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Solaris

Moby ID: 10506
Atari 2600 Specs
Conversion (official) Included in

Description official descriptions

Solaris is a sequel to Star Raiders. The Zylons are back, and are attempting another takeover of the galaxy! Your goal is to destroy all of the Zylon fighters you encounter, rescue cadets that are trapped on Zylon planets, and to find the planet Solaris to protect it from the Zylons. Your spaceship is equipped with a galactic map which can be used to warp to different sectors of the galaxy. The map shows the location of Zylon squadrons, Zylon planets, federation starbases, wormholes, clusters of stars, and Solaris when you find it. By warping to the correct sector, you can battle the numerous types of Zylon fighters to keep them from attacking federation bases and planets. Your spaceship has a limited amount of fuel; when you see the fuel gauge get too low, you will need to warp to a federation starbase to refuel (make sure you leave enough fuel to warp). When flying over a Zylon controlled planet, you will see your cadets on the surface. If you rescue all of the cadets as you fly past, you will receive bonus points and an extra spaceship. The Zylons have many different types of fighters which you will encounter, as well as some narrow corridors with blockades which you will need to clear in order to reach new locations in the galaxy.

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Screenshots

Credits (Atari 2600 version)

Programmer
Cover Artwork

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 7 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 9 ratings with 1 reviews)

Solaris review

The Good
Widely considered the peak of the 2600's technical abilities, this game also plays well, believe it or not. Feels more like an NES game than an Atari game and I mean that in the best way possible.

The Bad
This game has been rereleased a ton of times. The reason I bring this up is because on its own, the game is shallow compared to modern games in its own genre. But if you get it in a collection, or buy it as a cartridge, you'll get your money's worth.

The Bottom Line
This masterpiece of the 2600 might not seem like much now, but surely back in the day it was impressive. Bonus points for this game pulling off everything on plain 2600 hardware and not exploding.

Atari 2600 · by subsonick · 2024

Trivia

Cover art

The US Atari 2600 cover art for Solaris is basically the same as Star Raiders.

Awards

  • Retro Gamer Magazine
    • January 2008 (Issue 46) - was named #16 in the “Top 25 Atari 2600” Games poll

Analytics

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MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries - Solaris Showdown
Released 2024 on PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One...

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 10506
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Servo.

Plex Arcade added by firefang9212. Antstream added by lights out party.

Additional contributors: PCGamer77, Alaka.

Game added September 27, 2003. Last modified January 9, 2025.