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Steel Talons
1991 video game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Steel Talons is a combat flight simulator arcade video game released by Atari Games in 1991. The player pilots an "AT1196 Steel Talons combat helicopter. The 3D view is rendered with flat-shaded polygons using the TMS34010 combination CPU and programmable graphics processor. It was ported to the Genesis, Lynx, Atari Falcon, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
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Gameplay
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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.
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Development
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Release
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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 Genesis, Lynx, Atari Falcon, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A Jaguar port was announced, but never released.[7][8][9][10]
Reception
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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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References
External links
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