Zero 5 is a shooter video game developed by Caspian Software and published by Telegames exclusively for the Atari Jaguar on September 29, 1997. It is a remake of the 1994 Atari STe title of the same name and one of the last licensed releases to be published for the Jaguar after being discontinued in 1996 by Atari Corporation, who merged with JT Storage in a reverse takeover prior to its eventual launch.
Set in the year 2050 and featuring a completely different gameplay structure compared to the original title, the player assume the role of a recruited Space Hound by DEFCON to take command of both the BamBam space fighter craft and the Hit-Pak space cruiser in an attempt to defend Earth and counterattack against the invading forces of the Morphon alien race, before they reach the planet and eradicate the human race. Conceived as a commission by Atari Corp.'s UK division in an effort to incite independent developers to work with the Jaguar, development of Zero 5 began in January 1995 and went almost unreleased after Atari discontinued the system until it was eventually picked up by Telegames.
Zero 5 was met with mostly positive reception from video game magazines and dedicated outlets that reviewed it, despite its very late release on the platform. Critics praised the graphics, sound design and gameplay but was criticized for its high level of difficulty and steep learning curve. The remake was the last project developed by Caspian Software before the company was disbanded prior to release and plans for a PlayStation port were ultimately scrapped after an unsuccessful attempt with a publisher.
Gameplay
Zero 5 is a shooter game where the player assume the role of a recruited Space Hound by DEFCON to take command of both the BamBam space fighter craft and the Hit-Pak space cruiser in a battle to defend Earth from the invading forces of the Morphon alien race, who are set to eradicate the human race after their signal was picked up signal by the now-destroyed Europa III satellite across 15 missions, each one featuring a different scenario and gameplay styles, with later missions increasing in difficulty and introducing new enemies as the player progress further. By pressing the Option button at the title screen, the player has access to the setup menu where various settings can be adjusted such as controls and sound configurations, in addition of selecting the last mission reached on the main game to resume progress and choosing any of the three levels of difficulty, each one applying a different stipulation during gameplay, with the highest one featuring missions that are longer in length compared to the other two difficulty levels.
The game is based around three types of gameplay styles depending on the mission. The first mode is a shoot 'em up where it involves the BamBam space fighter and the player is given full control of their ship in a three-dimensional environment featuring six degrees of freedom on zero gravity. The main objective is to survive against incoming enemies across all directions to finish this mode, while collecting energy pods left by them after destroying a wave of enemy crafts to increase either the ship's firepower, shield or the score by pressing 1, 2 or 3 on the keypad, and pressing 6 will activate a homing laser beam to destroy enemies but can only be used up to three times. The ship can also be rotated left and right with the C or A buttons.
The second mode is an on rails shooter segment that takes place in a first-person perspective, where involves the player controlling the Hit-Pak space cruiser and its gun turrets in environments of 360°. Like the first mode, the objective is to survive multiple waves of enemies that appear in all directions or destroying space debris to protect the ship, however there are no energy pods to be collected to regenerate shields and the player must keep focused on the radar, which displays the ship's shields and enemies. The missions involving Hit-Pak are broken into different segments, with some alternating between different playstyles.
The third and last mode revolves around flying BamBam through a confined space at high-speed inside of an alien ship and destroy its reactors, while collecting power-ups by passing through a flashing panel. Sound plays a key role during this mode, as the player's shots can determine which walls are indestructible to avoid crashing against them.