Warbirds

Written and designed by Atari veteran Robert Zdybel, who dedicated the project to his father. The game garnered positive reception from critics and reviewers alike who praised the presentation, pseudo-3D visuals, sound design, controls and gameplay. Its multiplayer support received unanimous praise but the single-player offering was noted to be one of the title's negative points. It also served as an inspiration for Beyond Games' 1993 BattleWheels.

• Title — Warbirds • Developer — Atari Corporation • Publisher — Atari Corporation • Designer — Robert Zdybel • Programmer — Robert Zdybel • Artist — * Melody Rondeau • Susan G. McBride • Composer — Robert Vieira • Platforms — Atari Lynx • Genre — Combat flight simulator, first-person shooter • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer

• Illustration — Gameplay screenshot. Warbirds is a first-person combat flight simulation game where players assume the role of a World War I fighter pilot taking control of a biplane, with the main objective being the elimination of enemies to win the war. A variety of options can be altered to aid in shooting down enemy planes, including turning on unlimited ammunition and altering how much damage the player's aircraft can take until it explodes and players can also choose their preferred style of play for the plane before starting. When playing, the players has the ability to look ahead, behind, above, and to the left or right of their plane to detect oncoming enemies in the playfield. The game has five scenarios in which the player can fly against up to three enemy pilots of varying levels of skill. Up to four players can compete against each other by connecting four Atari Lynx units via the ComLynx port.

The creation of Warbirds was spearheaded by designer and Atari veteran Robert Zdybel, who dedicated the project to his father and he previously worked on several titles such as Stellar Track for the Atari 2600. The game was originally titled Red Baron and was planned for a Q4 1990 release, before being renamed in 1991. Previews of the game touted multiplayer support for up to six players instead of four. It was also on display for playing at Atari Corp.'s booth during the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in 1991.