Steel Talons
1991 video game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1991 video game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steel Talons is a 3D combat flight simulator arcade game released by Atari Games in 1991. The player takes on the role of a pilot for an "AT1196 Steel Talons combat helicopter". Steel Talons was ported to the Sega Genesis, Atari Lynx, Atari Falcon, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A Jaguar port was announced, but never released.
| Steel Talons | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) | Atari Games
|
| Designer(s) | Ed Logg Ed Rotberg |
| Programmer(s) | Ed Rotberg |
| Artist(s) | Sam Comstock Chuck Eyler Nicholas Stern |
| Composer(s) | Brad Fuller John Paul |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Atari Falcon, Lynx, Genesis, SNES |
| Release | Arcade
1992 |
| Genre(s) | Combat flight simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, 2-player multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Atari Hard Drivin'[1] |
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020) |
Steel Talons is an air combat arcade game. The player flies a helicopter equipped with a machine gun, rockets, and a limited number of air-to-surface guided missiles. It originated as a two-player cockpit arcade cabinet with both cooperative and competitive modes. In single-player mode or cooperative two-player mode, there are 19 missions. In competitive mode, players attempt to destroy each other's helicopter.
The arcade version has a joystick, analog collective lever on the left side that controls the altitude of the helicopter, and rudder pedals. The back of the seat has a speaker thumps when the player's helicopter is hit. It has a button called "real heli mode" which makes flying more difficult, but also allows more freedom of movement and can be an advantage during multiplayer games.
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020) |
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020) |
The game's date of publication is listed by the United States Copyright Office as August 23, 1991.[2] In September 1991, Steel Talons was shown at the 1991 Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) expo in Las Vegas.[3][4] That November, the game was released internationally, by Sega in Japan[5] and by Atari in Europe.[6]
It was ported to the Sega Genesis, Atari Lynx, Atari Falcon, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A Jaguar port was announced, but never released.[7][8][9][10]
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020) |
In the United States, it topped the RePlay arcade charts for dedicated arcade cabinets in October 1991,[11] and then the deluxe cabinet charts from November 1991[12][13] to February 1992,[14][15] before topping it again in April 1992.[16] In Japan, Game Machine listed Steel Talons in its March 15, 1992 issue as the third most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.[17]
Upon its AMOA 1991 debut, The One magazine compared the arcade game favorably with Taito's 3D helicopter simulation Air Inferno (1990), stating that "Atari has gone even further, making it a lot easier to play, without compromising the complexity of the controls". They said that, despite "the complexity of the controls, the game is a classic".[3] Sinclair User listed it among several games making the "best use of 3-D technology" at the show,[4] and later gave it an 87% score upon its European release.[6] Julian Rignall of Computer and Video Games gave it a 96% rating.[18]
The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) nominated the game for the "Most Innovative New Technology" award in 1992.[19]
GameFan reviewed the Sega Genesis version, scoring it 172 out of 200.[20]
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