BattleWheels for the Atari Lynx, winner of the 1993 Consumer Electronics Show Innovations Award. Their follow-up, '' ...

' 1993 ''

BattleWheels ''BattleWheels'' is a 1993 First-person (video games), first-person List of vehicular combat games, vehicular combat video game developed by Beyond Games and published by Atari Corporation in North America and Europe exclusively for the Atari Lyn ...

''.

Gameplay

''Warbirds'' is a first-person combat flight simulation game where players assume the role of a World War I

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

taking control of a biplane, with the main objective being the elimination of enemies in order to win the war.''Warbirds'' user's manual (Atari Lynx, US) A variety of options can be altered to aid in shooting down enemy planes, including turning on unlimited ammunition and changing the amount of damage the aircraft can take before it explodes and players can also choose their preferred style of play for the plane before starting. When playing, the players can look ahead, behind, above, and to the left or right of their plane to detect oncoming enemies in the playfield. The game has five scenarios in which the player can fly against one to three enemy pilots of varying skill levels. Up to four players can compete against each other by connecting four Atari Lynx units via the ComLynx port.

Development and release

The creation of ''Warbirds'' was spearheaded by designer and Atari veteran Robert Zdybel, who dedicated the project to his father and he previously worked on several titles such as ''

Stellar Track ''Stellar Track'' is an Atari VCS (later the Atari 2600) game developed by Rob Zdybel of Atari, Inc. and published by Sears under the "Tele-Games" brand in 1980. It is one of three such games that were released only through Sears. ''Stellar Track'' ...

'' for the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...

. The game was originally titled ''Red Baron'' and was planned for a Q4 1990 release, before being renamed in 1991. Previews of the game touted multiplayer support for up to six players instead of four. It was also on display for playing at Atari Corp.'s booth during the

Winter Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

in 1991.

Reception

''Warbirds'' was met with positive reception. The game was reviewed in 1992 in ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' #181 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game a positive review awarding it 4½ out of 5 stars. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' reviewed Warbirds in their August 1991 issue stating "There isn't a lot of variety to the gameplay but what's there is good for a while." Giving it an overall score of 84 out of 100. '' Raze'' also reviewed the game giving a score of 86%. Robert A. Jung reviewed the game which was published to IGN Entertainment, In his final verdict he wrote "Warbirds is designed and written by Robert Zdybel, a newcomer to Lynx game design; He dedicates the game to his father, and it's a worthy piece of gaming to be proud of. It's a game that's simple in concept and fun to play. Throw in true simulator realism, a variety of options, and the ability for four-player competition, and the sum is greater than its parts. For the video gamer looking for realistic aerial action, Warbirds leaves eveything else behind." Giving a final score of 9 out of 10.

References

External links

''Warbirds''
at

AtariAge AtariAge is a website focusing on classic Atari video games. The site features gaming news, historical archives, discussion forums, and an online store. It was founded in 1998. Taking its name from the 1982–84 '' Atari Age'' magazine, the site ...

''Warbirds''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

''Warbirds''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

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