Star Raiders review for Atari 8-bit computers (and its legacy)
49Star Raiders is a first-person space combat simulator for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. It was written by Doug Neubauer and released as a cartridge by Atari in 1979. The game is considered the platform's killer app.
Star Raiders simulates 3D space combat between the player's ship and an invading fleet of alien "Zylon" vessels. Star Raiders was distinctive for its graphics, which, in addition to various map and long range scan views, provided forward and aft first-person views, with movement conveyed by a streaming 3D starfield as the player engaged enemy spacecraft.
While there had already been target-shooting games using the first-person perspective (including 1978's Cosmic Conflict), Star Raiders had considerably higher quality visuals and more complex gameplay. It inspired imitators throughout the 1980s as well as later-generation space combat simulation games including Elite, Wing Commander, and Star Wars: X-Wing.