Raptor: Call of the Shadows

"The King of All Space Shooters."

Background:
Raptor: Call of the Shadows is not a dinosaur game, it's a extremely action-packed space shooter. The player must concentrate very hard as there is not one second that passes without an enemy shooting a pack of missiles at you or a fast space train rushing to crash into you. Raptor was developed for DoS years ago by Apogee Software (long dead) but has been reincarnated by Mountain King Studios and made into Windows 98/2000/Xp compatible. The sound has been considerably enhanced, and there's nothing more satisfying than hearing the "Zing" of the Twin Lasers while watching enemy spaceships blow up left and right.

Story:
You're working as a mercenary spaceship pilot working for the Mega Corps. The Mega Corps pay you good money for every enemy spaceship or building you obliterate, and you spend your hard-earned moolah at Harold's Death Emporium. There's not much else to the story, you blow things up, get paid, buy better weapons, and the cycle goes on.

Gameplay:
Raptor is a birds eye view space shooter game. There are over 15 weapons, which include missiles, machine guns, and of course, lasers. Some noteworthy weapons are the Pulse Cannon, which fires sound waves (as it seems), that will inflict heavy damage on anything in their path (this is the best weapon in the shareware version); the Laser Turret, which fires a weak but fast laser beam that can home in on enemies (so you don't even have to move to destroy like crazy); and last but definitely not the least, the Twin Lasers, which fires two blue beams that will eliminate anything that stands in it's path (and it has an excellent sound effect when it fires). Each weapon has it's own animation, meaning when you use it, you can differentiate and tell what the weapon is. Weapons have infinite ammo (hmmmm), and there are also Power Bombs that you can use to basically obliterate the entire screen. Unlike most space shooters, Raptor is based on a health system, which means when you get hit, you won't just blow up and lose. Instead, your shields will go down, that's all. There are 27 levels in Raptor (each level being around 5 minutes long), over 40 bosses and minibosses, and way too many enemies to count. This is definitely a game that will keep you busy.

Graphics:
This game was made in 1993, 13 years ago from when I wrote this review. To be fair, I will compare the graphics of Raptor to other DOS games made in 1993. I can tell you right now that no other DOS game at all has graphics as beautiful as Raptor's. The background scenery is amazing and vastly different. The worlds range from Oceans, Deserts, Jungles, and of course, Outer Space. Each background (there are more than the ones I mentioned) are uniquely drawn and every little detail (craters, waves, oil drills) are added to make the scenery of Raptor the best it can be. I'd also like to mention that the enemy spaceships as well as your weapons ALL have unique animations, Raptor is definitely not like some games where everything looks practically the same.

Music/Sound:
The music in this game can only be described with one word: Amazing! Each of the five or so soundtracks in the game was composed and played to perfection. Other spaceshooters have annoying background music that you can't turn off without relinquishing the sound effects but in Raptor, the music makes the game a whole lot better. Raptor's music adds to your experience of the game as a whole, the music makes you feel like you're actually in the game. There is only so much I can describe with words, but you must try the game to listen to the music yourself.
As for the sound effects, it's an excellent stress-reliever to hear your weapons (especially the lasers) beating up on hopeless enemy spaceships.

Replay Value:
While not everyone will want to shoot spaceships everyday, I find that Raptor is an extremely good form of stress-relief, since there is nothing better than to hear your Twin Lasers frying up a good ol' enemy spaceship.

Worth it?
Try the shareware version for free, downloadable at Mountain King studios homepage. If this game remotely interests you or you want to continue the missions or you want to try out the new weapons, then you can order this game fora small price and download it directly onto your computer. (The bad thing is you won't be able to use the Deathray or Twin Lasers in the shareware version)

Overall: 10/10
I'd have to give this a 10/10, much of my youth was dedicated to playing this game non-stop for 3 hours everyday after school. It's one of the contributors to what makes me a gamefreak today. Try this game, you won't regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/20/06