Raptor: Call of the Shadows

"BOOM. Ha ha, you're dead."

Raptor is a game that will always hold a special place in my heart. When I was six or seven, I was obsessed with Apogee’s (RIP) creations, as they were often available in the shareware (read: demo) format. I had a measly three-dollar allowance, and these one-episode games were about all I could afford. However, I was particularly hooked on Raptor because I then wanted to be a fighter pilot, like all little boys do. Once I got my hands on X-Wing for Christmas, though, Raptor lay forgotten in the recesses of my hard drive until a few days ago when I decided to play some oldies on our now ancient PC. Finding Raptor was like finding an a hundred-dollar bill in your pocket that forgotten you had: SWEET!

Blow them all to hell. MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Admittedly, Raptor comes up a bit short in the story department. It puts you in the shoes of a fighter pilot with a kick-ass jet who’s lured by the shady Mega-Corp’s (*cringe*) visions of wealth to make their oppositions’ property turn a nice red-and-orangey color. That’s it, other than a few screens of ending after each episode. However, that’s not the point of Raptor. Blowing stuff up and laughing like a madman is. (Well, maybe not the madman part.)

And blowing stuff up Raptor does well, indeed. It plays very much like Mars Matrix or Gunbird 2; for the less knowledgeable, that basically means your ship continually flies from the bottom of the screen, upwards. On the way to the end of that continually scrolling screen you’ll make lots of stuff “go BOOM!!!” But they’re not going to lie down and let you blast them to smithereens (out of curiosity, just what is a smithereen?). Countless numbers of fighter jets, gun emplacements, and really-fricking-huge motherships will try to shoot you down, using machine guns, little proximity bombs, laser rays, missiles, and other assorted instruments of dealing death. You’ve got one vital edge on your side, though: cold, hard cash.

For every bad guy you send to his death, Mega-Corp pays you with those green-colored strips of paper you so adore. Thankfully, you can spend this money at a little shop called “Harold’s Death Emporium” to buy assorted weapons. While you start out with a measly double-machine gun, you can buy a pulse cannon and micro missiles (all of which can fire at the same time). Additionally, “special” weapons, such as land to air, air to land, and dumbfire missiles, a nasty death ray, and the gun so powerful that your enemies want to cry, the double lasers, are available, though only one of them can be used a time. Guns aren’t the only things offered at Harold’s bazaar-of-all-things-that-hurt, though, as health boosts, extra shields, and an ion scanner, an item that shows how much life a boss has left, can be purchased.

Even with all of this stuff at your fingertips, it’s still gonna be a hard battle. The amount of firepower thrown at your Raptor can often be disorienting, and difficult to avoid. There are frequently many ships flooding the screen that need to be taken down. It takes all of your skill and mettle to make it through. And there, in the chaotic, hectic, frenzied conflict, lies the fun of Raptor.

My favorite colors were always red and orange.
For its time (early 90’s), Raptor was a gorgeous game, and it still looks pretty today. The backgrounds are intensely detailed, and each of the three sectors has its own theme. Bravo Sector is a merge of blue and brown, dirt and sea, while Tango Sector contains many different shades of green in its vibrant jungles. The Outer Regions, which includes missions to Mars, the moon, Mercury, and outer space, is often monochromic red and gray (which is not always a bad thing). While the settings are striking, the main beauty is contained in the exquisitely thorough renditions of the enemy craft. There are tons of different types of enemies, and each and every one of them looks dazzling.

The sound in Raptor is nearly as good as the graphics. The weapons all have distinctive noises, which succeed in being effective, while not annoying. Explosions are quite meaty and also quite satisfying; I found myself wanting to kill as many baddies as I could to hear more of them! Unfortunately, the music is not nearly at the level of quality the effects are, and sounds rather tinny and muffled. The tunes are nice enough, but the quality level of tones themselves is not very good at all.

Bravo, bravo!
Luckily, Raptor is not a short one-sitting-and-you’re-done game like so many of its type. The three different sectors each contain nine waves (levels) each, which is twenty-seven for those too lazy to multiply. Each wave is quite lengthy; many last up to ten minutes, which is unprecedented for a sh’mup. After all of them have been completed, you can go through the waves again with your now killer craft and revel in the hectic destruction.

Like many Apogee classics, Raptor has been overlooked in favor of the new titles being released today. While the visuals and sound may be better in current games, its mechanics are solid as a rock. I highly recommend picking it up if you find it in a bargain bin, or even downloading the shareware demo, as Raptor succeeds in providing chaotic fun, and is worth a try.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/01, Updated 12/20/01